Official Luthiers Forum!

Just wanted to add a little public safety announcement to the forum today. Be careful in your shops folks!

Yesterday, the one tool in my shop that I never thought would bite me, did just that - my drill press!

I had just finished drilling a 3/16" hole in a piece of MDF so I could make a test groove with my circle cutter before making the same cut on my soundboard for my rosette. I finished the hole, blew away the dust, and went to turn off the drill press. I have a large auxiliary table on my floor model drill press,and I had a hand drill over on the one corner. As I made the move to turn off the machine, the hand drill started to fall off of the table. This distracted me just enough that my left hand wandered close to the drill bit......

The tip of the bit grabbed my wedding ring and of course, pulled my hand up. Long story short, I did my best Jesus of Nazareth impression and I have a painful hole through my ring finger and thru my hand.

So my public service announcement is this - not only should you never where gloves in the shop, but take off those wedding bands and rings! Your better half should be understanding when she finds it on the workbench.

Rob

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Rob Flindall
Flindall Guitars
http://www.flindallguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/FlindallGuitars

Yikes! You really have to be aware of what you're doing at all times...

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Steve Sollod (pronounced sorta like "Solid")
www.swiftcreekguitars.com

I have rather longish hair sometimes. Well, few strands got pulled into the top of the drill press one time and yanked my head down onto the top of the mandrel thingy. Ripped my hair out and dinged my forehead. The little strands of hair are still on it as a reminder to me.

Sometimes I'll be drilling into a small rectangular piece of wood and the drill bit will grab it and start spinning it around and smash my hand.

Drill presses aren't "safe". No tool really is.

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Old growth, shmold growth!

Never copy someone else schtick!

Glad it wasn't worse....

I recommend a dead-man, foot switch for a drill press. I use one, and it really makes stopping it, less of an issue, and does not require the moving of your hand off the work.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

I have known several people who are missing a ring finger from the same simple type mistake . It can literally take the finger off. Good Advice Fillippo.

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It's a good practice to never wear rings when you're in the shop. I was told a story once by a shop teacher. His friend was working on a jet engine while on top of scaffolding. He was reaching up working on the engine and the scaffolding began to roll. The ring hung on the threads of a bolt. He ended up grapping a part of the engine and hanging in mid-air. Either that, or losing his ring finger.

Ouch! Indeed, hair ties are as important as safety glasses around spinning things. Mine's up to about 30" long now, so sometimes I even have to tie it up for hand tools just to keep it from blocking my view and getting filled with wood chips

So far the worst I've done was chopping the side of my left index finger tip with an x-acto knife way back on one of my first wood whittlings, due to stupidly holding a small object in my hand while carving on it. No skin lost, and healed up fine without stitches, but still tarnishes my record, especially since I always preach how much safer hand tools are... But I'm working on my 6th guitar now with nothing more than blisters and minor cuts (usually from the wood, rather than tools), so I still say avoid those power tools as much as possible. Love my hand crank drill.

Oh, and don't forget the ear protection around power tools, too! Ears are very valuable things to have in the music business. And anyway, it's a lot more fun to kill them with loud music than with saw noise.

When I go in the shop, I hang my wedding ring and watch on the light switch. It is a good habit to get into and I don't have to worry about losing or forgetting them. When I leave, I have to pich them up to turn out the lights.

Good call on the safety glasses on every power tool, I do that too but am considering just starting a new habit of putting them on as soon as I enter the shop.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I fear that too, but I will say that I have a few pair of very light and not yet scratched up glases, I have found myself forgetting to take off. I even made it to a fastfood joint for lunch once before I realized I had them on.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

Sorry to hear of the accident. Thanks for sharing to keep our minds on safety.

I agree the drill press is one of the more dangerous tools in the shop, like the stories above. A machinist I work with saw an operator wearing gloves that got caught in the bit... flung the operator around, broken bones, etc. Also unless the bit is very small, unsecured work can rotate, lift, whack, and fly -- all faster than you can react.

