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Hey, it just may catch the attention of some jackass out there who thinks all this stuff is a hoot.. and wind up saving the jackass’ family a whole lot of pain!
@@jelliebird37 Good comment, well said! I’ve heard too many times from fellow tradespeople, “I aint got time to fool with safety stuff,” or “ Safety stuff makes it unsafe for me”. FOOLS!
If this video can save one incident , then it's well worth the effort. Cause I have seen jackass lasted only half a day on the job site. And then those came not to work but to trade parts of their bodies for insurance claims so that they never had to work again. No joke.
Here's my simple contribution to your list. When I finish using my table saw, I always lower the blade below the surface. A stationary table saw blade is still sharp and you can easily cut a finger by just brushing over it. It also prevents injury from someone accidentally flipping the switch.
I've only been woodworking for 6 years. I've had one or two close calls. The most frightening was making a miter cut and forgot to adjust my fence on the sliding miter saw. It threw it across the room and damage the end. One of my most disturbing memories 6 years old in 1970. My father came running up the stairs hollering for my mother because a circular saw add cut through three of his knuckles hanging by skin. I used hand saws until I was 30. Someone finally said "you are not your father" however I try to be cautious and aware. I find repetitive cuts are the most likely to come back and bite you in the butt. Thanks for another great video
Yikes, that childhood incident would have made me think twice, too! As fate would have it, despite using both hand tools and power tools about 50/50 over the years, my worst injury came from a hand saw, when I was still getting used to Japanese pull saws. Light contact with the blade on the backs of my fingers, took weeks to heal, left a nasty scar. Lots of nicks with sharp chisels and marking knives. Sat wrong on a pencil once. As far as power tools go, thankfully just a few 1st degree burns from hot drill bits or metal I've been grinding. There have definitely been a few sketchy operations I've done where, in the moment, my spider sense was tingling, but I didn't stop and re-evaluate as I should have. I like to think I've slowed down and become safer with age, but I know I'm still one tiny distracted moment away from losing 20 WPM off my typing speed. Which would be a boon for those who think my comments are too long. ;-)
Urgent care PA here. One I see a lot is failure to wear eye protection. Corneal abrasions suck and are super painful, but that's if you're lucky. A grinder is even worse because those aren't just scratches. Those can be penetrating injuries to your eye if a piece of metal flicks back at you. I can't fix that in clinic and now you're looking at an expensive ED bill and a long night waiting for an ophthalmologist to see you.
I remember a couple of years ago seeing a TH-cam video by a young man who had just purchased a Ryobi fixed based router. Not a trim router but a full sized router. He was so excited to test it out, he was basically crouching with that thing on his lap when he powered it on! Just about every comment was telling him not to do this because it was extremely dangerous. I hope he listened. Great video as always.
Great reminders! Speaking of saw guards over the years I saw a hand full of people use a miter saw where the bald guard was missing. I guess their saw got damaged or just overused and it always made me nervous when I saw some using a miter saw with a missing blade guard, especially when you realize how close your arm and hand gets to the blade when you use it. I even see pawnshops and resellers sell used miter saws with no blade guards, which I think they should not even take those saws.
A great tip to prevent drill binding for cordless drills is to not use the drill setting, but the highest clutch setting. Especially when using bits that are prone to binding. I actually got the tip from an official Makita video way back.
I experienced kickback one of the first times I used a circular saw. That was several years ago and I'm still super wary of the potential to do some serious damage to things and people.
Great episode! I know of or have done many of these things while I was dumb and young, I got lucky. I used to free hand on table saws all the time till I wised up and bought a bandsaw. I had a buddy try to rip me a new one for buying it, not knowing its versatility, I laughed at him then and years later when he understood it!
We had a table saw I used when I was younger. I'm surprised at the number of stupid things I did and walked away without serious injury. I had a piece of wood launched back at me and put a dent in the garage door. Another time, the blade guard bound with the blade and was ripped off and thrown at my head (safety glasses FTW), and then after that, I started using it without a blade guard. Now that I'm trying to do woodworking professionally, I'm terrified to even get another table saw now that I know all the ways it could have, and still could end me!
I appreciate this video. Even though I knew it was unplugged or the battery removed, my gut reaction every time you put your hand near the blades made me cringe. I guess that means I've trained myself well! Growing up, we had a neighbor helping my dad with reshingling our roof. He was resting the nailgun on his leg, wasn't paying attention, pulled the trigger, and put a nail in his leg. If it has "gun" in the name, probably a good idea to never point it at yourself!
I experienced binding on a power drill recently. I wasn't completely over the work area so when it bound up it hit me in the jaw. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't fun either. Lesson learned. Another lesson learned was to wear LEATHER gloves when using a grinding wheel on the grinder which ripped right through the thin gloves I had been wearing. I got a nasty injury to one of my knuckles but had a nice new pair of thick leather gloves the next time I picked up the grinder. These days I use a dust mask more often than not, and if I'm going to wear protective eye wear, it's gotta wrap around to the sides and curve inwards. I've had flying sparks go around the sides of my glasses. Luckily it was from using a small rotary tool so the sparks were tiny, but they stung nevertheless.
@@TheHonestCarpenter You forgot that grinder cutting wheel are date stamped, because the resin breaks down over time as it absorbs moisture. Date should be stamped on the metal ring round the center hole , older that cutting wheel is, easier it shatters. No metal worker consider grinders safe, it is designed to cut anything front of it and as in wood working, leather apron is good safety item.
