Don't do your own rigging or wiring, and you'll probably be fine. I do much of my own on both and I'm still ok.
Watch the tommy bar on your vise, and mind your marking knife. The apparently harmless things will get you because you pay them less mind.
Source: am a furniture maker. I still have 10 fingers. Haven't died of respiratory illness yet. Nor have I burned my shit down or crushed myself moving machinery. I have definitely made an unplanned trip for super glue after slicing myself with a marking knife.
But that made me giggle like a schoolgirl.
I've heard more people are hurt each year by angle grinders than any other tool.
I've only been hurt by two power tools: one was a drill, it slipped off the screw and made the pad of my finger into hamburger.
The other was my table saw, twice. Both kickback events that threw wood at my abdomen. I'm a pretty careful user, definitely not a cowboy. Mistakes are easy to make. I'm very careful with my fingers, at least!
Angle grinders are used a lot on jobsites by jabronis who like to remove the guard and suchlike.
In the workshop I'd be most careful around the bandsaw to be honest. It's slow moving and doesn't make much noise, but will cut through three fingers before you notice the pain. At least table saws and friends have a tendency to bounce off of bone so you don't tend to end up with full on amputations.
Kickback is somewhat nonintuitive though, so watch for that!
And homeowners putting sawblades on them. Eek!
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3022661/husband-killed-when-he...
How does a handheld danger that can move around or be dropped compare to a heavy, stationary danger that's in a predictable location?
How does one big danger rank against several smaller dangers? What about a clearly obvious danger vs a less obvious one?
Which safety procedures can you assume to be followed? Welders wear a mask and gloves at all times, but not everyone using a table saw uses a pushing stick.
How much experience and skill should you expect the users have? Users who are expecting a tool to buck or bind will be ready for it - does it matter that inexperienced users might not be ready?
If two tools are equally dangerous in a spacious workshop, but one can also be used up ladders and upside-down in crawlspaces, is it more dangerous because of that?
Do you just rank classic tools like hammers and drills, or do you have a broader definition? Is a ladder a tool, for purposes of the ranking? Is a car?
Ah yes, simply don't make any mistakes ever ;-P
Fair enough though. I suppose the thing that makes table saws / routers / etc seem safer -- to me at least -- is because they look and sound scary. An untrained novice is much more likely to be careless around a band saw than around a table saw.
None of them sound like the router though. It's a banshee from a nightmare. I don't even like using it when it's mounted.
The router, even when you do all the above, it can jump, it can throw material off, it keeps spinning for a surprisingly long time after you power it off. All these characteristics make it less predictable. You need to understand it at a somewhat deeper level, how much can you cut, what direction to go, what direction is the grain going. You need to hold/brace it understanding that it can be unexpected and has a lot more power than you think. That's what makes it a more dangerous tool. Ofcourse properly used - it's fine.
No, but it was an unfortunate incident involving some nails.
And I promise, I'll try to scale to my sarcasm.
Yep. It's indeed possible.
Some best practices I recall growing up with:
Eyes, ears, feet, and lung protection.
Loose hair, jewelry, clothing anti-snag policy.
Keep body out of the kill line of potential RUDs.
Keep dust contained.
Keep fresh air moving toward you.
Push sticks, finger boards, and keep your tender bits out of the business end.
For circular saws, there is SawStop. https://www.sawstop.com/why-sawstop/the-technology/
Don't rush or work tired.
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As blue collar guys, there are some risks my dad and grandfather didn't account for such as dipping their hands in and breathing carcinogenic solvents. In general, it's wiser to overdo PPE than play hard tough guy and shortening one's life for nothing. Safety regs are written in blood, but only after the fact.
I've been swimming in all sorts automotive and manufacturing fluids and fumes and forces for years and it hasn't caught up to me yet. I know a shitload of people that have done it for decades without a scratch, and a lot of them didn't even try to be safe about it.
I'm mindful of my finishing materials and proper ventilation and downright religious about hearing protection because the damage is cumulative. I know a bunch of guys I have to half shout at to have a conversation with. I'd rather not be one in 15 years.
Though on the other hand perhaps I take it too far by wearing ear protection when hammering in nails or using the vacuum cleaner.
I don't know much about the subject you're talking about, and am definitely not trying to argue that it has the same risk as smoking 20 a day - just making the point that research rather than anecdotes is the best way to judge these things.
Woodworking can be hazardous when using power tools... but you can always go with hand tools only and that should be mostly risk free excluding possibility of minor cuts and bruises - but you can get these even when preparing food.
I do a lot of stuff around the house myself (renovation, making/adapting stuff, preparing my own wood for house heating, small electrical repairs, etc) and the only thing I am afraid of is the chainsaw. That thing can do significant damage even slightest mistake when being used, anything else is manageable given the usual precautions (protective gear, doublecheck that electric switches, wires, etc are not hot when working on them, etc...).
> What exactly you think are hazards in 3D printing? And low-voltage electronics?
Fire (have your dry powder/kitchen fire blanket handy). Minor burns (hot-end, molten plastic, soldering iron, solder itself, hot components or PCBs). Not really more dangerous than cooking - I'd consider leaving a 3D printer unattended but if you leave a deep fat fryer unattended that can go very badly wrong.
Snipping off through-hole leads produces annoying metal fragments; if you're not already wearing glasses, wear eye protection.
This is exactly what they are saying though. I wouldn't have expected the cookie dough forge to be particularly dangerous but apparently it is because of nanofines/ultrafines - i don't even know what they are
Fire and fumes. Even low voltage can start fire or create some toxic fumes if it melts the wrong stuff and when you have a cold and smell little, you might inhale enough to poison yourself, before you notice.
And I am rather afraid of electricity, than the chainsaw. Because when the chainsaw is running, it is obvious it is dangerous. But a broken electronic component with an open circuit can be hard to spot.
After you carefully read the instructions, wear 9-layer wraparound chaps, cut-retardant shirt, forestry helmet, and chainsaw gloves, and you pay attention like as if you are on a gun range, you will have reasonably mitigated the risks. Most accidents happen when people grow complacent and don't take what they are doing seriously; even with all the PPE you can still screw up in a serious way if you aren't careful, deliberate and paying attention. I encourage anyone who is scared of chainsaws to read the literature. Even occasional users can make it a safe activity with some diligence.
I would say that it's good to have some fear and respect for the tools and machinery that can do you great harm. Fortunately, there's a lot of good (and bad) videos on youtube. When I need to learn to use a new tool that is dangerous I always watch multiple videos and also search for web sites that discuss how to use that tool safely.
You can't know every risk. You can be paralyzed by fear and never grow. Life is a calculated risk. Do dirty things in a seperate space from your living. Wear PPE. As others have said the risks for hobbies and work are different. Hell we may all be having mesothelioma from the atmosphere in 30 years.
And sitting at indoor hobbies will also kill you from heart disease etc.
You are not getting out of here alive.