Safety – Page 2 – everythingdiyprojects

Personal protection equipment, or PPE, is essential in your woodwork shop to prevent injury to your body. According to OSHA, some of the most common injuries to woodworkers are lacerations, amputation, and blindness. I will discuss which PPE to use in your shop, common safety rules, how to dress in your shop, and some of the main health and safety concern in woodworking. Directory What PPE do you need for woodworking 9 Safety rules/elements in workshop How should you dress in the workshop Main Health and safety concerns in workshop What PPE do you need for woodworking The 5 essential pieces of safety equipment that every woodworker should have are eye protection, hearing protection, proper shoes, respirator, gloves. I will also include additional pieces of PPE that may not be necessary for everyone. Eye protection Hearing protection Proper shoes Respirator Gloves Below, I describe each PPE and why it is important. Eye protection Blindness is one of the most common injuries in woodworking according to OSHA It is important for your glasses to have impact-resistant lenses The glasses should also be tight-fitting and should cover the surrounding area around the eyes Hearing protection Employers are required to require hearing protection to employees who are exposed to noises above 85 decibels for 8 hours You should have either self-forming earplugs, pre-formed earplugs, or earmuffs Earmuffs need to completely cover the area around the ear to prevent excessive noise from seeping in Proper shoes Do not wear open toed shoes in the workshop. You may not need steel toes boots for woodworking, but you will need a thick enough sole to prevent a nail from stabbing you in the food Respirator You will need either a mask or respirator, depending on the job you are doing You will need a respirator if you are working with any toxic air-borne chemicals like VOCs from paint You will need a mask if you are only exposed to wood dust A respirator can replace a mask but not a mask for a respirator Gloves Basic wood gloves will prevent sprinters and cuts in your hand from handling wood More advanced cut resistant gloves can protect yourself from cuts like slicing your finger with chisel However, they will not protect you from cutting your finger on a table or circular saw 9 Safety rules/elements in workshop Keep area clean Remove trip or slip hazards Wear your PPE Read instruction manuals and follow all safety procedures in the workplace Use extension cords correctly Follow instructions for all chemicals used Unplug machines Dress appropriately Properly clean up and dispose of chemicals Below, I describe each rule and why they are important. Keep area clean Always keep your work area clean and clutter free. This will help limit your risk of accidental injury Remove trip or slip hazards Wear your PPE Read instruction manuals and follow all safety procedures in the workplace Read the instruction manuals for every piece of power equipment. Also follow all the safety procedures to prevent accidental injury Use extension cords correctly Use the extension cords in the way that they are intended to be used. Do not use indoor only extension cords when working outside Follow instructions for all chemicals used Read the instructions and follow safety procedures for all of the chemicals in your shop. A lot of chemicals that you may use are combustible. Not correctly handling them can lead to spontaneous combustion. Unplug machines Always unplug your machine before replacing blades and adjusting settings. Also unplug your machines when not in use, especially if you have a family Dress appropriately Wear the correct clothes, shoes, and accessories. I explain what to wear at the woodwork shop later in the article Properly clean up and dispose of chemicals Make sure you properly clean and dispose of chemicals to prevent accidents in your workshop. Additionally, it is important to dispose of chemicals correctly to protect the environment and the water supply. How should you dress in the workshop When woodworking, you need to dress in a way that will prevent and/or protect yourself from injuries. The three things to consider when dressing for the shop are your clothes, jewerly, and hair. Clothes Wear fitted clothes that are not super baggy so that it will not get caught in the machinery Wear layers if it is cold so that you can easily remove layers if you get hot Its okay to wear minimal clothes like a sleeveless shirt and shorts when its hot, as long as you wear the essential PPE and are not working with chemicals Shoes Always wear closed toe shoes with a sole that is thick and hard enough to prevent injury to your food if you step on a nail or something sharp Full steel toe boots may not be necessary depending on the job you are doing. You will only need to wear steel toe boots if you are lifting something very heavy. For example, you will need boots if you are moving heavy equipment in an offsite job. A miter saw can weigh 40 pounds and dropping to corner of the base on your toe can easily break it. Jewelry Remove all jewelry including watches, rings, bracelets, necklaces, and long earrings Wearing jewelry is a safety hazard when woodworking because it can get snagged in a piece of machinery Additionally, your jewelry can become damaged while woodworking Hair Like any lab or shop that you work in, you will want to keep your hair pulled back and out of your face You want to see what your doing and you do not want your hair to get pulled into a piece of machinery Main Health and safety concerns in workshop According to OSHA, some of the more common injuries in the wood workshop include laceration, amputation, severed fingers, and blindness. Additionally, not wearing the proper PPE can cause skin and respiratory injuries and diseases. Longer term exposure to some of the elements in the workshop, like wood dust, can cause neurological issues and is correlated to certain forms of cancers. Laceration Amputation Severed fingers Blindness Skin injuries/burns Respiratory diseases Neurological issues Below, I describe each injury and how they can occur. Laceration Laceration is the most common injury in the wood workshop. It happens all the time, from kickbacks from using power tools, stepping on screws, and other forms of accidental error Amputation An amputation is a more severe injury that mainly results from the incorrect use of power tools. Some people accidentally amputate their finger or hand To prevent this, you will need to follow all safety instructions and wear all necessary PPE Severed fingers A severed finger is a more common form of amputation that normally results from incorrectly using power tools Blindness Blindness can result from not wearing the proper eye protection. This injury can come from the use of chemicals or from impact to the eye Skin injuries/burns Skin injuries can result from incorrectly using chemicals and not wearing the proper PPE Respiratory diseases Respiratory diseases normally result from harmful VOCs in chemicals and from wood dust. Wearing the proper mask or respirator will limit your exposure to these chemicals and elements Neurological issues and certain cancers Neurological issues and certain cancers specifically result from the use of chemicals without the proper respiratory protection. Conclusion In this article, I discussed which PPE is required in the workshop, workshop rules, how to dress in a workshop, and common woodworking injuries. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this article and I wish you luck on your woodworking journeys!