In our shop we require all jewelry removed (watches, bracelets, necklaces, rings...). Students are told that rings can also strip the flesh off the bone (which is true) -- that seems to make a sizable impact to help remember.

Filippo, nice setup!

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David Malicky

Bryan, I'm sorry you injured yourself, but I'm very thankful that you posted your story. We can never be reminded too many times about shop safety. I doubt there's a totally benign tool in the shop--even hand tools.
I've punctured myself with pencils, cut myself with all manner of sharps, given myself a black eye with a socket wrench, and so many other injuries that could have been more serious (and prevented). And I'm pretty freakish about safety! Drill presses can hurt us in a variety of ways. I've seen them grab unsecured stock and spin it at high velocity, and I wouldn't want to be whacked by a piece of spinning walnut. I once cut the back of my hand on a spade bit that I carelessly left mounted in an UNPLUGGED drill press. It still got me. I think it's real important for beginners to understand that tools are inherently dangerous if improperly used. And it's good for all of us old-timers to be reminded that we can never be complacent about safe procedures.
Patrick

I never use power tools with loose hair... always tie them up. I do have some hair near the forehead that for some reason, would never get long enough to fit into a tie but those are usually short enough where its not a problem unless I put my head very close to the work. However 30" of hair does like to fly around and can and do get caught in spinning things! Segmented ponytails or buns are required in this case.

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
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Anything that moves faster than you and with more power than you should always be treated with respect.

Glad u ok,

Mike

an old timer told me years ago that the drill press is the tool that causes the most accidents because it's so innocuous that people are too casual around it. Things like jointers and table saws are loud with big exposed knives and blades but people don't think of drill bits as dangerous. Some of the worst accidents I've seen have been at the drill press.

I'm sorry about your hand, I hope it heals up good as new. It's good you posted this, it's not worth building guitars if you end up not being able to play the finished product!

loose long sleeves, unbuttoned shirts, necklaces, wristwatches are all real bad too. I had to stop a kid who was wearing a long sleeve, flannel shirt with the wrist unbuttoned who was cutting on our table saw and explain to him how he was very lucky he hadn't pulled his hand straight through the saw blade. I've seen some nasty accidents in my time, these stories just make me cringe.

Well, I picked up a safety tip here. I will put some kind of post on the wall near the light switch to put my ring and watch on. Never thought of that.

Also, since I have been remodeling the shop, gonna add readily accessible fire exstinguishers and a wall mounted first aid kit.

Mike

I had this thing in a drill press vice,
and used these fast feed bits,
and it pulled the piece up out of the vice,
missing my hand by 1/4".
So, even when you're careful,
stuff can happen.
See the big hole in line with the little ones?
I was countersinking for the string balls from the other side,
and the last one grabbed.
Phew!

In knifemaking circles we call this the "Spinning Helicopter of Death".

I still think the power buffer is the most dangerous tool in the shop. I've heard lot's of horror stories about knives being thrown and stuck in concrete walls and floors, or being impaled in someone's hand or leg....

I've only had one accident with the buffer (involving a strung-up guitar) and ever since then I always wear safety glasses while buffing.

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Regards,
Phillip Patton

http://www.pattonblades.com

The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price has faded.

https://hoosierbladesmith.wordpress.com

Safety glasses are necessary with power tools, but don't forget the peaceful go-bar deck. A bar can pop out unexpectedly and cause a lot damage.

Also, for eye safety with all your tools--if you wear regular prescription glasses, it's worth the extra measure of protection to pony up for the polycarbonate lenses.

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Tim Allen
"Never hurry, never rest."

Shaper. That's the most dangerous. Fortunately for us, it's not a critical tool. But the table saw probably causes more accidents given its omnipresence in most wood shops.

Mike

I've got it. The most dangerous tool in the shop is the one you're using wrong or not paying enough attention to. Any tool can be dangerous if used wrong but with the exception of a tool actually breaking under normal operating conditions nearly all shop accidents should be avoidable. I conducted a safety meeting a few weeks back at my shop and told everyone the same thing.

