What power tool are you most cautious with?

[Papa Jim]

I know you should be cautious with all power tools but some (scroll saw) are not capable of as much harm as others (table saw). On the other hand I have a competent wood working friend who says the worse shop injury he ever had was on a drill press!

 I have every major power tool in my shop except a band saw and a lathe. My main reason for not having a lathe is that they seem to be the crack cocaine of woodworking. Once you start turning it seems that's all you want to do.

The band saw is a differnt deal. From time to time I have considered buying one but I always end up counting my fingers and saying---nahhh. I guess I must be afraid of them! It is the only major tool where you are expected to work with you fingers close to the blade (band). If I recall correctly, even as great a woodworker as Sam Maloof sacrificed a digit of two to the bandsaw.

So that got me wondering:

1. Is my concern (maybe fear) about the bandsaw reasonable?

2. What tool tightens up your spincter when you turn it on?

Papa Jim

[Dave Diaman]

Papa Jim, I can honestly say I'm not afraid of any of my tools. Respect, yes, fear no. If you are afraid of a tool you have no business owning it. If you are afraid of it, it will just be a matter of time before it hurts you.

[WaterlooMarc]

I am irrationally afraid of circular saws. Never been hurt by one nor seen anybody hurt by one but they scare the bejesus out of me. I have a Festool that I use with the rail and I'm fine with that but the rub of the mill skilsaw variety I will spend an hour to find a way around using one.

Nothing else really bothers me. As an aside, the only tool that I've ever hurt myself on has been the dang drill press of all things. Didn't clamp a piece down while using a big forstner bit and it grabbed and slung the wood and pulled my hand into the bit. Only took a little chunk out of my thumbnail thankfully but that's been over a decade ago and I think it taught me a valuable and relatively cheap lesson.

[jteneyck]

I have to agree that my new Bandsaw scares the bajeebers out of me when I have it set up to resaw something 12" or more wide.  The 1.3 tpi blade looks like shark teeth ready to slice off anything put into it - and it will.  I love how effortlessly it cuts  but I am extra careful when using it, and I don't think I'll ever get complacent about it.  I hope not.  And it's one reason I'm thinking of getting a power feeder for it, or building a tall "featherboard" for it.  Either would pretty much assure you would have to do something pretty foolish to lose a digit.  

But the machine that always scared me the most was my shaper; probably the major reason I eventually sold it.  I likely would have had a totally different opinion of it had I had a power feeder on it.  But w/o one all I could imagine is what damage it would do with just slip, even with guards on it. 

That's interesting; a power feeder may be the solution in both cases. 

The accidents I've had involved much less intimidating tools, however.  I messed up the ends of a couple fingers with a biscuit jointer; fortunately, no permanent damage.  And chisels must be the invention of Satin himself.  I swear they are pre-programmed to cut me.  

John

[Papa Jim]

Anything with an exposed high speed blade requires respect. If I'm using a router table, especially without a fence, I proceed cautiously. Also of course, it's importent to be aware of your physical and mental state. If you are emotionally upset or physically exhaused by working all day you probably don't need to be running power tools. Some of the best decisions I have made were to turn the tools off, shut down the shop, and go relax.  Typically, this happens when I'm trying to figure out how to do something a little tricky.  Ivariably, the next morning, after a good nights sleep, the safe answer to the problem seems obvious.

[Eurekan]

I have the greatest respect for, and show the most caution around, my RAS. When I was a kid, a friend of the family zigged when he should have zagged and darn near cut off his hand. I bought one later in life and, truth be told, I love it more than any other tool in the shop. But, I never approach my RAS without thinking of James and what happened. If I have to double check the safety for a cut I know I've got to find another way to do it. Passed that message on to my 4 sons and no one has had a scratch from the old girl in 40 years. One son just set up his first shop and I helped acquire his equipment. He wanted nothing to do with a table saw. "I grew up with the RAS and that's what I want" Later he told me how much a pain in the  tush all the safety guards are on that  newer saw.

[Herb G]

Papa Jim,  I can honestly say I'm not afraid of any of my tools. Respect, yes, fear no. If you are afraid of a tool you have no business owning it. If you are afraid of it, it will just be a matter of time before it hurts you.

+1. Well put Dave.

[Steve N]

I'm with Dave that I don't fear any of them, but really do respect all of them. Any powered tool can bite you, actually non powered ones can too. My only injuries in the shop have been with utility knives. Very small injuries, but injuries none the less.

My thoughts about BS safety completely eliminate any pushing close to the blade. I always do that with something sacrificial. A push stick for large items, and I use wooden hand screw clamps a lot on smallish items close to the blade. Plus on resaw, where your chances of the board tipping as you push forward, and suddenly the board is gone, and you are there can be eliminated by tall fences on the guide side, and magnetic finger fences on the outside of the cut just in front of the blade can make a chute, where the stock can only go one place. Sam Maloof used to push with his fingers right through the cut, he had great ideas, and skills, but stupid implementation.

Because of how I work I am most "alert" when I am using a 6" belt sander/disc sander, and spindle sanders. So many times it's hard to steer what you are sanding, without just holding it. and anytime you are close to a machine your chance of getting bitten are higher. I find using the supplied guards, and sacrificial devices with everything else removes you hands from being "right there." Just that distance is the safety you need. That and looking at every cut, or move before you do it, and asking if there is a better/safer way to do that, and of course the most important aspect is having a SOBER, thoughtful, and very much awake presence while in the shop. Tired, preoccupied = injury around the corner.

Fortunately, possibly unfortunately my shop experiences have been supplemented by more than 20 years working in ER's where I heard the stories of how it happened. I have seen the level of injury, just a moments distraction can cause, but mostly I know that it's usually absence of a guard, or consideration of what may go wrong here that got each and every one of those people where they were, and why.

But if you aren't comfortable with doing ANYTHING in the shop I applaud your just staying away from that aspect. I might feel really comfortable doing something, but I am hardly ever using your fingers to do it

[Ozzie Copmol]

I think that the table saw is the one to be feared.

[CanoeBoy]

Well, not a power tool, but the tool that scares me the most is the darn utility knife.  I have lost more blood, had more cuts, and required more medical care due to the knife than any other tool in my shop.  If fact the other day working on my canoe I once again sliced myself open.  I had just got done telling myself don't do that and whack, nice little cut to the bone on my favorite nose cleaning finger.  So yes, I keep plenty of butterfly band-aids around the house.  Even when I worked in a cabinet shop the utility knife was my nemesis.

  As a little kid I would always convince dad to buy me a knife from the campground or some other souvenir shop, and invariably would end up bleeding at some point of the trip.  Mom brought over a box of pocket knives a couple of years ago that she had taken away from me when I was a kid.  She wasn't sure why she had kept them around for 30+ years, but I'm glad she did.

Grandpa use to tell me,"if ya don't bleed once in a while how will know your blood is red".  I think that guy knew pretty well.

If I had to name one tool that got my undies in a bunch it would be the TimeSaver wide belt sander.  Can't tell you how many times I wanted to run someone through that thing