Woodturning Safety Research

[Emiliano Achaval]

I'm doing some research for an upcoming article for Woodturning Magazine. I'm not looking at writing something to scare away newcomers. I want to point out safety issues, and how to avoid them. I also do not want to turn it into a gory and scary read. Nothing like: the RSG broke and hit me in the face, blood all over my smock. It would be: SRG are not to be used on side grain projects, only on end grain, grain running parallel to the ways of the lathe. I purposely said woodturning, we can start with chainsaw safety, what to wear, PPE, etc. In your opinion, what is the most dangerous thing for you in your woodturning world, and how to safely do it? Thanks in advance.

 

[Josh Stevens]

I have a bandsaw tip if we're talking about equipment related to woodturning....
I'm a workshop instructor at a university and one of our bandsaw safety guidelines is to have the blade guides no higher than 3/8" above the material you're cutting. It only takes seconds to adjust the guide height and it limits the amount of exposed blade.

 

[Timothy Allen]

Logging is currently the most dangerous occupation (recently eking ahead of fishing) according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, so for those of us woodturners who fell and buck up trees ourselves (hand raised), that is probably the most dangerous part. How to do it safely? Get your logs delivered to you by somebody else!

In my boat rental business, we deal with a range of customers. There are the rank newbies who know that they do not know what they are doing, and so they tend to be extra cautious; and there are the truly expert seamen who really do know what they are doing, and they are good, too. In between are those who think they know what they are doing, but don't really, and those who should know better but have become complacent. It is these latter two groups who most tend to get in trouble. I think the same concept applies to engaging in any potentially dangerous activity.

So I think Safety is as much (or more) about one's mindset as it is about specific knowledge or experience. Of course these go hand-in-hand: somebody who already has a good safety mindset will seek out the specific knowledge and experiences that will help them improve the safety of any activity they engage in.

OK back to your question, outside of logging and back in the turning shop -- I remember reading somewhere that bandsaws can lead to more accidents than table saws, mainly because many people don't give them the same level of danger-respect as they do table saws. Table saws can fling wood around the shop and mangle your hand pretty badly, but what's a bandsaw going to do to you, right?? (ok that's meant as sarcasm -- take care on the bandsaw!)

At the lathe itself, from some recent stories posted in this forum, and some of my own experiences, I think chucking up a blank of wood -- evaluating the tenon or recess and making sure the blank is not going to come flying off, is a particular hazard to pay attention to. After that, always being aware of the tool in your hand and the placement of it's tip relative to the spinning object on your lathe, particularly when we have stepped back from actual cutting to tend to something else, or when we are getting ready to make the next cut but haven't totally "tuned in" yet...

 

[RichColvin]

Emiliano,

IMHO, I think you should focus on face and limbs.

Limbs: If something can be grabbed by a spinning piece on the lathe, it will at some point.

• Do now wear jewelry including wedding rings.
• Do not wear a watch.
• If you must wear something long sleeved, ensure the sleeves are not baggy. Also ensure that they are cinched around the wrist. Elastic cuffs are best.
• Best practice is to keep the fingers away from the spinning piece. I know some like to feel the object, especially as it is spinning down, but not a good habit to establish. One day you will regret that.

Face:

• Protect yourself from flying objects — either the piece itself, or even parts coming off. And go into woodturning like you do driving: at some point, you will have a problem come up. Plan ahead to minimize the danger from it, but be prepared for it happening. Practices that come to mind for this include using face shield, staying out of the line of spinning, etc.
• Protect yourself from inhaling too much dust, especially fine dust. I believe the standard established by OSHA for wood shops is no more than 1 tablespoon of airborne dust in an 8 hr day for a wood shop the size of a two-car garage.
• As with limbs, keep long hair away from the machine. Tie it back or up. Don’t worry, wood turning is not a beauty contest.

The other two areas to mention are include using sharp tools and taking small steps in one’s learning. Building the skills to enable approaching a piece confidently with a plan in mind can help a lot.

Good topic to cover.

