Anyone ever watch MANCAVE..?

I have seen some scary table saw action on many home shows. Lots of people having someone else pull the wood through the blade. Usually a tiny bench top saw vs. a 4×8 sheet.

-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne

Last Summer, when the construction crew was working on my new shop, I noticed one of the guys hand feeding a two foot 2”x10” thru an unguarded contractor saw. He was making a long diagonal ripping cut and running both hands past the spinning blade. I couldn’t stand it. I said “Eddie, give me those boards, ( about thirty) and I will cut them on my bandsaw”. He didn’t argue with me.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

I saw that show and thought exactly the same thing.

-- No piece is cut too short. It was meant for a smaller project.

The limited safety sense out there is scary. I’m not sure if it’s a lack of proper exposure or a lack of intelligence. What some of these people do is downright insane…but why? If it’s the ladder I can’t help a whole lot from where I sit, but if it’s the former then what you did by posting this is exactly the type of exposure the issues need. Showing what people are doing wrong gives others a place to see not only how to properly do the work, but exactly what NOT to do.

I’m a big climber/mountaineer – a book is produce annually called “Accidents in North American Mountaineering”. The books are amazing b/c they help illustrate what NOT to do and constantly re-enforce your understanding of safety…granted a lot more can go wrong out there than in a woodshop. After reading about one of these chilling experiences, you double-think things and see signs a lot faster that point to danger. Perhaps calling these out to folks will prevent senseless accidents and re-enforce safety.