What’s the most dangerous tool in your workshop

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Dropping a hammer this morning got me thinking about the dangers in my workshop. Actually, apart from scratches and the odd near miss, Model Engineering for me has been very safe. Or am I living in a fool's paradise?

I think the single most dangerous tool I own is a woodworking table saw. On the metalwork side, I don't really trust the Grinding Wheel, and am careful not to burn the place down with a blowlamp. The lathe and milling machine are docile beasts, but I've had the pillar drill snatch a couple of times. The band-saw doesn't worry me at all compared with a Stanley Knife.

I'm of the opinion that straightforward precautions make home metal working very safe even compared with something like Amateur Radio where chaps fall off roofs. However, ignorance and over-confidence cause accidents and I may be guilty of both. What tool or process would you consider the most risky in an ME workshop?

Ta,

Dave

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

[Gray62Participant @gray62]

ME!

[Nick_GParticipant @nick_g]

.

Blunt tools that shouldn't be so.

Nick

[Antony PowellParticipant @antonypowell28169]

I once new a guy who …

sliced down his thigh – cutting gaskets with a stanley knife

dance after dropping a 4 inch grinder between his feet whilst it was still running

shatter his thumb when he hit it with a hammer

badly gash his hand with a chainsaw (luck he didn't loose it, it was running)

have more car crashes than anyone deserved

And finally get sacked because he was a danger to everyone in the workshop especially himself !!

Tony

PS he was a nice guy outside work.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

No tool is dangerous! If you leave them untouched they will do no harm at all. Unfortunately as soon as you pick something up or switch it on you have imediately turned it into potential agent of destruction

John

[Mike E.Participant @mikee-85511]

The most dangerous tool is a brain that is tired.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

We are the most dangerous element in the workshop, personal protection helps to stop many accidents doing harm but I believe an accident to be a very rare thing. As many of us teach ourselves to use workshop machinery we miss out on the old hand showing the safe way to do things so we will have the accidents that should never happen if shown the right way. I think the drilling machine has the reputation for most accidents. The picture of a finger and all tendons pulled out of the forearm on the table of a drill has stuck in my mind for 44 years and I never wear gloves when using powered machinery. The photo of a small drill stuck in the lens of a friends safety glasses will always remind me to wear them on an offhand grinder. I think some of the shock and horror pictures and stories do stick in the mind and help to work safely. I have only used a surface grinder once since I was an apprentice but it sticks in my mind to start the wheel before turning on the suds and tun the suds off before stopping the wheel. It is amazing how much a dry wheel can soak up which will put it out of balance and possibly cause a wheel failure. Maybe we should have a thread of horror stories of how not to do things.

Mike

[richardandtracyParticipant @richardandtracy]

The most dangerous tool in the workshop is me.

Especially using the metal lathe for wood & having a lathe tool snatched from my hand, spun round the work, breaking the handle and then the point embedded itself through the lower wall of twin wall PC roofing. And stayed there. No injury to anyone, but one heck of a scare.

Next for danger is the shaper. Loads of leverage, and moves slowly enough to seem safe to someone lulled into a false sense of security.

Then the woodworking mitre saw.

Regards

Richard.

[An OtherParticipant @another21905]

hand-held circular saw, even with all its safety guards. I hit an unseen nail once in a (new) piece of timber, which somehow caused the saw to be flung back towards me. This happened so quickly that the spring loaded blade guard had no time to close over the blade before the damn thing cut a six inch gash across the top of my knee. almost to the bone. (six stitches) It went in the dustbin, and I won't use one at all now – stick to the saw table or do it by hand.

[Matthew ReedParticipant @matthewreed92137]

I remember being told that the most dangerous item in a workshop was the clock: rushing things, not taking precautions, not thinking it through, running machines too quickly, or leaving things in a dangerous state, all because it needs to be done by a certain time. Perfectly safe equipment becomes dangerous when you are trying to get things done too quickly.

To be fair, I am completely unaware of time when I am in the workshop these days. Most troubling aspects is the "thought you were only going to be 20 minutes, I've did all the washing up two hours ago" comments when I return to the world…….

[mike TParticipant @miket56243]

The band-saw.

Pushing hard by hand, to cut some thick stock, suddenly the blade is out the other side and there is no longer any resistance to your pushing. Ouch!

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

I have never used it because to me it was inviting disaster and probably serious injury and that was the ghastly horizontal table that was supplied with my metal cutting band saw. I shuddered when I saw it and scrapped it out of hand.