Rich

 

[Mark Jundanian]

Emiliano, it's going to be a long article, there is lots to cover. And there are some differences of opinion that you may find yourself needing to address.

Just an example, Rich mentions:

If you must wear something long sleeved, ensure the sleeves are not baggy. Also ensure that they are cinched around the wrist.

My wife was wearing a knit top with elastic cuffs and got her sleeve caught on the chuck. So since then our view has been you must not wear long sleeves.

For the european safety agencies either safety glasses or a face shield is required, but OSHA requires both.

And then there are some myths to sort out. e.g. Ordinary glasses. They are not the same as safety glasses just because they have shatter resistant lenses.

 

[William Rogers]

Well my most dangerous thing is wood dust. A PAPR system is the best, however a half mask with good filters is a minimum.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

Poorly supported, irregular shaped objects on the bandsaw seems to be my bugaboo. It always seems like it should work...

Working in a cluttered workspace (full of power cords, light stands, dust collection equipment, etc) seems to confer advantages, objects coming off the lathe bounce off a number of other things before they get to me, using up a lot of their kinetic energy.

I always worry about that advice to not wear a ring-- my wedding ring hasn't been off my finger in over 30 years, and removing it will require a hacksaw at this point as my knuckle joint is way bigger than the ring. I've never been willing to do that. For anything to get under the ring and grab it it would have already have had to chew up a lot of finger. I'm not even sure how that could happen.

Of course there are all those pictures of proper 19th-early 20th century turners, joiners, and machinists wearing their neckties to work. Makes me shudder on many levels.

 

[Ron Solfest]

Most dangerous to long term health - wood dust. Solution - dust collection, mask, PAPR

Most likely chronic health condition from wood tools - tinnitus. Solution - hearing protection (should have figured this out earlier...)

Most dangerous tool in shop - tablesaw (how many of us don’t know someone who’s lost a finger?). Solution - SawStop

Most likely problem at the lathe - throwing something hard and fast off (like a bowl yesterday). Solution - Don’t stand in the line of fire, wear face protection, keep your mind on what you are doing ( fortunately I was doing the first two

Almost forgot, most dangerous to marriage - tracking shavings around the house. Solution - haven’t found that one yet, fortunately I have a forgiving wife

 

[hockenbery]

your opinion, what is the most dangerous thing for you in your woodturning world, and how to safely do it? Thanks in advance.

Far ahead of second place is the Bandsaw. Of the woodturners I know the bandsaw has sent more to the emergency room than any other type of incident. Most get into some type of repetitive cutting like a freind who was cutting pen blanks for his nephew and after cutting a fair number decided to cut one with his thumb pushing into the blade. Another was a guy cutting a bowl blank. Unexpectedly the saw hit soft punky wood and a void the blank fed through so quickly that his hand slipped and went a good way into the blade. An real crazy one was a classroom where an instructor cut a piece turned the saw off - no break assistant walks up and touches the blade not realizing the blade is still moving - thankfully this was a bandaid injury. There are a dozen others. Of all the power saws the bandsaw is perhaps the second safest behind the scroll saw.
oddly, I don’t know anyone who has been hurt cutting a round log - probably they pay attention more because they know and unsupported round will roll. I do know someone who broke a blade when an unsupported round log rolled binding the blade.
*** never push any part of your body toward the blade. Keep the top guide a low as possible

2nd place goes to pieces coming off the lathe. Saw a really good turner get hit in the face with a 3x3x5. High lathe speed, tailstock not locked properly, piece hit the tool rest and bounced into to his mouth. Only safety glasses so teeth wired in place and 12 stitches. A face shield he would have shook his head and laughed.
another crazy is classroom accident. Friend was teaching natural edge bowl’s. Class room had reeves drive lathes. A student finished a bowl and mounted a fresh blank with the speed still high. Blank went up in the air some how and struck the instructors hand. After surgery one finger still does not work.
Alway set the lathe speed to low when you take a piece off. Wear a face sheld. Test the mount at low speed. Listen

While the chainsaw is one of the most lethal tools we use, I don’t know anyone seriously hurt using one. I have gotten nuisance cuts a few times on chains while the saw isn’t running. I also burn myself every couple years when I need reminding that the muffler get hot.


