This past weekend I was ripping a fairly narrow piece of spruce for some dreadnaught X-braces on my table saw. I was using a push stick from the back side with my right hand and steadying the side of the wood with my left hand. I was concerned about making sure that the small piece did not kick back and for some stupid reason moved the index finger of my left hand into the blade. Luckily, I had set the depth of the blade properly and it just cleared the stock so the cut wasnt nearly as bad as it could have been. A trip to the emergency room, 7 stitches and a lesson learned, I am back in the shop but I just wanted to post this as a warning to all the builders on the cafe.
Like most of you I am sure, I have grown up around woodworking machines and was taught by my father and his father that they must be respected. I believe however its possible to create a very dangerous situation when you fall into a comfort zone with your machines and then become careless. This is without a doubt what happened to me.
The picture I have posted is of a small drop of blood on my workbench that is directly behind my table saw and will be left "as is" in my shop to serve as a reminder to me in the future. I thought perhaps the picture may also remind some you folks to also think twice before flipping the "on" switch.
thks, ken hooper
Bookmarks