Shopsmith Forums

rbursek wrote:Thats the point!!! You got it JPG!!! Dont need callouses to be a man or worker!!!

My concern is re youngsters thinking there are things which make one 'safe'.

There is nothing which removes all possibility of injury, but a complacent attitude created by the use of 'safety devices' is a recipe for sudden enlightenment.

Safety is an attitude that requires mental assessment of potential hazards and taking measures to prevent them from becoming real.

First step is to look.

Then think.

Being complacent leads to skipping those two steps.


BTW Mathias did not have that cloth attached to a body part to prevent 'blow away'. However your I feel it touch before attacking skin is well taken and I agree.

FWIW us conscious risk takers are a minority here. You ARE in good company.




TAKE COVER!!!:eek:

P.S. callouses have nothing to do with 'manhood'. That is a mental attitude thingey.

I totally agree with all you said, most importantly, be aware of your surroundings, all knowledge of the tool and forces it can transmit, and eyes on your hands and no distractions around. I do push the limits a bit, but if I feel uncomfortable in my mind about something, I dont, "when in doubt, dont", is a rule in my life I rarely break.
Agree too about the video, not a real situation.

JPG40504 wrote:How ya gonna get callouses by wearing gloves?:rolleyes:

Playing your guitar.

I used to not wear gloves for anything that didn't obviously require them. Like a job I had where I spent the entire day working with 1/2 inch rebar. I could wear out a pair of leather gloves in a day on that job.

One day it dawned on me that it is pretty stupid to not protect my hands. I have slowly come around to the idea that gloves. Are just part of the cost of things and if I don't where them the cost is higher paid in injury and my health.

I've not used them near as much for woodworking as I probably should. I cut myself pretty badly once on a piece of oak I had just run through a jointer. If I had been wearing gloves this would not have happened.

So, I tend to agree with rbursek.

If I cut one of my fingers on my left hand I can't play my guitar.

OK. I shoulda prefaced my "no gloves" comment with "In my shop".
I consider them a safety hazard, but that's only my opinion.

Dusty, I got the sleeve of a sweatshirt caught between the sandpaper roller and the table on my flat sander. I still wear sweatshirts in the shop but push the sleeves up when using that sander. The offending sleeves, of the one that got caught, have been cut off. It's a rather stylish look, I think.

Gene Howe wrote:OK. I shoulda prefaced my "no gloves" comment with "In my shop".
I consider them a safety hazard, but that's only my opinion.

Dusty, I got the sleeve of a sweatshirt caught between the sandpaper roller and the table on my flat sander. I still wear sweatshirts in the shop but push the sleeves up when using that sander. The offending sleeves, of the one that got caught, have been cut off. It's a rather stylish look, I think.

I understand that long sleeves are a potential accident in the making. I seldom wear long sleeves "in the shop" and when I do I am extra cautious (depending on what I am doing).

The training (disciplines) that I received during my early years of wood working have not left me. My shop teacher (for 4 years) was anal about safety. Students who did not learn to comply were dismissed from class.

Guitar playing=no or artificial finger nails!!!
Lets put the long sleeves in perspective. I wear them in the cooler season in the shop, but it is a long sleeve T shirt usually, which they fit pretty close to the skin. If a long sleeve is large/loose fitting like some womans Chiffon dress sleeve, or like Peter O Tooles French sleeve and cuff in Mutiny on the Bounty then it maybe a problem.
As stated by JPG and my philosophy in life also, if you rely on that piece of mechanical safety device, instead of yourself and safe practices you will get nailed. Now there is some in between here, I would not want to operate an open blade TS every day, or a jointer without the spring guard plate, you are betting against yourself. By body parts 99% of the time are not near enough to a spinning cutting source to get cut or garment to get snagged. I am not a "turner" yet, winter goal to start, but there is a case in point where that exposed spinning piece has the potential to take a loose piece of clothing and entangle it. Case in point, my nephew, safety conscious, but is a weekend/evening wood worker, does not have an occupation where he is working with tools during the day also like I was. We were setting up his greenie SS, he had on a "hoody" sweat shirt. SS is running, he leaned over it a bit, at this point no tools attached to it, just turning spindles and the PTOs,
I was on the other side of it, facing him, dam if those dangling hoody pull strings "dangling like a plumb bob" down from his throat area, almost get into into the turning quill, if I did not been there and see that just about to happen and grabbed them, who knows!!! When I were one, I hate those loose strings, I tuck them inside the sweat shirt.

rbursek wrote: . . . When I were one, I hate those loose strings, I tuck them inside the sweat shirt.

Me too!!!!!!!!!;)

I like short sleeved sweatshirts. Hard to find. Have only seen them one place(vanity fair). Made by LEE as I recall. Great for the middle layer of three. No they do not have hoods.



P.S. I never was one!

rbursek wrote:BTW, Slaterville Springs NY, Finger Lake country, BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks. Years ago I spent a few hours up in Germantown. That area seemed peaceful. Every place has its special charm but yes, we like it here for many reasons. The scenery and abundant hardwood are just a couple.

I appreciate everyone's input on shop safety. There are so many aspects to consider. For example on the table saw proper use of the blade guards, the riving knife, featherboards, push sticks, eye and ear protection can make you pretty safe, but understanding the importance of your stance and follow through is also important. I'll get into that more in a minute.

To me, it's important to learn WHY the safety equipment is important and HOW it protects you. Before you even go that far, it's important to consider things such as proper blade alignment and understand what improper blade alignment can do. It's all daunting to beginners, which is why most of us had a mentor of some kind, perhaps a close relative or school instructor, to watch out for danger, or so we thought.

After awhile, safety becomes intuitive, doesn't it? It can be hard to teach, but it boils down to questions like "Am I ready? Is this a safe way to accomplish the task? Is this the right tool for the job?"

Sometimes the intuition develops from what JPG calls "sudden enlightenment." In 1997, I had a near miss. I was working on a jewelry box project and needed to rip a thick piece of purpleheart into a thinner section for the sides. Unfortunately, I didn't yet own any kind of planer, jointer, or bandsaw or even know any neighbors that did. My dull hand saw didn't stand a chance of making a straight cut through such durable wood.

However, I did posses a cheap Skil table saw. I removed the blade guard and planned to make several passes raising the blade each time to sneak up towards the middle of the board then flip it over and repeat. Then I would simply slice out the center section with my hand saw. I commenced with the plan... bad idea!

As I was pushing the board through the blade in a fairly deep cut, the motor suddenly bogged down to a loud hum and the board started to lift up off the table. In an instant I was simultaneously loosing my grip and moving to kill the power. But before I could touch the power switch the board had shot across the basement and smashed into the concrete wall behind me. It struck so hard that a small chunk of the wall fell out and bounced onto the floor. I stood dumbfounded as the table saw motor wound down. I felt stupid and lucky at the same time. Kickback is scary!

What happened? I had encountered a new concept... case hardening! Whoa... what the... never saw that before. Solution? Use the right tool for the job. Workaround? I kept the stock thick and made a very heavy and fat-sided box. Why wasn't I hurt? I had stood off to the side of the board as I cut it... that and a bit of good fortune saved me from probable harm.

Anyhow, that's my safety story for today.

dstensland wrote:Thanks. Years ago I spent a few hours up in Germantown. That area seemed peaceful. Every place has its special charm but yes, we like it here for many reasons. The scenery and abundant hardwood are just a couple.
. . .

Musta been before unowho lived there!:D