A less common thing to mention is about thickness planers, bench top or otherwise. Do NOT force a piece in, let it feed, if it isn't feeding for some reason turn the planer off and investigate. I made that mistake, luckily I always stand off to the side, however an edge of the piece I was trying to run caught on the blade drum. It spins backwards of how the piece feeds through so when it caught it launched the piece extremely violently towards me and across my shop. I pulled my hand as I heard the noise but in no way is a human fast enough to get out of the way. I got extremely lucky though with the small amount I was able to move the piece just hit the nail of my pinky finger, smashed a healthy gouge in it but it could have been so much worse considering how the piece of walnut exploded when it hit the wall. Great video with not only good advice but eye opening demonstrations!
paranoid about harming myself with my 1st table saw, I watched hours and hours of workshop H&S videos and even now, it's still an invaluable refresher and reminder to watch these sort of things again. Even if you know all the points covered already, a little refresher helps avoid complacency. stay safe people. :)
Tremendous information. I find it troubling though that unplugging one’s tools must be stressed. If I’m not within sight of the equipment it gets unplugged first. If I’m working on the equipment I check it before even starting.
One overarching mistake that is very common is for people to start using a power tool before really learning how to use it properly. Everyone wants to act like they know, but that ego can end up at the emergency room.
I totally agree, When I was 18 and stupid, I got the ring finger on my right hand caught in a radial arm saw. It cut the tip off diagonally. Learn my lesson young on the hard way. Great suggestions here.
THANK YOU!!! You are absolutely right on target. I learned a long time ago how important it is to develop good safety habits like these. When I started using power tools fifty plus years ago, I made some of these mistakes. Fortunately, I healed from each. That's all it took for me to consciously develop good safety habits. For real. I would only add mistake #11: not staying focused or paying attention. Power tools and distraction are a bad combination. I hope everybody realizes just how important your video is. Thanks again.
Your segment on cutting small pieces on a Miter Saw brought back one horrific memory! I remember seeing someone's DIY TH-cam video using a pencil (with the eraser) as a hold-down tool for small pieces on the miter saw.....I thought it looked a bit suspicious, but did try it once.....and NEVER again. The piece blew up and even cracked the saw's clearance insert! Thankfully I was okay....but that's when I decided to build, and start using a cross-cut sled on my table saw. It's far superior for small pieces, especially using T-Track with hold-down clamps on both sides of the blade, to secure the workpiece throughout the cut.
Recently had a kick up with a small piece on a miter saw. It was at that moment I decided I need a crosscut sled for my table saw and anything small I need to cut till I get the sled will be done by hand saw! Luckily nothing more than an extra gouge happened in the piece I was cutting, but I recognized immediately how much worse that could have turned out.
Great video - full of safety solutions. Thank you! I needed to cut some small pieces on my miter saw, but I first saw how and why to make a zero-clearance table jig for it. Using it, there is no gap behind the cut, so there is protection against the piece fracturing. That plus a hold-down jig from another woodworker holds the little piece down and keeps my fingers five inches from the blade.
I learned a few years ago that I was using a table saw incorrectly and doing some of the stupid things you point out in this video. I'm so grateful I never had an incident that cost me a limb or an eye. Thank you for posting this.
7:20 Excellent suggestions. The other item I would also add is to keep your torque setting as low as possible. I very rarely go above an 8, since that is low enough it won't twist on me.
I did 20 years of Fire & EMS, we responded to what was a house under construction that was accessible 1/2 mile through a mud bog that would one day be a neighborhood. There were 2 people, 1 on either side of a drywall. One person had a nail gun resting on the drywall as the nail gun was heavy & he accidentally pulled the trigger. The nail went through the wall and nailed the other guy through the back of his neck, right next to his spinal cord and had a burning & tingling sensation in all of his extremities. We packaged him and had a helicopter pilot angle in and picked him up. Luckily that pilot said the maneuver was a piece of cake, having been a Vietnam era US Army Med-Evac pilot. The patient lived with only a mild disability, but he was back on the job a few days later after thanking us. God bless Med-Evac pilots and God rest that pilot who died of natural causes.
Insane story! I’ve seen first hand the at nearly anything can happen on job sites. You’re always lucky if it’s just a close call. All the more reason to ALWAYS be safe and cautious. Thanks for writing in!
One of my biggest safety tips is to slow down and never get in a hurry. It doesn't matter how safe your workshop is and how safely you work, when you get in a hurry you cut corners and you don't think before you act and you make really bad mistakes. This is not just a safety tip but it is just a tip in proper productivity because when you screw up you end up having to redo things it becomes pretty expensive to toss away that thing that you've been working on for a while and is now a mess.
Wonderful. If you've done this long enough, you are going to make a mistake or two. Me as well. Mine is using a stop block on a miter saw for repeated cuts. That invites a blade bind if you are not careful. Thank you on PPE. I wear a full face respirator which are not cheap but I almost lost my eyesight with a bad infection from wood dust. I was SO done with that. Now I protect lungs, face and nose and eyes with one PPE setup. Never had problems with eye infections again.
Thank you very much for operational safety and security tips. You are right on very aspect. This past summer, my highly skilled carpenter friend, while cutting a small triangle for a gable tail on miter (mitre) saw, his hand was dragged to the blade, and the tip of his pinky finger was sheared off.