​My vote for the most dangerous tool is a lack of imagination.

Brian

[Matthew ReedParticipant @matthewreed92137]

Putting things in perspective, probably the most dangerous thing in a typical old workshop was the ash tray. There will be far more deaths from smoking than machinery.

[JAParticipant @ja]

Alcohol – I don't mean meths.

I won't work after a drink.

JA

[John ReeseParticipant @johnreese12848]

Posted by Mike E. on 07/05/2017 17:39:16:

The most dangerous tool is a brain that is tired.

True. Probably as dangerous as working drunk.

[mark smith 20Participant @marksmith20]

I think all tools are dangerous if your unlucky or careless. I have a radial arm saw which are supposed to be notorious but never had a problem using it as yet.

Worse accident ive had was when i was using a handheld router and the cutter went across my thumb but no lasting damage.

Second worst a rotary table. It was on a shelf next to a bandsaw , i left the bandsaw running ,whilst picking something off the floor and the rotary table fell off the shelf due to vibration onto my arm leaving a great big bruise.Luckily no break.

[Jon CameronParticipant @joncameron26580]

Posted by Graeme W on 07/05/2017 17:26:57:

ME!

That was going to be my answer I agree with points made above though, no tool is dangerous if used correctly and taking safety steps, for example using a blowlamp to solder a boiler, you wouldn't do it on a wooden bench, with oily rags around. And no heat proof gloves. Common sense needs to play a major part in what you do in a workshop.

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[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

I learned the art of knife Grinding on a 30 inch diameter 8 inch wide stone which I sat astride on a wooden “horsin” so that the wheel was a few inches below my most valued possessions. If you ever thought about the wheel bursting you would never sit there. The man who taught me had a stone burst into three large pieces,one flew up into the horsin and threw him off, one fell into the trow of water and the third ended up in the next door shop thru a new hole in the wall. Crikey.

[Tractor manParticipant @tractorman]

All that recalling of Sheffield reminded me of old trade words that have now lapsed. One of my favourites was mousing, polishing a blade with a stone that made a smell like mouse wee. Time for a biting on before I do some cuckoo.

[WindyParticipant @windy30762]

An accident I saw when I first started work in the car trade made me cringe a work mate using a 7 inch sander before we started used the small air operated ones caught the edge of a panel wrong way.

Oops it kicked back then his arm artery was showing another compressing a suspensions spring in a machine got it wrong another hospital case.

Complacency and tiredness are things I've to be careful off it's easy to go down that route.

[BikepeteParticipant @bikepete]

Not a dangerous tool exactly but add 'lifting heavy things' to the danger list – especially if you're in a small restricted workshop, you're lifting awkwardly or it's something oily.

Edited By Bikepete on 07/05/2017 21:47:02

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

You often hear the always wear eye protection remark, which is of course a very sensible thing to do. But I would add hearing protection to that If you're working on a machine that's proving to be particularly noisy, don't try and tough it out.

Just stop what you're doing and stick some muffs on. It only takes ten seconds, and you can take it off again when you're finished, it's worth it if it stops you from getting permanent tinnitus.

If you still think that's being a pansy*, all the workmen I see with power tools have a pair in their toolbox. 

( *they don't deserve the reputation of being a wimpy plant, they're actually a very hardy species and will withstand even the hardest of frosts.)

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 07/05/2017 22:00:40

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

The nut behind the apron handwheel

in my case, probably blunt knives. Made a nice slice in my left index finger yesterday that woudln't have happened if I had fitted a new blade or just honed the one I was using :-/

Or not wearing safety glasses, fortunately only been to A&E with a scratched eyeball once.

Neil

[matt merchantParticipant @mattmerchant42413]

probably me to be fair, although to be fair I've got better as age has crept upon me.

my personal highlights are from way back when I was an apprentice, tig welding sitting at a bench finished off a bead and laid it across one leg and electrode went right into to other knee with a smell of roast pork.

cutting up some old aluminium steps with a 9" grinder looking directly over the blade, the blade bit the grinder did kick and the handle caught me right in the mush, luckily no teeth rattled loose or broken just lots of claret and Mick Jagger jokes for a coupla weeks. it did teach me to look from the side when using a grinder though.

one I had to deal with at work last year wasn't power tools but hammer related, the lad was knocking roll pins in to castings to hold slipper pads in place and rather than start them slowly with a tap or two was giving the full monty from the off one pinged up and hit him in the eye (no safety specs) extremely lucky to be just bruising and not doing a dalek impression.

Matt

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