This morning, I saw a post from Tom Iovino over at the Modern Woodworkers Association putting out a call for woodworking bloggers to share their shop safety tips.
My safety tips start at the shop door. I have a basket mounted next to the door with the basic safety supplies needed. First, I have several pairs of safety glasses hanging from the basket. It serves as a reminder to grab a pair every time I walk into the shop. I make sure I have a few extras for anybody who comes in to help out or hang out. I am also notorious for setting my glasses down someplace in the shop and losing them. With the extras hanging up, I always have another pair handy to grab without having to break my workflow to look all over the shop for the lost pair.
Also hanging from the basket is the remote control to my dust collection system. Good dust collection is a whole other safety topic.
In the basket, I have a few other things, including my respirator, which has a dual purpose of keeping out the dust and keeping the VOCs from finishing. When I have the carbon filters on, I keep them in a Ziploc bag because the air exposure shortens the life of the carbon. The blue bag is a basic first aid kit, it is in the basket for obvious reasons, and of course my hearing protection. However, the most important safety accessory in the basket is the remote to my shop TV. This is to protect my sanity so I have a place to hang out when my wife and kids start to drive me crazy.
On the other side of the door, I have a fire extinguisher, something every shop should have. I also have a cap on both ends of the PVC pipe with a slot cut in the top to discard used razor blades. There’s nothing worse than taking the trash out and having a discarded razor blade cut the bag open, dumping all your trash on the floor. Worse yet, you go to smash the trash down in the can, and that blade pokes through the bag, slicing into your hand. The materials to make this blade disposal container are less than the average copay at the ER when getting stitches.
Bottom line: keep your safety gear within easy reach.
“And remember this, there is no more important safety rule than to wear these…Safety Glasses,”
– Norm Abram, The New Yankee Workshop.
Great tips and idea. Safety first they say. A friend of mine had a severe injury not long ago and now I am looking at such tips.
Bottom line; keep your safety gear within easy reach. That is a must!