Great list. For #4, drill binding: some drills protect from this. I have a Hilti cordless drill that has ‘active torque control’ - which stops the drill when the body twists suddenly. On a ladder reaching far drilling large holes for running wires … saved me a wrist injury.
That's a great list and your use of examples was most helpful. It was most frustrating though to see some of them that i know I am guilty of. Thank you for emphasizing safety.
I've been using a miter saw for 20 years. A couple months ago I got a kickback that scared the bejeezus out of me, because I stupidly set the board in the wrong position. Luckily the only thing damaged was the wood. Safety is no joke. *Thank you* for pointing out the consequences of taking unnecessary risks.
Great subject for a video. Good job. Personally and from first hand experience...when using corded tools, keep cord away from tool when in operation as you can accidentally cut into it.
Spme people may think they know these situations and cautions, but it never hurts to review them over and over again. Thanks, Ethan, and Happy New Year. Be safe! 👍
Thanks for putting this out! 💯 I would add the most important safety rule to your list: ‘ALWAYS know where your hands are!!! ‘ I would also suggest that when using any miter saw, especially a slider, to keep the head down, as the blade comes to a stop, especially on thin or trim pieces of wood. “It takes too long to do this” is what I hear, but I would counter, a few extra seconds, VS an injury? Cutting dimensional lumber One can usually get away with raising the head, but make sure the trigger is still on until you clear the material. A blade that is coasting down, will more times than not, catch the wood, and send it flying. Please be safe, and leave the Macho shit for the bar after work! Happy New Years !!!
This reminds me of a safety tip I like to break out for miter saw cuts. If you're using a stop block, wait for the blade to *fully* stop before raising it back up. The cutoff can catch between the saw teeth and the stop block and get thrown, hard. It's a nasty surprise. I only had to do this once to lean this. Luckily nobody got hurt except the cutoff.
Glad you weren't hurt! Seems like everyone has a "nasty surprise" experience from a miter saw. A good rule is to never do _any_ kind of material removal until the blade of any tool has coasted to a full stop. It can test your patience waiting for it to wind down, but, as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.
Brilliant. These are every day safety things that we have to follow religously. Only yesterday I had a brad nail stuck in the nailer, so I had to slightly dissassemble. I pulled the battery out entirely to prevent a trigger. Funny, I was still cautious. Stay safe peeps.
Should be careful, the circular saw could’ve knocked you off the ladder or jumped at you my friend. Also, the girl at 8:57 is not using the grinder blade guard
Learning good techniques is a vital part of safe woodworking. I do lots of things on my table saw which requires removal of the blade guard because of the use of various jigs & sleds.
The "FastCap 10 Million Dollar Stick" is a good product for cutting smaller pieces on miter saw. Of course there's still a limit to what you can cut safely, as you say, but this is really helpful when you're on the borderline of what's safe.
Great video. I had a cutoff blade shatter and stick in my shin wearing shorts. Also I’ve had my hands between the blade and fence numerous times. With that said these are good points because I’ve been extremely lucky and dumb. Don’t take shortcuts and always wear PPE like he said. If you don’t you will regret it.
These things do happen. I know a carpenter who nailed his hand to a framing timber and someone had to get a hacksaw to saw through the nail between hand and timber. Not pretty. I've had a damaged grinding wheel explode on me, and one of the pieces went through a plaster ceiling. I'm sure many other people reading this have other examples of what can go wrong.
The few times I've used a circular saw (literally only a handful of times) I waited for the blade to fully stop before setting it down. The guard was fully functional, but it felt wrong to set it down with the blade still moving.
As retired carpenter of forty years with all my digits intact, I’ve seen all of these mistakes. Done a few myself, but was mostly lucky. Worse injury I had was with a belt sander( had my thumb pulled up between belt and chassis from back of tool). Needed skin graph for that abrasive wound. HOLD ON TIGHT TO ALL POWER TOOLS AND USE PPE’s
I want to give you a shout out for figuring out how to do those stupid dangerous things without any risk to you. 👍 I've been using table saws since 1976 and I haven't had a kick back yet. No I'm not better than everyone else. It's from a few reasons. The biggest is if it feels dodgy then I will try to use something else or a different way of accomplishing it. I also always use push sticks and push blocks. This was a great video and I wish ones like this were mandatory when buying a saw.
Great video. Never cut short pieces with a miter saw. Use a tablesaw sled instead. A tablesaw sled is a must in every shop. I have two. One with zero clearance for 90 degree cuts, another one with a wide enough clearance for angled cuts up to 45 degrees.
If there's ever a chance for my drill to bind up, I always mitigate that by holding the drill upside down and activate the trigger with my pinky finger.. If it binds up, it will get pulled out of my fingers, not over torquing my wrist.
I worked on a job site once with a guy that was using a grinder upside down and without a guard. It kicked back and cut him in the throat. He was taken away on an ambulance and almost died of blood loss. Respect your grinders (and everything else you use).
