Safety Rules for a Woodwork Workshop

Working in a workshop exposes one to several dangers especially from the many nails, screws, cutting equipment, heavy materials as well as drilling equipment.

It is important when in a woodworking workshop to practice caution and care. This will help to ensure that no injuries occur when the workshop is in use.

Below are safety rules every beginner who wants to start a woodwork workshop needs to know.

Wear safety equipment always

When working in a workshop, you get to drill holes, cut materials, use nails, use screws and even ferry materials from one location to another. When performing these tasks, you get to expose your eyes, your ears, your hands and even body to wayward elements which can cause harm.

For example, you may drill holes in a piece of wood in order to screw two pieces together. During this time, small pieces of wood or dust will fly in any direction. If your eyes are not protected by safety goggles, you will get injured. Before starting to work in your new workshop, you need to invest in safety goggles, hearing protection, gloves (optional), working coveralls and a dust mask too.

Avoid alcohol and drugs

Alcohol and drugs impair the part of the human brain that allows one to think logically as well as act normally. When you consume such substances, they intoxicate the body which makes one not act as they should in a normal situation. If you were to operate heavy machinery like drilling equipment or cutting equipment, accidents are bound to happen.

While it may seem harmless to open one bottle of beer while on a project, it's best to avoid it until you are out of the workshop. You need to have a sober ad clear mind when operating machinery especially power tools.

Always disconnect the power after using a tool

Power tools are very helpful as they help to cut and drill holes very easily. There are times when you will have to change the drill bit or the blades. During this time, you need to ensure that the power tool is switched off both at its switch and at the power source. Doing so will ensure that no power flows through it and in case of turning it on accidentally, no injuries will occur.

If this were to happen you may injure your body or even lose your fingers.

Never place your hands anywhere near moving blades

There are times when you will be using highly professional equipment like table saws and miter saws to cut different materials. When doing so, the one thing you need to remember is that never put your hands anywhere near the blade. This may occur when one is trying to remove waste or cut-offs.

What you need to do is wait for the blade to completely stop moving and then you can reach over to remove the waste and cut-offs. You need to use a piece of scrap or push stick to move the waste and not with your bare hands. Accidents do happen and one may switch on the machine using their thighs by bumping on it. Always be cautious.

Dress appropriately

When working in a workshop, you need to remember that loose fitting clothes will become entangled in a saw blade and you don't want to know what will happen later. You need to wear clothes that are comfortable on you and for the environment that you are working in. The clothes should also be able to protect your body from any wayward wood chips and dust which are a result of cutting and drilling. The best clothes that will ensure you get protected are coveralls which can be bought in a store near you. Finally, avoid necklaces and bracelets on your neck and wrists.

You can find designs online and try your hand in making them with the available tools. A workshop is not an area where carelessness is tolerated but it is a place to lean and adopt good safety measures. In our Part Two series of the safety rules for a woodwork workshop, you will get to learn more regarding what you need to do in your workshop to prevent injuries.

Use sharp blades and bits

When drilling holes and cutting materials, you need to make sure that the saws and the drills are fitted with sharp blades and bits. Using dull tools with blunt blades and bits will make the work harder and dangerous too. One will need to use much effort in order to get a job done. This will result in a kick back which can lead to injuries on the hand. To ensure that works is done faster; you need to invest in sharp blades and bits. You will cut materials and drill holes without experiencing any kick back force from the equipment.

Always minimize distractions

Working in a workshop is like driving a car, a truck or even a train. The driver needs to place 100% concentration on the road as well as the oncoming traffic and pedestrians. In a workshop, one should avoid many distractions as they get to use equipment with sharp blades and bits. There are several things that can distract you when you are in a workshop. For example, you have bought a small LED television to watch Manchester matches as you live too far away from the town. While it's a great thing to support your team and be a fan, you need to switch off the TV when you are working. You can opt to put your favorite music playlist and play it while working. It is less distracting and it will motivate you to finish your work.

Keep children away from the workshop

When you invest in your home workshop, you need to keep children away from the cutting and drilling equipment. These are power tools which have sharp blades and bits. If turned on accidentally, they will injure a person when handled incorrectly.

Children love to run and hide in different areas of the home and your workshop is one of them. One way of keeping children out is to invest in locks. You can use the traditional bolt locks with a padlock or you can use the modern ones that come with an electronic keypad. All you need to do is set up your password and you can lock out unauthorized users.

Use only one extension cord

Power is distributed into homes using copper electric wires which are able to transmit a certain amount of power. In your home, you will find electric sockets in different parts of the home. When it comes to your extensions, you need to use only one in your workshop. Your workshop is a home to different power tools from electric saws to drilling tools. Fixing their power cords in only one socket will not only overload the extension and the power socket, but it will make it hard for you to know which tool has been switched off and which is on. With a single extension, you will be able to switch off at the socket which will allow you to replace blunt blades, blunt bits as well as remove wastes near the blades.

Always work against the cutter

Majority of power tools for woodworking are built in a way that the direction a piece of wood moves is through it. This simply means that it should move against the opposite direction of the cutting head. Since this is the safest practice, you need to make sure that the blade and router bit cuts against the motion of the material instead of going with it.

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