Safe working doesn't cost stacks of money, Niki, it does however take some investment in thought. I know of few trades woodworkers who are willing or able to expend a huge amount on bought-in safety equipment, myself included, but what is apparent is that some people are totally clueless, others do have an idea but turn a blind eye to safety because they can't be bothered to figure things out - it's easier to ignore a potential problem than design it out at the beginning - whilst there are some who are receptive or thoughtful enough to come up with appropriate solutions.Niki":7538ik6h said:
It isn't a case of "the correct machine for the job". It's actually a case of the safest approach using the equipment to hand. All too often people will simply take a jig out of a magazine without so much as attempting to think about another way there may be to solve a problem - often because they are untaught or self-taught and are simply unaware that there are normally many solutions to a given problem in woodworking. Gadgetitis has a habit of creeping in as well, especially when commercial companies are peddling "instant solutions". A classic example of this is the Grrrripper, a device with some safety flaws designed right in when basic home-made twopenny halfpenny push sticks and a bit of training or reading could achieve the same and more.Niki":7538ik6h said:
The law makers have little to do with this discussion, which is after all a discussion about personal safety. I tend to use examples from the HSE web site as many of the examples shown there can be made in the workshop and are most definitely not bought in solutions. The problem possibly comes from the "instant gratification" some people seem to require from everything they do.Niki":7538ik6h said:
I'll also refer to legislation to illustrate that certain procedures are proscribed for trained, professional woodworkers. Why is that? It's because over a long period (in the case of the UK about a century) a body of evidence has built up which shows some processes to be dangerous, so the law maker's ban them for people working in the trades. Not surprisingly in the 1990s when the various insurers, Trades Unions and safety councils, etc were looking into harmonising regulations for the EU they found that for most EU states similar accidents had occurred and that overall solutions to theses were very similar. At the end of the day the legislators and the courts have decided over many years that "common sense" is no substitute for protection and have acted accordingly. All this is despite the fact that a trained wood machinist is in general going to be a lot more aware of potential hazards than an untrained person.
I have no objection to almost anything people do in their own workshops (let's leave explosives out of this, shall we?), but there is something questionable about people proferring potentially hazardous solutions to others who are not necessarilly aware of any potential pitfalls. That is the blind leading the blind.
If you want a case in point, take your panel width sizing jig which ran with the workpiece on the wrong side of the fence and an unguarded cutter. "Common sense" surely should have dictated that this might be hazardous, or that there were another potential solutions which might be less hazardous. The more obvious solutions would included making a stepped fence for the router table together with a setting jig or to make the cut on a table saw with a micro-adjuster for the rip fence. Gadgetitis again, IMHO
My first thought is actually a question, "was he using the guards?". Often the answer is no. One of the problems about doing any machining job is the number of "inputs" you have to process. If you are concentrating on watching the actual cut being done by an unguarded blade you are not necessarily watching out for you fingers or ensuring that you are in a balanced stance. Putting a guard above a blade has the effect of providing an additional visual and tactile warning of potential danger ahead. Not one less "input" to process, but certainly a "backup system". Unfortunately Commonsense doesn't come as a plug-in for Concentration.Niki":7538ik6h said:
Two more chestnuts trotted out with boring regularity, especially on the American forums. The guards are there to shield you from the cutters and anything which can be ejected from same. Safety begins with mechanical and electrical safety - I'd say that without that anything in your head is of dubious value. Surely a safe system is one where primary safety is designed in.Niki":7538ik6h said:
Another chestnut! I used to be involved in cutting several tons of sheet stock a week. I did experience kickbacks on a few occasions, normally because I was in a hurry or tired and there was a momentary lapse of concentration. Other times it would be because I was cutting a sheet which had case-hardened. The kickbacks weren't major and I never had more than a few blood blisters and the odd cut or so. Just because it hasn't happened to you so far doesn't mean it won't and it is nothing more than foolhardiness to come out with such a comment I feel.Niki":7538ik6h said:
Scrit
, Scrit is pointing out the pit falls of what you are doing and unless you have been taught what they are, you/ some one could find out to late.