I have always been weary of circular saws. I cut up free wood for my open fire in my front room and primarily cut it to a template size before storing it. I once used a circular saw and it just filled me with fear, I had a piece of wood secured in a Black & Decker workmate and it didn’t work as I expected, I hadn’t seen a tiny nail and it didn’t seem to like cutting the wood. I then vowed not to use a circular saw ever again. Primarily I cut bigger stuff with a bow saw as I can cut fence posts with some ease. I have a couple of hand saws for general cutting and a Bosch Jigsaw that I use for cutting smaller pieces. As we work on projects we sometimes forget to do things. I always stop and unplug my mains operated jigsaw, changing the blade takes a minute or so but the right blades can make a difference too. I always double check to see everything is as it should be. I try to work outside in my small yard as that gives the best possible ventilation. I allow time to set up things and work to a specific routine. All the wood I get is free and I grade it by checking to see what needs doing. I will look for any hidden screws or nails before I mark up with either chalk or a felt marker pen. I put a cross by anything that is a hazard so I know it’s there, sometimes a screw won’t yield and it breaks off. I use my Black & Decker workmate for securing things and if need be some G- clamps too. The one problem I have is that having limited grip in my left hand it can be difficult at times to get as much work done as I would like. I do sometimes find cutting a door to be a challenge but a carpentry saw does a decent job. The use of safety gear is important and we all should see it as an investment and not a chore. I always keep a few pairs of new gloves and eyewear just to be safe. We only have ourselves to blame if things go wrong. I also make a point of using a spade bit to put a pilot hole in the wood I cut so that the fire goes through the wood and not around it, sometimes I put 2 holes in. After the first one I turn the wood 90 degrees and do a second hole so that it will burn easily. It’s also handy when you have a fire burning as you can use the heat being produced to dry out any wood that might still be damp. I would recommend a wheelie bin for drying out wood as you can leave it outside and the sun will dry the wood for you almost like in a kiln. It works very well and is to do. I think we all must understand the task in hand and be careful not to hurry things as that’s how accidents happen, stay safe and thanks for a video.
Dude!! You left out some of the most egregious operator mistakes ever!!!!!!!!! Dangling stuff, like hair (ponytails, long beards, etc), jewelry, cords, long sleeves, baggy clothes, work gloves (never wear gloves around most types of spinning blades/tools). I feel this ammendment needs to be added to the video or make a part 2/B to the video. Cheers, and stay safe.
Another important thing is to keep work space tidy and clean. Sawdust, dirt, cutoffs, etc., on the floor and around machines create multiple hazards like slipping or tripping you definetely not want near running machines
Another tip would be to ensure any cutting blades have stopped moving before approaching the machine. My left hand passed over my table saw one time while the blade was coasting down after making a cut. That thumb is now 1/8 inch shorter than the right hand thumb. Due to the type of cut I was doing, the blade guard was not installed. Lesson learned the hard way.
Omg these clips give me feelings omg 😮 Last time i tried to save someone from such a mistake he went ahead anyways... Got lucky with it but i told him imma leave the room and responsibility 😂
When I was at school, in the woodwork class, I was hit by a piece of timber flying across the room. Another kid was using the the disc sander with undersized timber and it was dragged out of his hand. That accident did me a favour and always made me wary of power tools.
Check Out the ULTIMATE CARPENTRY CHECKLIST!! *Get your free interactive ebook here* :
www.thehonestcarpenter.com/the-ultimate-carpentry-checklist
This *150-item Visual Glossary* covers every important topic in carpentry. Check off the tools you have, the concepts you understand. And if you don't know a topic, just click on it for an explanation. Every carpenter and DIYer needs this free guide!
The first 20 seconds is like “hi I’m the honest carpenter and welcome to jackass”
😂
All in the name of safety 😅
Hey, it just may catch the attention of some jackass out there who thinks all this stuff is a hoot.. and wind up saving the jackass’ family a whole lot of pain!
@@jelliebird37 Good comment, well said! I’ve heard too many times from fellow tradespeople, “I aint got time to fool with safety stuff,” or “ Safety stuff makes it unsafe for me”. FOOLS!
If this video can save one incident , then it's well worth the effort.
Cause I have seen jackass lasted only half a day on the job site.
And then those came not to work but to trade parts of their bodies for insurance claims so that they never had to work again. No joke.
Here's my simple contribution to your list. When I finish using my table saw, I always lower the blade below the surface. A stationary table saw blade is still sharp and you can easily cut a finger by just brushing over it. It also prevents injury from someone accidentally flipping the switch.
As a rookie handyman I can say this channel is an outstanding wealth of information. Thank you!
This channel and Stumpy Nubs are a reference for safety tips.
Thank you, Ron! Good luck with your work this year, and stay safe out there! :)
I've only been woodworking for 6 years.
I've had one or two close calls. The most frightening was making a miter cut and forgot to adjust my fence on the sliding miter saw. It threw it across the room and damage the end. One of my most disturbing memories 6 years old in 1970. My father came running up the stairs hollering for my mother because a circular saw add cut through three of his knuckles hanging by skin.
I used hand saws until I was 30.
Someone finally said "you are not your father" however I try to be cautious and aware. I find repetitive cuts are the most likely to come back and bite you in the butt. Thanks for another great video
Ugh, horror story, Dean! You’re right though-you can never ever be too safe. Especially with a circular saw!
Yikes, that childhood incident would have made me think twice, too! As fate would have it, despite using both hand tools and power tools about 50/50 over the years, my worst injury came from a hand saw, when I was still getting used to Japanese pull saws. Light contact with the blade on the backs of my fingers, took weeks to heal, left a nasty scar. Lots of nicks with sharp chisels and marking knives. Sat wrong on a pencil once. As far as power tools go, thankfully just a few 1st degree burns from hot drill bits or metal I've been grinding. There have definitely been a few sketchy operations I've done where, in the moment, my spider sense was tingling, but I didn't stop and re-evaluate as I should have. I like to think I've slowed down and become safer with age, but I know I'm still one tiny distracted moment away from losing 20 WPM off my typing speed. Which would be a boon for those who think my comments are too long. ;-)
Urgent care PA here. One I see a lot is failure to wear eye protection. Corneal abrasions suck and are super painful, but that's if you're lucky. A grinder is even worse because those aren't just scratches. Those can be penetrating injuries to your eye if a piece of metal flicks back at you. I can't fix that in clinic and now you're looking at an expensive ED bill and a long night waiting for an ophthalmologist to see you.
