Where in your shop would you say you’re most likely to get cut?
That’s a good question because woodshops are filled with things that cut. Cutting things is what 95 percent of woodworking is all about, so it stands to reason that you’d have a boatload of sharp things in there.
But when you think of getting cut, you probably think about it happening when a sharp thing is moving; probably spinning, to be precise. And that’s hard to argue. But if I’m being honest, I cut myself far more often on non-moving sharp things.
Chisels – if you keep them as sharp as you should – are a prime culprit. The fresh-cut edges of laminate are another. Any blade that you’re tasked with changing still another. I’ve drawn blood with all of those.
The place I get cut the most is my router drawer. I have several dozen bits in there, every one of them honed to perfection. I take care around all sharp things, especially when they’re moving in tools, but every time I reach into this drawer I stop and take a beat before proceeding.
I’ve taken efforts to minimize cuts. I keep the bits in drilled wooden strips, with the holes just slightly loose so they don’t get stuck removing one. The holes are shallow, so I can grasp the shank of most of them. They’re entirely by themselves on one side, separated from all the other router odds and ends I might be reaching inside for.
I bring this up because I just cut myself on a router bit this week. I was about to pull out one of the spiral bits, changed my mind and went for the one next to it instead. Because of this little bit of fumbling I grazed the edge of one of them resulting in a small, but messy, cut on one finger.
I’ll live – it really was a minor cut – but sometimes the best reminder to avoid big cuts is to get a little one.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.