Top 5 woodworking safety tips

Show me your blood!

Oops! Well, at least I can Tweet this!

There is an ugly trend among online woodworkers that is not just distasteful, but a good way to frighten away new woodworkers. I call it woodworking porn. For some reason, woodworkers seem to get off on posting graphic photos and videos of woodworking injuries they have sustained. The bloodier the better, it has become a macabre badge of honor. No doubt, the first slo-mo video of a guy losing a finger will go viral.

Of course, these Tweets, Facebook and YouTube posts are usually couched as a vague "safety" lesson: "Guys! I got lucky this time...I wasnt being careful. Dont let this happen to you!" Check it out! Heres a gross photo to freak you out! 

By the way, stop trying to convince yourself that any bloody misfortune is lucky. Its not.

When a woodworker flaunts his injuries, what is the lesson for a newbie? Better forget about woodworking. Danger lurks around every power tool. Just looking at a tool the wrong way can spell disaster. If experienced woodworkers - who endlessly drone on and on about safety - do stupid things, what hope is there for a newcomer?

And the hobby dwindles even further.

In this age of paranoia and fear, some common sense:

1) Accidents happen. Thats why theyre called accidents. Seasoned veterans injure themselves from time to time. If you are a reasonably intelligent human, your instincts will tell you that a spinning saw blade is something to be cautious around. If I tell you to "be careful" will it avert an accident? No. Instead:

2) Be smart. But you dont need me to nag you about it.

3) Nagging turns people off. In fact, it often has a reverse effect and makes people complacent. "Safety First" no longer has any meaning because we hear it all the time. Complacency is dangerous. Mindless mantras are even more dangerous.

4) Respect yourself. No, not your tools, yourself. Tools rarely attack or injure without a person somehow involved. Respect your brain and your body.

5) Never approach woodworking from a position of fear. Fear causes people to make poor or irrational decisions. If there is a tool or procedure in the shop you fear, stop to figure out why and learn how to overcome that fear, or do the safest thing: dont use that tool or perform that procedure.

The safest thing you can do is nothing

People who never use woodworking tools are less likely to suffer woodworking injuries than those of us who use woodworking tools. (I think there was a study done on that.)

Personal safety is important to me, but not my highest concern. Thankfully, creating a finished woodworking project is my number one concern in the shop. If it werent, Id spend my days tucked safely on my couch and youd never see any pallet videos.

I get  minor scrapes and cuts now and then but I will not exploit them. Ill gain viewers and readers the old fashioned way: by creating engaging video content. Of course, Im not above writing a provocative article to attract attention. Or peddling stylish shop wear.

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Categories: 5, safety, tips, top, Woodworking