Excellent advice Ethan! You'll never know how much pain you have prevented.
Another danger is loose clothing, especially on arms with a table saw.
I remember a couple of years ago seeing a TH-cam video by a young man who had just purchased a Ryobi fixed based router. Not a trim router but a full sized router. He was so excited to test it out, he was basically crouching with that thing on his lap when he powered it on! Just about every comment was telling him not to do this because it was extremely dangerous. I hope he listened. Great video as always.
This was a great video and every shop class in the country should be required to show it!
Thank you! I hope they do. 🙂
Great reminders! Speaking of saw guards over the years I saw a hand full of people use a miter saw where the bald guard was missing. I guess their saw got damaged or just overused and it always made me nervous when I saw some using a miter saw with a missing blade guard, especially when you realize how close your arm and hand gets to the blade when you use it. I even see pawnshops and resellers sell used miter saws with no blade guards, which I think they should not even take those saws.
A great tip to prevent drill binding for cordless drills is to not use the drill setting, but the highest clutch setting. Especially when using bits that are prone to binding. I actually got the tip from an official Makita video way back.
That's a great tip! I've talked about the clutch a lot in other videos and courses. It's an underutilized feature!
I have never thought about that but I will do it from now on.
Excellent video for amateur DIY-er who has used drill for the first time at age of 45 =) Now I am sure that I will not die.
Thank you! I’m still a firm advocate that all these tools can be used very safely with no injuries ever! 😄
I experienced kickback one of the first times I used a circular saw. That was several years ago and I'm still super wary of the potential to do some serious damage to things and people.
I had a hammer drill catch a piece of rebar while drilling in a concrete ceiling years ago. It literally tried spinning the ladder with me on it.
Great episode! I know of or have done many of these things while I was dumb and young, I got lucky. I used to free hand on table saws all the time till I wised up and bought a bandsaw. I had a buddy try to rip me a new one for buying it, not knowing its versatility, I laughed at him then and years later when he understood it!
We had a table saw I used when I was younger. I'm surprised at the number of stupid things I did and walked away without serious injury. I had a piece of wood launched back at me and put a dent in the garage door. Another time, the blade guard bound with the blade and was ripped off and thrown at my head (safety glasses FTW), and then after that, I started using it without a blade guard. Now that I'm trying to do woodworking professionally, I'm terrified to even get another table saw now that I know all the ways it could have, and still could end me!
This is now my favorite video. As I continue to develop my woodworking skills and knowledge, I will take this information with me. GREAT VIDEO! ❤
Thank you, Beverly! More like this coming soon. 😄
Cutting disc breaking into a thousand pieces is seriously overlooked by a lot of people.
Discs are cheap, if in doubt change it out.
portabands aren't all that expensive, either. and they don't throw sparks.
I appreciate this video. Even though I knew it was unplugged or the battery removed, my gut reaction every time you put your hand near the blades made me cringe. I guess that means I've trained myself well! Growing up, we had a neighbor helping my dad with reshingling our roof. He was resting the nailgun on his leg, wasn't paying attention, pulled the trigger, and put a nail in his leg. If it has "gun" in the name, probably a good idea to never point it at yourself!
I experienced binding on a power drill recently. I wasn't completely over the work area so when it bound up it hit me in the jaw. It wasn't too bad, but it wasn't fun either. Lesson learned. Another lesson learned was to wear LEATHER gloves when using a grinding wheel on the grinder which ripped right through the thin gloves I had been wearing. I got a nasty injury to one of my knuckles but had a nice new pair of thick leather gloves the next time I picked up the grinder. These days I use a dust mask more often than not, and if I'm going to wear protective eye wear, it's gotta wrap around to the sides and curve inwards. I've had flying sparks go around the sides of my glasses. Luckily it was from using a small rotary tool so the sparks were tiny, but they stung nevertheless.
Excellent video. Great for beginners and average joes like me.
Thank you, Michael! Stay safe out there 🙂
@@TheHonestCarpenter You forgot that grinder cutting wheel are date stamped, because the resin breaks down over time as it absorbs moisture.
Date should be stamped on the metal ring round the center hole , older that cutting wheel is, easier it shatters.
No metal worker consider grinders safe, it is designed to cut anything front of it and as in wood working, leather apron is good safety item.
Great list. Accidents are (practically all the time) preventable with proper procedure.
A less common thing to mention is about thickness planers, bench top or otherwise. Do NOT force a piece in, let it feed, if it isn't feeding for some reason turn the planer off and investigate. I made that mistake, luckily I always stand off to the side, however an edge of the piece I was trying to run caught on the blade drum. It spins backwards of how the piece feeds through so when it caught it launched the piece extremely violently towards me and across my shop. I pulled my hand as I heard the noise but in no way is a human fast enough to get out of the way. I got extremely lucky though with the small amount I was able to move the piece just hit the nail of my pinky finger, smashed a healthy gouge in it but it could have been so much worse considering how the piece of walnut exploded when it hit the wall. Great video with not only good advice but eye opening demonstrations!
