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February, 2012

  1. Woodshop Safety Rule #6 (of the top ten)

    February 28, 2012 by MrMeasureTwice

    How to be a “clean cutter” every time…

     

    Clean cuts are key to good woodworking. Without clean, crisp cuts, your woodwork looks shabby, makes your projects look amateurish and can also be a safety matter. No one likes to buy new blades and bits for our tools – they’re EXPENSIVE! But, using worn down blades and bits is a bad move no matter how you look at it.

    Kinda funny that I am even making note of this, but it is actually a problem with many shops. Since I am primarily speaking about safety, let’s cover that first.

    Dull tools are dangerous because they can cause the woodworker to push harder on a work piece to get it cut through. When pushing hard on a work piece, you increase the risk of slipping off the work piece and hurting yourself. You also risk burning up the blade or even causing the power tool to overheat. All could turn into serious matters quite fast. Just doesn’t seem worth it to me, and, I think nearly everyone reading this would agree. But those blades can cost some serious bucks!

    Oh, and…  Dull tools may also kick back more often, and harder. With table saws, kick back is one of the most feared events for a variety of reasons, but mostly because we don’t like being injured by wood missiles or projectiles. Drill bits can get bound in the work piece and become a violent ballerina on the drill press table!

    Sharpening devices for drill bits have become more affordable, so you could invest in one of those for drill bits. Saw blades are another matter. I did recently spot an ad for a sharpening service that uses CNC machines to sharpen circular blades. Looking online there are a lot of options available, local and all over the US. Looking at one such place, it appears that blades from 6 to 40 teeth are only $8.50. 41-60 teeth are $12.00 – not too bad when you consider some of the high end blades from Freud and others can range from a reasonable $40.00 on up to $99.00

    Buy one of the $99.00 blades and have it sharpened 3 times (a combo blade with 40 teeth) and your cost for that would be:

    $99.00 – blade
    $25.50 – 3 sharpenings
    $15.00 – shipping for 3 sharpenings
    $139.50 TOTAL —   vs. $297.00 for 3 blades – NOT BAD!

    Keep in mind, you can only sharpen a blade so many times before there is not enough metal left to sharpen it. but, even if you sharpen that blade 3 times, it’s a lot less expensive than $99.00 a pop when it dulls. Shoot, you can even have them retoothed for about $1.50 per tooth + sharpening costs.

    In any case, dull cutting tools make for an unsafe work shop, and, makes for frustration, slower work, possibly damaging or destroying your work pieces. Seems to me that keeping things sharp is the way to go.

     Next safety rule #5… Don’t get over extended (not credit cards!)

    May your shop be filled with sawdust all year long,

    – Jim “Mr. Measure Twice” Marchetti
    Measure Twice, Cut Once…

    Category Safety, sharpening, Tools, Woodworking, Workshop | Tags: ,,, | 1 Comment

  2. Woodshop Safety Rule #7 (of the top ten)

    February 21, 2012 by MrMeasureTwice

    You need to be a METAL HEAD!!!

     

    Seriously, you  need to have metal in your head, or at least on you mind all the time when working with wood. Metal can be the worst thing to have in your wood when you are sawing, sanding, planing, jointing, etc. a piece of wood. Where would I ever encounter a piece of metal in my wood you ask? Shoot, just last week I picked up three pieces of wood at Lowe’s for a small project and one piece was riddled with staples. Staples? YEP – depending on the wood and such, the handlers will staple various pieces of paper and tags onto the wood.

    This means that you, as a safe and sane wood worker, need to inspect your wood before you apply any cutting tools to the work piece. A visual inspection is usually good enough, but what if you are using used or reclaimed wood?

    Totally different situation at that point. Personally, I have a metal detector that I use for metal detecting, especially when I am digging for coins and such in parks and other places. But, now, I see ads for “specialized” metal detectors especially for woodworkers. Trust me, if you already have a handheld metal detector wand, you’re set. But, if you do not have one, consider getting one if you;re going to be using a lot of reclaimed wood.

    What the heck is reclaimed wood anyway? For me, I advertise in Craig’s List for broken furniture and I pick it up and break it down for reclamation. Recently, I got hold of a really nice oak dresser that was in shambles, as a dresser, but for a supply of wood, AWESOME! I also dismantled a 1960′s mahogany desk that my dad bought, but never used. Now, it is a nice supply of mahogany for some projects I have in mind. BUT – when I get ready to use a piece of those reclaimed items, I will certainly scan it for metal.

    The point is that you need to pay a little attention to new wood, and a lot of attention to anything you scavenged or reclaimed/recycled. It’s important not only to preserve your tools blades, but for SAFETY – I mentioned missiles in my last article, but if you think a big piece of wood is dangerous, imagine a piece of metal like a nail or screw flying through the air and into your eye or other part of your body. DEFINITELY not a good thing for a woodworker!!!

    So… be a metal head and check your wood for metal items EVERY time you select a work piece.

    Next safety rule #6… be a clean cutter

     

    May your shop be filled with sawdust all year long,

    – Jim “Mr. Measure Twice” Marchetti
    Measure Twice, Cut Once…

    Category Safety, Tools, Woodworking, Workshop | Tags: ,, | No Comments

  3. Woodshop Safety Rule #8 (of the top ten)

    February 20, 2012 by MrMeasureTwice

    Doing the opposite?

