A Two Minute Safety Tip
I had a near miss with a biscuit joiner when I was plunging the tool into the end of a poplar
board while holding the board with my left hand. The tool's blade hit a knot, kicking to the left
while severely lacerating my left thumb and fracturing the distal bone. That was about 5 years
ago.
Since then, my son has gotten older and I've become a Woodworking Merit Badge Counselor for Boy
Scouts. Whenever I'm in my shop, I always stop to think, if I was demonstrating this to a Scout,
would I do it this way? Instead of a straight face test, I think of this as my Boy Scout test. It
keeps me honest and ensures I'm doing the task safely.
My job includes Injury Prevention for a healthcare organization...so I understand all about folks
taking short cuts because they don't think it will happen to them--its all about establishing a
culture of safety--so thanks for including this section in your newsletter.
Tom LeRoy
Do you have a safety tip you always keep in mind when you are in the shop?
Share it with
us
, and you could get a $25 Highland Woodworking gift card
if we feature your tip in a
future issue.
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