A Two Minute Safety Tip
by Howard Van Valzah
As a veteran woodworker age 80 I have finally learned something I should
have learned many years ago. Recently it became obvious to me that the
majority of my woodworking injuries were on my left hand. The worst one
was on my left thumb that wandered by itself into a table saw blade.
Stitches didn't work so a skin graft was needed to complete the cure. One
of the attached photos shows the thumb with the thumb nail sticking out way
beyond the flesh. That happened four years ago.
Recently I have been working on some large projects and observed on completion that I had three band
aids on my left hand. Nothing major like the thumb incident, but they were scratches, bangs, and
nicks. And then the realization came that this seems to happen after every major project, and to a
lesser extent on smaller jobs. Then I looked closely at the way my hands get work done. In most
cases I found that my right hand is directing work to be done. That would make you think that the
right hand might be injured more frequently. Further study showed that my left hand was often
used to steady or hold the work piece putting it right in line to be struck by a slipped tool or
anything else that might go wrong. The right hand guiding the tool was perfectly safe. (The hand eye
coordination required to get the work performed was the responsibility of the right hand. The left
hand was used in support but the operator's eye was concentrating on the performance of the right
hand, leaving the left hand unattended.)
Now that I knew that, I began to be more conscious of the left hand, but still got nicks, dings,
and scratches on it. It quickly became clear that it wasn't enough to just be aware of the problem
and hope I could correct it. Just about that time I purchased a pair of bright yellow cut-resistant
Kevlar gloves
from Highland Woodworking. I didn't purchase them for use with power tools - I bought them with the
idea of using them when I occasionally have to hand carve a piece of work. Seeing them sitting
beside the workbench one day I decided to try something. I put one on my left hand (they are
reversible) with the thought that the bright yellow color might alert me to be cautious, as does the
yellow light on a traffic signal. It seems to be working because I have not yet had a scratch or
ding on my left hand, but I did bang it hard once, but no blood, just a severe "ouchie". I would
encourage others to wear a "yellow caution light" on their left hand as a reminder that it is an
accident waiting to happen.
Do you have a safety tip that you would like to share? Email it to us at
woodnews@highlandwoodworking.com
and we might
publish it in our next Wood News. Thanks for helping us to make each of your shops a little bit
safer.