"The tools do not wake up one day and decide that they are going to eat your finger or your hand. The tools are not alive and do not have any malicious intent. When something goes wrong in the shop it is because you are not showing the proper preparation or respect for the tool, or you do not understand the proper way to use it."

The worst accident I've ever seen was when my boss' kid was doing a blind dado 1/2" deep on a piece of solid maple. He had the bulk of the material(it was about 1 1/2" wide overall, and he was removing 3/4" x 1/2" down the whole length) in between the dado stack and the fence and as he got to a point where his hand was directly over the stack the stick bit in and shot back at him so fast that his hand went right into the dado stack.

I drove him to the hospital that day while he held it so tightly that it didn't bleed as bad as you'd think. He didn't let go until the doctor made him and when he did there was nothing on the end of his index finger except for a flap of skin that they just folded over the top.

He didn't even have to do a blind dado on that piece of wood, it was just a cabinet scribe. He was trying to get fancy and had been acting really cocky with the tools before that happened. Even if he had to do a blind dado he would have been much better off making several passes to get to the final dimension. He could have used a hold down or feather board and let the saw wind down while leaving the piece in place. Tools are dangerous, but it's up to us to determine whether that danger lives up to its potential.

The possibility for injury while using a tool is not limited to it's ability to cut, sever or blind the operator. Your hearing can be permanently damaged by not wearing hearing protection. I pretty much keep my headphones on all the time while in my shop. Even a cordless drill is loud enough to do damage to your hearing.
Dust and vapour are another potential hazard that can cause physical damage. Masks and dust collection are a must.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I have one of these as well though I've never used it with the DP (maybe I'll start). I use mine about 100% of the time with a router. Makes life much less stressful.

For those that choose to use one with a router, don't forget to unplug when changing bits!

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Hi guys - thanks for all the well wishes. I haven't responded yet as it's tough to type with your left hand bandaged up.

I've been thinking about my mishap over this past week and really what it boils down to, is that the most dangerous tool in the shop is what's between your ears. And maybe in my case, what wasn't between my ears that day. Lol. I think no matter how many safety precautions we take, if we become complacent, or in my case, distracted, any tool in the shop will bite you. I think we've all had those little wake up calls with the odd nick or cut - but this was a two by four up the side of the head for me. And that's not to say I don't run a safe workshop either. I run a clean shop as that's one of the worst safety violations I can think of. Clutter can kill. As for my tools, I'm extremely cautious and safety orientated. But despite all the precautions one takes, if your head isn't in the game, even for a split second, the potential for injury is huge.

I take my watch off when in the shop, but I haven't been able to get my wedding band off of my finger since my wedding day. I've put on a few pounds since then (my wife is good to me ) and I can't get my ring over the first knuckle. I've been wanting to go in and get it resized, but was reluctant at having it cut off. Call me sentimental. Call me an idiot with a hole in his hand because of it. The jokes have abounded here about the ring and marriage.

Filippo - thanks for the shop safety photos! It's given me some good ideas for improving safety in the shop. I'm wondering if we can get some more shop safety ideas and pics from some of the other members. We have a lot of great guitar building tips on the site - why not extend this to shop safety too?

A tip I can pass on from my experience - always have a roll of those blue shop paper towels lying around or on the wall - those things were phenomenal at stopping the bleeding and didn't leave little blue fibers on the wound when I had to take it off.

As for my hand, I changed the dressing this past Wednesday and had a good look at it for the first time. I think I got very lucky. The entrance wound is small, just under the first knuckle above where my ring was. The bit went down, through and out the other side by the back of the hand where the finger meets the hand. If I didn't have a ring on, I would have gotten a good cut. But because of the ring, the bit grabbed the ring which caused the bit to drive down and through.

Despite all this, I'm headed back out to the workshop for the first time today! There are guitars to be made and they're not making themselves!

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Rob Flindall
Flindall Guitars
http://www.flindallguitars.com
https://www.facebook.com/FlindallGuitars