Very useful info for all diy guys. Just realized that today I did small wood sanding using Dremel without glasses
paranoid about harming myself with my 1st table saw, I watched hours and hours of workshop H&S videos and even now, it's still an invaluable refresher and reminder to watch these sort of things again. Even if you know all the points covered already, a little refresher helps avoid complacency. stay safe people. :)
Tremendous information. I find it troubling though that unplugging one’s tools must be stressed. If I’m not within sight of the equipment it gets unplugged first. If I’m working on the equipment I check it before even starting.
One overarching mistake that is very common is for people to start using a power tool before really learning how to use it properly. Everyone wants to act like they know, but that ego can end up at the emergency room.
Absolutely right! Happens very often, that ego gets on the way.
I totally agree, When I was 18 and stupid, I got the ring finger on my right hand caught in a radial arm saw. It cut the tip off diagonally. Learn my lesson young on the hard way. Great suggestions here.
Ugh, sorry to hear that Rob! I’ve had my close calls. One of the reasons I wanted people to see the actual potential of these mistakes in this video!
So many wise words and some eye openers that I never thought of. Thanks for this nice video.
THANK YOU!!! You are absolutely right on target. I learned a long time ago how important it is to develop good safety habits like these. When I started using power tools fifty plus years ago, I made some of these mistakes. Fortunately, I healed from each. That's all it took for me to consciously develop good safety habits. For real. I would only add mistake #11: not staying focused or paying attention. Power tools and distraction are a bad combination.
I hope everybody realizes just how important your video is. Thanks again.
Your segment on cutting small pieces on a Miter Saw brought back one horrific memory! I remember seeing someone's DIY TH-cam video using a pencil (with the eraser) as a hold-down tool for small pieces on the miter saw.....I thought it looked a bit suspicious, but did try it once.....and NEVER again. The piece blew up and even cracked the saw's clearance insert! Thankfully I was okay....but that's when I decided to build, and start using a cross-cut sled on my table saw. It's far superior for small pieces, especially using T-Track with hold-down clamps on both sides of the blade, to secure the workpiece throughout the cut.
Recently had a kick up with a small piece on a miter saw. It was at that moment I decided I need a crosscut sled for my table saw and anything small I need to cut till I get the sled will be done by hand saw! Luckily nothing more than an extra gouge happened in the piece I was cutting, but I recognized immediately how much worse that could have turned out.
Thank you very much for taking the time to do this!
Great video - full of safety solutions. Thank you! I needed to cut some small pieces on my miter saw, but I first saw how and why to make a zero-clearance table jig for it. Using it, there is no gap behind the cut, so there is protection against the piece fracturing. That plus a hold-down jig from another woodworker holds the little piece down and keeps my fingers five inches from the blade.
Thank you. Im a NEW woodworker and you have helped me learn the skill and be safe.
Thanks Ethan, great video and excellent demonstrations. Cheers
Thanks. I really appreciate this video. I’m a beginner building my first workshop, so this has given me a lot of food for thought.
Great video. Can I just add, be careful holding wood when you drill into it. Don't ask me how I know.
I learned a few years ago that I was using a table saw incorrectly and doing some of the stupid things you point out in this video. I'm so grateful I never had an incident that cost me a limb or an eye. Thank you for posting this.
Even if you know what you’re doing, these sorts of videos should revisited on a very regular basis. Everyone gets complacent from time to time.
You are right, I think it could be worse the more experienced you are especially if you get cocky or complacent.
7:20 Excellent suggestions. The other item I would also add is to keep your torque setting as low as possible. I very rarely go above an 8, since that is low enough it won't twist on me.
I did 20 years of Fire & EMS, we responded to what was a house under construction that was accessible 1/2 mile through a mud bog that would one day be a neighborhood. There were 2 people, 1 on either side of a drywall. One person had a nail gun resting on the drywall as the nail gun was heavy & he accidentally pulled the trigger. The nail went through the wall and nailed the other guy through the back of his neck, right next to his spinal cord and had a burning & tingling sensation in all of his extremities. We packaged him and had a helicopter pilot angle in and picked him up. Luckily that pilot said the maneuver was a piece of cake, having been a Vietnam era US Army Med-Evac pilot. The patient lived with only a mild disability, but he was back on the job a few days later after thanking us. God bless Med-Evac pilots and God rest that pilot who died of natural causes.
Insane story! I’ve seen first hand the at nearly anything can happen on job sites. You’re always lucky if it’s just a close call. All the more reason to ALWAYS be safe and cautious. Thanks for writing in!
Good video. I learned some new things to help me work safely.
Great video ! I've been doing a lot of those mistakes.
One of my biggest safety tips is to slow down and never get in a hurry. It doesn't matter how safe your workshop is and how safely you work, when you get in a hurry you cut corners and you don't think before you act and you make really bad mistakes. This is not just a safety tip but it is just a tip in proper productivity because when you screw up you end up having to redo things it becomes pretty expensive to toss away that thing that you've been working on for a while and is now a mess.
Safety first is a must! I work in the E.R.
Thank you Joyce! I’ve talked to a number of ER staff over the years about construction injuries. True horror stories. Stay safe!
Wonderful. If you've done this long enough, you are going to make a mistake or two. Me as well. Mine is using a stop block on a miter saw for repeated cuts. That invites a blade bind if you are not careful.