Well known instructor sharpening a students Bottom of the bowl gouge using a Verigrind. The steep bevel put the gouge too low in the wheel. The pocket may have slipped. The nose of the gouge was pulled below the center of the wheel and the instructor’s hand was damaged by the wheel requiring surgery.
Use a platform to sharpen any bevel angle steeper than 60

There are the rank newbies who know that they do not know what they are doing, and so they tend to be extra cautious; and there are the truly expert seamen who really do know what they are doing, and they are good, too. In between are those who think they know what they are doing, but don't really, and those who should know better but have become complacent

This is so true of woodturning students.

 

[Dave Landers]

Chainsaw is reasonably obvious, but most people I've seen don't take the time to put on the required PPE. My list is chaps, long sleves, gloves, ear protection, eye protection (I wear safety glasses plus the mesh shield on my helmet) and hardhat. Every time.

To me the bandsaw is the most dangerous tool in my shop. It gets less "press" than the tablesaw (and thus less awareness). I remind myself (and others) that this is the same tool the butcher uses to cut up a cow or pig, so it will surely be able to deal with a finger or two. The way we usually use it, on irregular chunks of wet wood, takes extra care. Cuts need to be supported (wood on the table as it goes thru the blade), the consequences of ignoring this are "exciting".

At the lathe:

Inspection of wood - Stuff (bark, etc) that's going to fly off. Quality of the wood (jab it with a screwdriver or something to see if it's sound) - is it going to hold itself on the lathe.

Roughing - awareness of where the wood (and air) is.

Right tool for the job - not just SRG, but don't struggle hacking away with the wrong tool.

Self awareness - If you get tired or frustrated, it's time to stop and take a break. Do something else and come back to it later or tomorrow. Nothing good ever happens when you're "powering thru to just get it done".

Retrospective - When something goes wrong, stop and evaluate. Why did I get that catch? Why did my gouge make that spiral? Where did that flying object come from? Why is my bandsaw blade wrapped around that log?

 

[Timothy Allen]

Chainsaw is reasonably obvious, but most people I've seen don't take the time to put on the required PPE. My list is chaps, long sleves, gloves, ear protection, eye protection (I wear safety glasses plus the mesh shield on my helmet) and hardhat. Every time.

and Boots, ideally designed for chainsawing with kevlar lining, as well as toe protection, and good traction soles.

 

[Dennis Weiner]

I would think you have two major areas: Protection and Prevention of Accidents.

However, The first thing that comes to mind on woodturning safety is to advise the new turner not to imitate the practices of unknown authors on YouTube videos. Because the piece was successfully turned, it doesn’t necessarily mean the safest methodologies were employed. There may have been hidden risks. The true test of applied safety is when an accidental catch occurs. The wood and it’s holding methodology are momentarily stressed beyond the range of normal operation. Under these rare circumstances, Preventing a piece from going airborne will lower the risk of injuries to the woodturner.
New Woodturners need specific starting guidelines on what to do and what not to do. Lathe speed vs diameter vs length. When to use a chuck and when to use a faceplate. Chuck holding limit in compression and expansion modes. Etc. I agree that this cannot be covered in an article. It deserves a big reference manual. Providing the reader with a sense of caution and direction in specific areas might lead to the “safety mindset” that was previously mentioned. This is needed everyday by novice and expert alike.

 

[Damon McLaughlin]

All the above are good points, I especially like the points made about bandsaws and chainsaws. Some additional for me while at the lathe includes listening to the piece of wood and listening to my gut feeling.

When the wood is spinning an odd sound that pops up could spell trouble, whether is a small crack you didn't notice opening up, bark falling off, the piece of wood loosening up or coming out of the chuck and so on.

I think its important to listen to one's inner voice. Sometimes we might step up to the lathe and our inner voice says 'grab the face shield', then do it. Or it might tell us that the piece of wood is suspect or dangerous (too many checks?).

