Shop Safety

Sometimes the most important rules are the most obvious--

Keep your hands and fingers out of the way of the sharp and speedy parts of the tools. Always wear eye protection. Operate tools with a sense of common sense, overcautiousness and paranoia.

If you're using a power tool:

Consider that: power off - proper setup is 95%, power on - tool use is 5%. (actual cutting is 2%)

if you find are working close in, you're probably working too close maintain your center of gravity / balance / solid footing when using shop tools. -- don't reach too far away from you.

Maintain constant awareness - beware repetitive tasks (if you are doing repetitive tasks, it's a lot easier to lose your focus)

Always use sharp, well maintained tools and blades. DUll tools and blades *will* bite you, slow you down, ruin your work

Go slowly. Rushing the job will increase injury potential, and ruin your work.

3 rules of a knife / cutting tool always move it away from you keep it sharp never force it

think about how you *will* get injured- you want to make sure the injury is minimal think bandaid not stitches If When you are injured, immediately try to do the following: stop bleeding / keep it clean / elevate above heart

Maintain a huge firstaid kit in the shop - gauze, towels/shop rags, tons of bandaids, tape restock the first aid kit regularly - you will use it all every time there's an injury

Take a first aid class -

Shop tools are DANGEROUS. There is ALWAYS risk involved. Since there's no way to avoid risk - try your best to mitigate potential for injury.

ALWAYS WEAR EYE PROTECTION - one piece of hot steel in the eye will change your life

Remember to remove the key from the chuck. A key in the chuck = hole in the wall or a person

Always secure long hair / tie / hoodie strings / gloves /loose clothing

All three of these: you don't get injured no one else gets injured the equipment doesn't get damaged

Examining the Mantra "repetitive work gets you injured" - Adam Savage

"My brain was like, "Knife shaping protocol in progress, CPU usage 100%" and I just went on as if the grinder was this magical, unseen force that only removes the steel I want it to, and not my flesh. I do the same thing now: I come in for a pass, take a step back, re-orient myself, look at the blade, look at the machine, remember the square footage of skin lost to it, take a breath, come in again and take a step back and so on. Overcautiousness and paranoia does it."