Thank you on PPE. I wear a full face respirator which are not cheap but I almost lost my eyesight with a bad infection from wood dust. I was SO done with that. Now I protect lungs, face and nose and eyes with one PPE setup. Never had problems with eye infections again.
Thank you very much for operational safety and security tips. You are right on very aspect. This past summer, my highly skilled carpenter friend, while cutting a small triangle for a gable tail on miter (mitre) saw, his hand was dragged to the blade, and the tip of his pinky finger was sheared off.
One more reason to wear PPE. Hearing loss and loss of vision are risk factors for dementia.
Great list. For #4, drill binding: some drills protect from this. I have a Hilti cordless drill that has ‘active torque control’ - which stops the drill when the body twists suddenly. On a ladder reaching far drilling large holes for running wires … saved me a wrist injury.
Great video that all DIY folks should watch/watch again from time-to-time as good reminders! Thank you.
Just in time before all these presents are going to be used. Thanks!
Rest in Peace Power Tools...The Circular kicking back is always a bad situation. Thanks for the video.
Thank you sir. Great advice and great channel. I have the checklist and will use it.
Thank you, Chris! We hope it serves you well! 🙂
That's a great list and your use of examples was most helpful.
It was most frustrating though to see some of them that i know I am guilty of. Thank you for emphasizing safety.
I've been using a miter saw for 20 years. A couple months ago I got a kickback that scared the bejeezus out of me, because I stupidly set the board in the wrong position. Luckily the only thing damaged was the wood. Safety is no joke. *Thank you* for pointing out the consequences of taking unnecessary risks.
Excellent video and examples. Well done!
Superb reminder. And one we always need to review regularly.
Great subject for a video. Good job.
Personally and from first hand experience...when using corded tools, keep cord away from tool when in operation as you can accidentally cut into it.
Spme people may think they know these situations and cautions, but it never hurts to review them over and over again. Thanks, Ethan, and Happy New Year. Be safe! 👍
Yes, it was a scary tutorial, but a very necessary and helpful one. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for putting this out! 💯
I would add the most important safety rule to your list: ‘ALWAYS know where your hands are!!! ‘
I would also suggest that when using any miter saw, especially a slider, to keep the head down, as the blade comes to a stop, especially on thin or trim pieces of wood. “It takes too long to do this” is what I hear, but I would counter, a few extra seconds, VS an injury? Cutting dimensional lumber One can usually get away with raising the head, but make sure the trigger is still on until you clear the material. A blade that is coasting down, will more times than not, catch the wood, and send it flying. Please be safe, and leave the Macho shit for the bar after work! Happy New Years !!!
This reminds me of a safety tip I like to break out for miter saw cuts. If you're using a stop block, wait for the blade to *fully* stop before raising it back up. The cutoff can catch between the saw teeth and the stop block and get thrown, hard. It's a nasty surprise. I only had to do this once to lean this. Luckily nobody got hurt except the cutoff.
Glad you weren't hurt! Seems like everyone has a "nasty surprise" experience from a miter saw. A good rule is to never do _any_ kind of material removal until the blade of any tool has coasted to a full stop. It can test your patience waiting for it to wind down, but, as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.
grateful for you!
Thank you for watching!
Brilliant. These are every day safety things that we have to follow religously.
Only yesterday I had a brad nail stuck in the nailer, so I had to slightly dissassemble. I pulled the battery out entirely to prevent a trigger. Funny, I was still cautious.
Stay safe peeps.
I do the same thing! Power source out before every jam clearance :)
Drill binding is really fun when on a ladder and even better while reaching.
ask me how I know.
Nicely presented. Impossible not to watch from start to end. Improbable to follow all of them in real life 😞
Just take it slow every time you use a saw!
Should be careful, the circular saw could’ve knocked you off the ladder or jumped at you my friend. Also, the girl at 8:57 is not using the grinder blade guard
Always great content!
Learning good techniques is a vital part of safe woodworking. I do lots of things on my table saw which requires removal of the blade guard because of the use of various jigs & sleds.
Honestly I do too. I talked about that in my controversial cutting techniques video. Just keep the riving knife on at least-that’s my policy!
The "FastCap 10 Million Dollar Stick" is a good product for cutting smaller pieces on miter saw. Of course there's still a limit to what you can cut safely, as you say, but this is really helpful when you're on the borderline of what's safe.
Excellent list, thank you!
Thanks for daily reminder of safety.
Outstanding video for us novices.
Great video. I had a cutoff blade shatter and stick in my shin wearing shorts. Also I’ve had my hands between the blade and fence numerous times. With that said these are good points because I’ve been extremely lucky and dumb. Don’t take shortcuts and always wear PPE like he said. If you don’t you will regret it.
These things do happen. I know a carpenter who nailed his hand to a framing timber and someone had to get a hacksaw to saw through the nail between hand and timber. Not pretty. I've had a damaged grinding wheel explode on me, and one of the pieces went through a plaster ceiling. I'm sure many other people reading this have other examples of what can go wrong.
Always good important information, Thank you
Great video 👍I appreciate your tool sacrifice in the making of it
Great video reminding us no matter how experienced to use some safety protocols. Thank you. What was tue face mask you wore?
Thank you! I think that’s a base camp. Pretty affordable, and it has multiple carbon filters
The few times I've used a circular saw (literally only a handful of times) I waited for the blade to fully stop before setting it down. The guard was fully functional, but it felt wrong to set it down with the blade still moving.
That’s the right idea!