     

    Well, not really DOING the opposite. Actually, it’s more like going against the direction – of the cutting tool. As woodworkers, we cut wood down to size, not build it up like in ceramics or other arts. Since we reduce the wood, we need to cut it. When cutting with power tools, we cut so the wood is going against the cutting teeth. Like on a table saw where there is risk of kickback, it’s because the teeth are moving towards the wood as we glide it forward into the spinning blade.

    If you’ve seen people using a sanding drum on a drill press to thickness sand a thin piece of wood, the drum rotates against the wood as you slide it into the drum. Same situation for a circular saw – you push the saw forward into the wood, and the blade is rotating with the teeth hitting the wood (going into), making the cut.

    OK, so there you go, 3 illustrations of the “opposite”, but why do I even write about this? AHAH! Well, it’s really simple logic, but imagine if the blades went the other way? Now, as you push the wood forward on your table saw, the teeth catch and suddenly that pretty piece of maple is a small missile hurtling across your shop at mach 3! The circular saw – yep, it becomes the missile and flies right out of your grip and hits your cabinets across the room -or worse, your car. Not pretty, huh? Same for the drum sander on the drill press – wooden missile again!

    Wait? What about the band saw? It doesn’t really have the same issues, exactly. It’s sort of flipped up on end, isn’t it? Yep. Well, it still needs to obey the same rules of the other cutting devices. (yes, the sanding drum does cut, just in tiny little pieces). Reverse the direction of the band saw blade and I will guarantee you that the wood will rise up in rebellion right off the table and up into the upper guides, wrecking those brand new Carter guides you just installed. BUMMER!

    Of course, none of us would willingly, knowingly reverse the blades on any of our power tools. RIGHT?

    SO… What’s the purpose of this article? Just to make you think about how those machines are cutting the wood. We so often just head out to our shop, flip on the power and cut, cut and do some more cutting without thinking much about the HOW. How does that blade do its cutting work? WHY does it rotate against me?

    Just remember that whatever machine you are using, the cutter/teeth should cut into the wood, not with the wood.

    Next safety rule #7… becoming a metal head

     

    May your shop be filled with sawdust all year long,

    – Jim “Mr. Measure Twice” Marchetti
    Measure Twice, Cut Once…

    Category Safety, Woodworking, Workshop | Tags: , | No Comments

  4. Woodshop Safety Rule #9 (of the Top Ten)

    February 19, 2012 by MrMeasureTwice

    Process, process, process!

     

    Yep, you read that right – PROCESS. Everyone has some sort of process when working in the shop. Some of us are more loose in our processes than others, but we all follow processes. Before I explain exactly what I am talking about, let’s examine the word, just a bit…

    proc·ess

    [ pros-es; especially Brit. proh-ses ]

    noun 

    1. a systematic series of actions directed to some end: to devise a process for homogenizing milk.
    2. a continuous action, operation, or series of changes taking place in a definite manner: the process of decay.

    There you go,  we all know what process means. Now, we can get into what I am trying to explain to you. When I talk about process I am talking about the steps you take to accomplish a task or set of tasks. A process is systematic, as noted above, and is something that is fully repeatable. And, since we are talking about safety in this series, I am targeting safety processes that will help you not hurt yourself or others (or your tools).

    Process 1 – never reach over or around a running table saw/miter saw blade to remove cut-offs. ALWAYS stop the machine and wait for the blade to stop moving – completely – before going after waste material or cut-offs. Personally, I use one of my pushing sticks to remove those items, even though the machine is stopped. It’s just a good, safe process to follow when removing stuff. I do that because there is always a sliver of a chance that I could somehow bump the power on the machine.

    Relax your process for one moment and your nickname could be changed to the nine-fingered woodworker – not one you would brag about to anyone.

    What about bandsaws? SAME PROCESS. That blade is humming along for a good 10-20 seconds on some bandsaws, so just live with the fact you lost that time and don’t lose any digits from your hand. It’s simple, safe and the right thing to do.

    As I learned many years ago, SAFETY IS PARAMOUNT. I truly belive that and that is why I am taking the time to write these top-10 tips for shop safety.

    Next safety rule… #8… doing the opposite

     

    May your shop be filled with sawdust all year long,

    – Jim “Mr. Measure Twice” Marchetti
    Measure Twice, Cut Once…

    Category Safety, Woodworking, Workshop | Tags: | No Comments

  5. Woodshop Safety Rule #10 (of the Top Ten)

    February 18, 2012 by MrMeasureTwice

    Distractions!

    I built my shop and I want it to be safe. I learned all about safety while serving in the US Navy and I saw it all, so I am acutely aware of safety and especially distractions. In my wood shop, I have a door. The door is there for a couple reasons, but mostly so people will not come in when they hear my machines running. That doesn’t always work, so, I rigged up a bell to my door so when they do come in, I know they are in the shop. Why?

    Well, I wear ear protection when running any machine or loud tool. I can’t hear when someone comes into the shop and if the come up behind me while I am using, say, the bandsaw, I could easily lop off a finger if they startle me. Not a good thing!

    So, in your shop or area where you do your wood working, make sure that you’ve not set yourself up for disaster and eliminate things that could distract or startle you.

    Next safety rule… #9… all about process.

     

    May your shop be filled with sawdust all year long,

    – Jim “Mr. Measure Twice” Marchetti
    Measure Twice, Cut Once…

    Category Woodworking | Tags: | 2 Comments