Do You Feel Lucky?

Every time I buy something, I read the manual or manufacturer instructions for operations. It's a habit I acquired years ago and I can't help it. I remember sitting one morning at a café with my wife and two boys. Sitting at a nearby table were a gentleman and his daughter. He was unpacking a toy gift while she was watching anxiously, I think it was some kind of an electronic gadget for kids. I found his behavior interesting since he took the toy out of the box trying to figure out how it worked. He didn't even look at the pile of papers (I assume they were the instructions) he set aside him. After a few minutes of no luck figuring out the toy he opened up the instructions and read them. Two minutes later he was showing his daughter how to turn the toy on and how to operate it. I smiled. I know a few people in my life that do it all the time. They get new tools and try to figure out how they work without reading any of the instructions.

In our trade of wood floors we use both hand and power tools. If we don't fully understand how to use our tools safely we could get hurt or die. It is that simple.

The most dangerous tool in our arsenal is the table saw. More than 30,000 injuries from this saw are treated in hospitals in the United States every year. That is a lot. Why? It is very simple: We use our hands to push a work piece next to a big, rapidly moving sharp blade. Setting aside the arguments surrounding this tool and whether or not the safety guards are practical in the field, here are some basic things you can do to keep yourself safe:

• Read and understand the safety instructions for your tool.
• Don't have anything on you that can get caught in the moving parts (long hair, loose clothing)
• Don't stand behind the blade but instead to its left or right.
• Use a push block. Do not use a push block that only grabs the front edge of the work piece. Use one that holds the work piece down as well.
• Don't work your saw with a dull blade. The blade will most likely jerk the work piece instead of cutting through it.
• Don't cut small pieces on the saw. If you need a small piece, cut a long piece and then cut it to length on the miter saw.
• Remember where the blade is if you are cutting and the blade is buried in the work piece.
• Most importantly: use your brain. What does that mean? It means that when you're cutting you should pay attention to what the work piece is doing once it is passed the blade. Is it starting to close on the blade? Is it wandering away from your fence? Focus on your task and don't be thinking about anything else but where your hands are.

I've had my share (and still do) of minor cuts, splinters and bruises over the years. But you know what? It was only after a close call with the table saw that I changed. It was after years of being in the trade and I fell short of one rule: I didn't grab my push block, which was sitting right next to me. The piece kicked back and sliced the palm of my hand. Had I used my push block I would have been injury-free. Instead, I got my 10 stitches and learned a hard lesson. I was lucky that day. So next time you are using your power tools without following basic safety rules, ask yourself in the words of Clint Eastwood: Do I feel lucky?