Popular Woodworking 2007-11 № 165, страница 48

Why has the SawStop met with so much resistance from manufacturers when the technology is so great? What is the real reason that school systems across America have eliminated woodworking classes from the curriculum? Why do some of the most comprehensive books on woodworking not even mention safety? Is safety just not an important issue or is it taboo?

The answer to each of these questions is, simply, "risk." Safety has always been an issue of defense instead of offense. The corporate world would rather address the issue when it becomes an issue. As a craftsman and educator I choose to take a contemporary approach to safety education: Be aggressive instead of passive.

In my experience, safety is a "skill." That's right; safety is a skill, a fundamental in technique, just like cutting a dovetail. It does not occur through happenstance or luck; it happens through planning, understanding and proper execution, just like the "fit" of a tight dovetail joint.

Most accidents occur because of improper techniques, bad habits, haste, fatigue, inexperience and overconfi-dence. It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, but a few simple adjustments in the way you work at each machine, coupled with a few rules about control and exposure, along with understanding that you and the tool both have limitations, can make woodworking (and bowling) enjoyable for years to come.

Before Machines Ruled the Shop

In great-grandpa's days, before the Industrial Revolution, woodworkers rarely got hurt in the woodshop. That's right, serious accidents didn't happen when the user provided the power. You're thinking, "Now wait — I've always been told that a chisel is a very dangerous tool." But that's only the case when it is being used or stored improperly. Yes, hand tools have risks — but those risks are minimal in comparison to power tools.

Woodworking changed the day that tools started to rotate under their own power. This rotation and excess power caused unbelievable risks to the user. Old-world craftsmanship had to change; a new generation of wood-

The machine can't think. Machines offer awesome power, but they also ask something of you. You have to know when certain operations become unsafe, such as when your stock becomes too thin to pass through a standard planer.

working had to be developed with many new and unforeseen challenges.

Grandpa never had to deal with terms such as kickback, work zone, high-speed cutter, guard, pinch point, feed rate, anti-kickback fingers, splitter, point of operation, face shield, dust collection, ear protection and on and on. For grandpa, woodworking was a human process; today it is both a human and mechanical process. Here's where the crux lies. In John Feirer's book "Cabinetmaking and Millwork" he states: "Remember at all times that you must guarantee safety for two: the tool and you. The machine can't think, but you can."

As a woodworker and educator I am concerned about the entire aspect of woodshop safety as it relates to the manufacturers, the end user and the techniques they use. Years ago I wrote a letter addressing these issues to every woodworking tool manufacturer. I was asking for help with the distribution of a new safety video that showed proper use of the most common stationary tools. The video won a 2002 "Telly Award," so the quality was exceptional.

My request was that this video be given, for free, with the purchase of each stationary tool. No promotion, no strings, just pure education. In the letter I wrote, "I know that this issue will cause your attorneys to shudder, your accountants to wonder, your engineers

to question, your safety director to feel uneasy, and your corporate heads to turn. But, it will also cause your customers to take a moment of pause, and realize your position and commitment toward their safety." No one responded.

During the last four years it has become a quest to find a publisher willing to spotlight a series on safety as it relates to working in today's shop. The average woodworker today probably took a high-school woodworking class before man walked on the moon, and an awful lot has changed since then — including the 1971 enactment of the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The purpose of this law was to ensure safe and healthful conditions in the workplace. This act of Congress caused manufacturers, employers and all high school, college and vocational programs to re-think the entire process of hazards in the shop. Their focus on woodshop safety shifted to more on guarding and less on the attention to sound fundamental procedures to using all equipment safely. Although OSHA requirements work well to protect us in the workplace, they have no effect on how we work in our private shops, and I believe this has added to the complacency of safety. Couple in the fact that the only place most woodworkers learned shop safety was from Woodworking 101 in high school (and for some; that was in the day of black-and-white photography).

The purpose of this series is to explore safety for today's woodworker, explore how specific stationary tools work and why they can bite, kick, throw, grab and pinch — and what we can do to minimize these actions through control and preparedness. Before operating any power tool you must become thoroughly familiar with the way it works and the correct procedures to follow. As you learn to use a machine the correct way, you will also be learning to use it the safe way.

Set the Stage for Safety

It's not a bad idea to start off with a look at general shop safety. I remember in my old high-school shop class the instructor said that you should always remove your rings and watches before you use any power equipment. It's a great rule, but

46 ■ Popular Woodworking November 2007