As retired carpenter of forty years with all my digits intact, I’ve seen all of these mistakes. Done a few myself, but was mostly lucky. Worse injury I had was with a belt sander( had my thumb pulled up between belt and chassis from back of tool). Needed skin graph for that abrasive wound. HOLD ON TIGHT TO ALL POWER TOOLS AND USE PPE’s
Advice well received. Thanks.
excellent tips! thank you very much! happy new year to you!!
Thanks Ethan! Top notch advice as usual👍🏻
I want to give you a shout out for figuring out how to do those stupid dangerous things without any risk to you. 👍
I've been using table saws since 1976 and I haven't had a kick back yet.
No I'm not better than everyone else. It's from a few reasons. The biggest is if it feels dodgy then I will try to use something else or a different way of accomplishing it. I also always use push sticks and push blocks.
This was a great video and I wish ones like this were mandatory when buying a saw.
Thank you for creating this video!
Great video. Never cut short pieces with a miter saw. Use a tablesaw sled instead. A tablesaw sled is a must in every shop. I have two. One with zero clearance for 90 degree cuts, another one with a wide enough clearance for angled cuts up to 45 degrees.
#10 wear proper PPE. I'm good at eye protection, but am bad about respirator and ear muffs. I have both easily accessable. Thanks for the reminder.
Thank you good person. A stitch in time can save 9 and, in this caes, your life.
Great advice 👍
Awesome information thanks
If there's ever a chance for my drill to bind up, I always mitigate that by holding the drill upside down and activate the trigger with my pinky finger.. If it binds up, it will get pulled out of my fingers, not over torquing my wrist.
I worked on a job site once with a guy that was using a grinder upside down and without a guard. It kicked back and cut him in the throat. He was taken away on an ambulance and almost died of blood loss. Respect your grinders (and everything else you use).
Very helpful. Thank you.
I have always been weary of circular saws. I cut up free wood for my open fire in my front room and primarily cut it to a template size before storing it. I once used a circular saw and it just filled me with fear, I had a piece of wood secured in a Black & Decker workmate and it didn’t work as I expected, I hadn’t seen a tiny nail and it didn’t seem to like cutting the wood. I then vowed not to use a circular saw ever again. Primarily I cut bigger stuff with a bow saw as I can cut fence posts with some ease. I have a couple of hand saws for general cutting and a Bosch Jigsaw that I use for cutting smaller pieces. As we work on projects we sometimes forget to do things. I always stop and unplug my mains operated jigsaw, changing the blade takes a minute or so but the right blades can make a difference too. I always double check to see everything is as it should be. I try to work outside in my small yard as that gives the best possible ventilation. I allow time to set up things and work to a specific routine. All the wood I get is free and I grade it by checking to see what needs doing. I will look for any hidden screws or nails before I mark up with either chalk or a felt marker pen. I put a cross by anything that is a hazard so I know it’s there, sometimes a screw won’t yield and it breaks off. I use my Black & Decker workmate for securing things and if need be some G- clamps too. The one problem I have is that having limited grip in my left hand it can be difficult at times to get as much work done as I would like. I do sometimes find cutting a door to be a challenge but a carpentry saw does a decent job. The use of safety gear is important and we all should see it as an investment and not a chore. I always keep a few pairs of new gloves and eyewear just to be safe. We only have ourselves to blame if things go wrong. I also make a point of using a spade bit to put a pilot hole in the wood I cut so that the fire goes through the wood and not around it, sometimes I put 2 holes in. After the first one I turn the wood 90 degrees and do a second hole so that it will burn easily. It’s also handy when you have a fire burning as you can use the heat being produced to dry out any wood that might still be damp. I would recommend a wheelie bin for drying out wood as you can leave it outside and the sun will dry the wood for you almost like in a kiln. It works very well and is to do. I think we all must understand the task in hand and be careful not to hurry things as that’s how accidents happen, stay safe and thanks for a video.
Outstanding video.
Thanks so much! 🙏
Had a close call with a brad nailer just how you described. A moment of complacency is all it takes
6:21 you forgot to say "with the business end facing away from you"
this video was scarier than watching a Hollywood horror movie....
Good point! It was terrifying to make this. But thought it was very necessary to show what actually happens in some cases 😪
Dude!! You left out some of the most egregious operator mistakes ever!!!!!!!!!
Dangling stuff, like hair (ponytails, long beards, etc), jewelry, cords, long sleeves, baggy clothes, work gloves (never wear gloves around most types of spinning blades/tools). I feel this ammendment needs to be added to the video or make a part 2/B to the video. Cheers, and stay safe.
Another important thing is to keep work space tidy and clean. Sawdust, dirt, cutoffs, etc., on the floor and around machines create multiple hazards like slipping or tripping you definetely not want near running machines
Another tip would be to ensure any cutting blades have stopped moving before approaching the machine. My left hand passed over my table saw one time while the blade was coasting down after making a cut. That thumb is now 1/8 inch shorter than the right hand thumb. Due to the type of cut I was doing, the blade guard was not installed. Lesson learned the hard way.
you are sooo good.. thanks
Thank you!
Omg these clips give me feelings omg 😮
Last time i tried to save someone from such a mistake he went ahead anyways... Got lucky with it but i told him imma leave the room and responsibility 😂
When I was at school, in the woodwork class, I was hit by a piece of timber flying across the room. Another kid was using the the disc sander with undersized timber and it was dragged out of his hand. That accident did me a favour and always made me wary of power tools.