The other one that I just came to mind is using the right tool for the right job. Too many times I've seen a new turner and even some videos on youtube where someone is trying to hollow a bowl with a roughing gouge. And while I'm at it, I mention to those that I mentor that just because someone has a video on youtube it doesn't mean they are an experienced turning doing things the right way. Videos are good, one just has to be aware that it may not represent safe ways of doing things.

 

[robo hippy]

Well, an Australian had a tag line, "Anything with sharp teeth eats meat. People are made out of meat. Woodworking tools have sharp teeth." I liked that one. Standing out of the line of fire is huge in preventing and reducing the risk of impact. I do have one video dedicated to this topic. We talk about it a lot bug still, we don't actually 'teach' it. Another huge factor in shop safety, and safety in all things, is fatigue. When you are feeling or getting tired, that is when most accidents happen. The fatigue effects both our physical and mental processes, so we tend to make more bad decisions when tired. I would consider these to be the biggest points I would focus on. Well, perhaps I would add that dull tools are dangerous by their very nature. Lots of other smaller things.

Oh, one saying I love to use, "When chuck tightening exceeds sphincter tightening, you have a problem." From 'Pat's' Fan over on Woodturner's Resource...

robo hippy

 

[John Torchick]

Feel free to use this if you want.

 

[Dean Center]

In terms of magnitude of injury, the two fatalities from turning which I've heard about were 1) impact from wood breaking and flying off, 2) long hair getting caught in the turning spindle/chuck. However, the lightenberg burning devices would have to be #1 for fatalities among woodturners.

In a vaguely seriousness order, I would submit:
Chainsaws cause very large, deep, hard to repair wounds. Usually in thighs, but could be feet or lower legs with more serious effects. I've never seen or heard of anyone getting a running chain in the forehead, but I'm sure that has happened to people, and would cause a horrific, likely fatal outcome. Chains flying off the bar can cause facial injuries.
Tablesaws typically shorten fingers, which can be managed but leave the victim with some degree of disability.
Bandsaws could shorten fingers as well, but seem more commonly to make ragged cuts in fingers that head in time.
Routers are amazingly effective at taking clean pieces out of people, occasionally with a little bone. With the migration to router tables, I'm not sure how the injuries have been affected--hopefully they are less.
The typical lathe injuries are well described above. I would add back aches related to leaning over or otherwise being in awkward positions, but that's not very exciting, and they can be reduced by adjusting the height of the lathe and working off the end. Vibration can also cause muscle strain.
No one has mentioned getting things in the eye. Probably we don't consider this an injury and don't identify a little sawdust as a significant problem. However, Metal foreign bodies with speed can be extremely dangerous. This might occur from a saw blade breaking off a tooth or a turning tool hitting metal within the wood. It could also occur from someone striking metal with metal.
Minor cuts are undoubtedly common and not yet mentioned. These would include things like reaching across the sharp edge of a tool, dropping a tool with the sharp edge hitting the foot or shin, having a catch kick the tool back at us, or even getting cut by the sharp edge of a spinning bowl. I bet I go through a bandaid a month but can't recall a single specific injury.
The adverse effects of long term woodworking are well mentioned above, with respiratory being most serious and hearing loss related to chronic noise exposure probably most common. What?

 

[Emiliano Achaval]

Thank you to everyone that took the time to help me with this. In the long run, your comments will help somebody a great deal. Personally, it was the bandsaw that got me, many years ago. I did not use one for almost 20 years until Betty Scarpino came to Maui and showed us how to use one safely. Feel free to keep adding. Aloha from Maui

 

[Tim Tucker]

I think the MOST dangerous aspect is....attitude. New turners that believe they can learn it "all" on their own - because they have Youtube.. I see folks that are brand new to turning - but too ego driven or insecure to seek advice, training or help. This most often results in folks quitting turning, and sadly - getting injured without any need for it - IF they had only approached turning ( and this applies to any "shop work" using power tools...).
So, for me....I practice being a Journeyman. A Journeyman is someone in the trades such as plumbing, or carpentry. He has some experience and has learned many things...but is not a Master of the trade. His objective is to continue to learn everything he needs to become a Master. That requires some humility and willingness to learn from others.
I shall remain a Journeyman for the rest of my life. There are things I learn from others daily. And, for me...that is the real reward. The LEARNING more about turning.

