Workshop Safety is First

!±8± Workshop Safety is First

As a hobby or past-time, woodworking has many inherent dangers and that is why workshop safety tops the list.

Just about everything you work with is stronger than your skin and bones including the wood itself. With that in mind, think about the fact that the tools that you use to work with the wood are designed to cut, rip, and otherwise tear this wood.

This is not said to scare you away from woodworking, rather it is just make sure that you have complete respect for the tools you use and the safety in your workshop.

Most workshop safety issues really aren't from an accident with a power tool, rather they are little things that accumulate over time that involve your eyes, your hearing, and your breathing.

So, with that in mind, let's take a look at some workshop safety tips as they relate to your eyes, your ears, and your lungs.

Eye Protection:

When it comes to workshop safety, nothing is more important than protecting your eyes. Woodworking is always going to produce dust and even wood chips that will constantly be flying around. Not wearing eye protection is just not an option. If you don't... it's not a matter of if something bad will happen... it's when.

Safety glasses are easy to have around and they are comfortable to wear. Many of them have open sides to them but protect your eyes from a direct assault. You can find safety glasses with side protection and you probably should because your eyes just aren't worth risking.

Goggles offer eye protection that is a level up from the glasses since they fit tightly against your face. Safety goggles can be a bit more cumbersome to wear and have the tendency to fog up if you're sweating or the humidity is high.

Face shields aren't necessary for the lion's share of woodworking projects unless you're working with something that really throws chunks of wood around and you need to protect your entire face from getting slapped around with wood chips.

Ear Protection:

Earplugs are easy to find and inexpensive for workshop safety, but getting them to fit properly can be a bit problematic. If they don't completely block your ear canal, then they aren't effectively doing their job so make sure you have them tightly fitted.

Ear Covers or earmuffs are devices that cover the entire ear and look very similar to headphones. Ear covers will reduce the damaging noise better that the plugs, but since they fit tightly over your ears they can be somewhat uncomfortable to wear over a period of time.

Lung Protection:
When it comes to workshop safety there is always dust and fumes present in your environment and that's why it is essential to invest your breathing protection.

The quickest, easiest, and most inexpensive are the simple white dust masks that you see all the time in all the home centers and hardware stores. With such protection so easy to find and cheap to buy, you should never be without them.

Respirators not only filter dust, but they filter fumes as well. If you're going to be working with finishes or compounds that produce heavy fumes, then you should invest in an actual respirator device. These can be found at most all home centers.

With workshop safety, when it comes to your eyes, your hearing, and your lungs, there is no excuse not to take the proper precautions. Remember the damage you do won't necessarily be immediate, rather it will be cumulative. The protection is inexpensive and easy to find... so use it.