For all who got a new power tool from Santa

[CelticRambler]

On the one hand ... ( ? ) this should probably be recommended viewing for everyone with a high-powered tool; on the other, maybe not a great idea to watch it if your belly's still full of Christmas dinner and/or pints.



Something that struck me as interesting: all the "witness statements" come from professional woodworkers/tool-users.

[JayZeus]

I got my SawStop equipped tablesaw about a year ago now. It was bloody expensive (like, 2-10 times what other saws could cost depending on quality/functionality etc), but I will never go back to using a regular tablesaw. Just couldn't take that step backwards. You don't get a license to be an idiot, as it's still a tablesaw and can still hurt you with kickback, but at least it's helped greatly mitigate against the risk of amputations.

I've also paid a lot of attention to the slow killer, dust. Every handheld power tool I use now indoors has good dust collection, with dual stage dust separation/filtration. I've also put Peltor hearing protectors hanging from the power switch boxes on all the workshop machines. That's where I hang them so I'll remember to put on a pair before I run up a noisy tool.

It's not like I walk around wringing my hands and worrying about safety, but it takes seconds to prep and protect against stupid injuries and long term illness.

Unfortunately, I got a bit lax about wearing my safety boots in the workshop over the past few months. I mean, I'm just making furniture etc., right? Well, I'm limping around with a broken big toe at the moment after dropping a half sheet of 18mm MDF onto my foot while wearing a pair of Nike's. The safety boots were sitting beside the door, but I just hadn't put them on as they're uncomfortable when standing all day on a concrete floor compared to some air cushioned runners. Lesson learned. Gel insoles ordered and the safety boots will be part of the gig now.