 

[John Torchick]

"It will never happen to me."

 

[hockenbery]

attitude

this is a key to many aspects of safety.

complacency in repetitive operations is a major danger.
Working while tired is a danger.

one of our AAW member who worked for Boeing gave a safety talk. In it he said Boeing knew their safety campaign was a success when employees started stealing safety equipment to use at home.
Pilfering safety equipment highlighted a fundamental change in “attitude” toward safety.

 

[Kevin Jesequel]

Sorry to chime in late, but i think it is important for people to understand the hierarchy of controls: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/hierarchy/default.html
An example of how this would apply to woodturning is:
Elimination: removing a defect from the wood off the lathe
Substitution: replacing defective wood with sound
Engineering Controls: structurally repairing the wood, or using a barrier such as a cage to contain the wood if it comes off the lathe or disintegrates
Administrative controls: avoid the line of fire
PPE: wear face shield and protective headgear

PPE is the last line of defense if everything else fails. It is not an excuse to ignore or circumvent all the other controls that will keep you safe.

 

[Dave Bunge]

Another risk is becoming sensitized to wood/wood dust, such as certain tropical hardwoods, some domestic species like black walnut and western red cedar. I understand some people have fairly severe reactions.

Epoxy resins and CA glues are other things we work with that can lead to sensitization if not handled properly.

Edit: I re-read the original post and wanted to clarify that I don't think becoming sensitized to wood dust or shop chemicals is the most dangerous thing associated with woodturning. Probably mishaps when felling trees (if you work that hard for your turning blanks), or accidents with a chainsaw or bandsaw when cutting up blanks or being bonked by something flying off the lathe or ruining your lungs by not protecting against dust exposure are all higher risks. And all are discussed pretty well in other posts.

Edit #2: As far as protecting against becoming sensitized: Wear ppe (nitrile gloves) when handling epoxy resins. Use good ventilation with CA adhesives and consider using the "odorless" versions. Avoid skin contact with dust from walnut and other sensitizer woods. I wear a long sleeved turning smock that Lee Valley used to sell with elastic cuffs that keeps the dust off of my arms and clean up my shop and myself more carefully after working with walnut.

 

[brian horais]

I'm doing some research for an upcoming article for Woodturning Magazine. I'm not looking at writing something to scare away newcomers. I want to point out safety issues, and how to avoid them. I also do not want to turn it into a gory and scary read. Nothing like: the RSG broke and hit me in the face, blood all over my smock. It would be: SRG are not to be used on side grain projects, only on end grain, grain running parallel to the ways of the lathe. I purposely said woodturning, we can start with chainsaw safety, what to wear, PPE, etc. In your opinion, what is the most dangerous thing for you in your woodturning world, and how to safely do it? Thanks in advance.

Having a healthy respect for your power tools, especially the bandsaw, is my biggest piece of advice. That said, I found out personally that you should abide by the glue-drying recommendations for Titebond and other glues. I had a segmented work glued together and was experimenting with some rather large pieces. It had been drying for a couple of hours so I decided to 'spin it up' to see how well it was balanced. Well, at about 1000 RPM one very large chunk came flying off and missed my head, hitting the basement ceiling above me. Thankfully I was not hurt, but it could have been a lot worse. Let the Titebond type glues dry overnight before turning.

