Learn about important woodworking safety tips.
Woodworking is a rewarding and enjoyable hobby that can allow you to hone your craftsmanship skills, create beautiful pieces for your home, and even learn valuable repair techniques that can benefit you all your life. While woodwork is beautiful, fun, and rewarding, it’s important to adhere to some key safety standards. Woodworking is a very safe hobby, but common sense must be used when dealing with many key woodworking tools. Just as with any other craftsman, construction, or contracting activity, safety is key to making sure the work is done well and any potential injuries are avoided. After all, when you’re dealing with sharp tools and often heavy materials is not a good time to be careless. Here are our key woodworking safety tips to help you enjoy this valuable, productive hobby.
Dress Appropriately
When you’re dealing with power tools and saws, it’s important to dress appropriately. This means no loose-fitting, baggy clothes. These can get caught in the machines, causing injury, or at the very least tearing up your clothes. Always remove dangling jewelry like chains, bracelets, and earrings.
Always Wear Safety Equipment
In addition to what not to wear, it’s important you know what kind of safety gear you should wear in a woodworking environment. Ear protection is important when working with loud machinery, and goggles are key for protecting your eyes from flying sawdust and debris that can injure you in a woodworking setting.
Never Reach for a Running Blade
Always wait for a blade to stop moving before reaching for it. This common-sense rule is very important, moving around a sharp blade can be very dangerous. Make sure your blade is off before removing waste or cut-offs.
Never Use Blunt Tools
While it can be dangerous to work with sharp tools like saw blades, a woodworking professional will tell you that it can be a lot more dangerous to use dull blades and bits when woodworking. As blades dull, it can be more difficult to use them, and working them harder can cause them to bind and kickback. This can result in serious injury, so make sure that your tools are sharp enough before embarking on your next project.
Check for Existing Metal
Sawing into a piece of stock that still contains metal, such as nails, screws, or other bits can be extremely dangerous. Not only can sawing into a piece of metal damage your blade and the piece of wood you’re working with, but it can also cause your saw to kick back, resulting in serious injury.
Minimize Distractions
Whenever you work with power tools, it’s important to stay focused. This will help you remain safe around the equipment. For this reason, cutting down on distractions in your woodworking environment is key. Always finish a cut before moving onto something else and be sure to clean your workspace as often as needed.
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