 

[robo hippy]

I never understood why some people will glue things up and try to turn them, or work them if you are doing flat work, after an hour or three. I always let them sit over night. I have done boxes that are glued onto waste blocks, and in a class with Bonnie Klein, we glued blanks to waste blocks, and then ate lunch. Finish turned the boxes after lunch. No accidents, but still made me nervous. I remember Norm Abrams doing that with some of his furniture pieces. I broke one glued up panel by doing that and then running it through a drum sander. Never more! I have run into the same thing with using medium CA glue. The very outside can be dried quickly with the hardeners, but unless you spray the whole bottom of the blank, you have wet stuff underneath that can take a day or so to fully cure. Kind of the same thing with the hot melt glue guns. You need the industrial grade guns that get the glue hot enough to really grab. The hobby level ones barely do that,. I would guess maybe running a really tiny bead, then 'spread' that out with just the hot nozzle, and then adding another layer or 3 might work better than just one thick bead.

robo hippy

 

[Brian Deakin]

Please see the safety tip at 8 minutes 42 seconds in attached video

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNmaJfYmYxo&t=11s&ab_channel=WoodworkersJournal

 

[John Torchick]

I agree with robo hippy. Not the wood turner or woodworker as some here but if I use TBIII for a glue project, I let it cure overnight with at least 12 hours minimum.

 

[Tom Beatty]

I really like the amount of info shown in this thread, a good summary of the dangers of woodworking and woodturning in particular. One thing missing is knowledge of woodturning. I read an item a few years ago in this forum I believe where a man said his wife had taken up woodturning and in the space of a week and bent 1 tool and broken 2 tools. When people buy their first lathe they should be encouraged to take a safety class before turning on their lathe. One manager of a local wood store started a lathe safety class because he was worried about people buying their first lathe and the dangers involved. I have talked to a lot of novice turners at our local wood store and I always suggest they join our a woodturning club and in our seek help from club mentors/members to learn how to use lathe. Most of us know a lot of the safety rules but certainly need to be reminded of them but newbies may not know any of the hazards and need to be informed up front of the safety procedures they should follow. Do not want then discouraged from becoming a woodturners and the fun and joy it can bring, but would like them to be safe doing it.
Again I really like the idea of this article, especially since I am currently waiting for stitches to be removed because I did something off the lathe that I knew I should not due, but thought that it will be okay just this one time

 

[Mike Johnson]

Many new woodturners seem to get in a hurry and want to move up into the bigger machines turning the larger pieces before they even master the hand tools and basic techniques used for turning the endless number of items on a typical hobby lathe. When you move up to the larger horsepower machines and billets of wood weighing hundreds of pounds the risk factors multiply exponentially. I was tempted to post a video that shows an industrial lathe turning some 4" diameter round stock, the operator running the lathe somehow managed to get his hand caught on the turning billet and in one second he was wrapped around the round stock not even slowing the lathe down. A security camera captured the accident and a co-worker rushed to the machine to shut it off. Needless to say there was no chance of surviving this accident and the co-worker seeing this first hand will live with that vision the rest of his life. Large rotating pieces and equipment with the horsepower capacity to turn heavy pieces are accidents waiting to happen for people that do not respect or understand the potential harm they can cause.

 

[robo hippy]

I guess I can say that I was lucky when I started. There was no local club so I didn't have that resource. The internet was just getting started, and I don't think You Tube was around, and yes there is the full spectrum of dangerous/stupid to master level. I have always been good with my hands, and maybe some common sense helped me survive pretty much unharmed.... I now let my 'experience' help others to learn by my examples....

robo hippy

 

[Tom Albrecht]

I have been using power tools, and working wood since I was a kid. I am a certified woodworking instructor, and I still have all 10 fingers, but I have come close to loosing one, or a chunk of one a number of times.

Every accident or close call I ever had was while I was working in a hurry-- client needs it ASAP, the job is taking longer than the time I allotted, and so on.

When it comes to saws of any kind, my first rule is to keep all fingers and hands out of the line of the cut, straight or curved.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Again I really like the idea of this article, especially since I am currently waiting for stitches to be removed because I did something off the lathe that I knew I should not due, but thought that it will be okay just this one time

@Tom Beatty, I'm sure that everything will be okay the next time you do whatever it was that you shouldn't have done. But, wait until we're once again meeting in person so that you can be our Safety Officer of the Month.

 

[Michael Nathal]

I found an article on Woodworkers Guild of America showing data for the US from a 2011 study. They estimate about 40,000 injuries per year from a table saw that result in an emergency room visit, compared to only 3,500 for a bandsaw. Of course table saws are more common in shops than band saws and there is no way to treat these statistics to show the injuries per hour of use. But still, that is something like a 100 injuries per day for the table saw in the US. The article also says that these estimates are low, because they do not include how many people don’t go to the emergency room for a wound that isn’t life threatening. The numbers also don’t include the “near miss” accidents that nearly every woodworker has seen.

 

[John Torchick]

A "near miss" is as good as a mile? I have had one (fortunately) kick-back on the TS. Pushed the piece through and let up on the pressure before it cleared the blade. No need for bandaids or anything else.
From a former Buckeye.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Anything with an edge can be dangerous. Add a motor and let the blood letting begin. Know what a tool can do for you, have great knowledge and respect of what it can do TO you. I consider a table saw much more dangerous than a band saw. Both can cut off body parts if not respected, but TS Kick back and all the things that can come with it make the TS more dangerous.

 

[robo hippy]

I was very disappointed that the Myth Buster guys never did one on table saw kick back... I would think a 3 inch thick blank of oak, on a 12 inch 5 hp cabinet saw might have gone through a cinder block wall.....

Other than that, I have gotten more cuts from sharp edges of wood than I have from my cutting tools. Hope that never changes...

robo hippy

 

[John Torchick]

"Anything with an edge can be dangerous." AMHIK Cut my finger making a salad, trying to eat healthy. Three stitches for $310 at the walk-in clinic. Maybe 20 minutes in the room. Regretted not going to medical school. Never thought of Super Glue.

 

[hockenbery]

I consider a table saw much more dangerous than a band saw. Both can cut off body parts if not respected, but TS Kick back and all the things that can come with it make the TS more dangerous.

I agree with you if we are talking general wood working.
I do know a guy that nearly died from a kick back that ran through his abdomen like a spear while doing cabinetry.

but relative to woodturning I have to go with the bandsaw having sent more people I know to the ER than the table saw. 7+ to 0

I have 4-5 turning friends with fewer finger parts from table saws but all were flat wood accidents.
Don’t know any turners hurt on the table saw cutting turning Wood.

Do know at least 7 turners who had emergency room visits from the bandsaw. one may have bled to death but another guy was working in the same shop got a tourniquet on his arm.

Don’t know any turners who went to the ER using a chainsaw for turning wood.

 

[Dean Center]

Perhaps due to lower usage, based on seeing things from the receiving end, it's table saws well above band saws. Most flat woodworkers, cabinet makers, and carpenters use a table saw, and there are lots of these types of users. Many woodworking injuries are seen in urgent care facilities and doctors' offices, so the study may also have under-reported less severe injuries.

 

[Russ Braun]

I agree with you if we are talking general wood working.
I do know a guy that nearly died from a kick back that ran through his abdomen like a spear while doing cabinetry.

but relative to woodturning I have to go with the bandsaw having sent more people I know to the ER than the table saw. 7+ to 0

I have 4-5 turning friends with fewer finger parts from table saws but all were flat wood accidents.
Don’t know any turners hurt on the table saw cutting turning Wood.

Do know at least 7 turners who had emergency room visits from the bandsaw. one may have bled to death but another guy was working in the same shop got a tourniquet on his arm.

Don’t know any turners who went to the ER using a chainsaw for turning wood.

Please include us Segmenters Al!! My injury from the tablesaw involved carrying a piece back across the blade, being one of a hundred rips and daydreaming/ lack of focus; caught the blade, shot it right into my gut after ripping my fingernail off! I never touched the blade but learned to focus the hard way! Danger lurks for the inattentive!!

 

[Robert Kramer]

from my perspective,

Every tool in the shop is a whirring blade of death waiting to kill you and hurt the entire time your dying.