What happens if your tools slip?
That’s the question I am supposed to ask myself, whether instinctively or aloud, whenever I work on a task.
Maybe there’s a different way to put it, but hear me out.
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When using wrenches, what happens if you slip? Earlier today I pushed, slipped, and banged my knuckles.
If you’re using a hammer, what happens if you miss?
What if your angle grinder wheel shatters?
Where do you put your hands when using a cordless or air nailer? Hammer?
You’re working in an engine bay. How bad would it be if you drop a socket?
Almost every mistake I make, knuckle I bash, splinter I remove – so many little things can be avoided with just a little deliberate forethought.
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Will a slip of a screwdriver ruin a part? Cause injury? Damage a fastener that is difficult to replace?
Things can still happen. There can be accidents, mistakes, defects. No amount of planning, thinking, or anticipating can stop everything.
Where will your unsecured vise drop? What happens if your drill press grabs your workpiece and starts to spin it around? Which way are you cutting?
My hand is just a little bruised. I took it as a reminder to slow down. I figured maybe some of you could also use the reminder.
OH! And of course proper PPE. Protect your eyes, you’ve only got 2, protect your hearing, as damage is cumulative, and definitely protect your lungs. Gloves, face shield, closed toe shoes (at the least), maybe even safety toe boots, and head protection too if the situation calls for it. “What could go wrong?” is always a good question to ask about tools, workpieces, and everything else.
What else do you think about or anticipate to help stay safe when working with tools?
Jay
Just reminded of this last week making a less-than-safe cut on the miter saw. Piece was snagged and thrown and I immediately looked down to ensure I was all good (thankfully I was). To make the challenging cut even dumber, I have Fastcap’s $10M stick over on the bench and elected not to use it…the first time at least. The repeating cuts I used the stick with no issues, just like I bought it for.
Lastly, I have a tourniquet in the shop hanging on the wall should a bad accident occur and would encourage others to do the same, they could save your life or someone else in the shop.
Stay safe everyone.
Derek
I haven’t seen that Fastcap $10M stick before. Do you like it?
I think I will pick one up just in case I ever need it.
Jay
I love it-works well, cheap, and keeps my fingers at a safe distance…when I use it!
Bonnie
Having first aid ready and visible is just as important in a home shop as it is in a commercial one. A good reminder.
I keep basic first aid kits mounted to the wall in each sub area of my shop, up high so they’re always in line of sight for me or anyone else who might be in there. And eyewash bottles at any place I might be using chemicals (safety glasses are always on, but I’m not as good at switching to goggles as I should be). I’ve only recently started connecting the shop to septic and this is also a good reminder to myself I should probably buy a plumbed one for the the liquids (resin work mostly) bench.
Same for fire extinguishers. Always have one within reach, rated for the type of work you’re doing in that space.
North_Bender
Just don’t put the first aid kits so high that you can’t reach them if you end up on the floor. (Or split them up so the boo-boo bandages are in the upper container and the tourniquets and trauma gear is in a lower container.)
Dustin
I keep mine at floor level in case I have to crawl to it
Jack D
I was reading this and immediately planned to post about that Fastcap Ten Million Dollar stick! Best investment I’ve ever made, and it’s hanging right by the saw for just such cuts! Cheers to that…
And I’ll take your advice on the tourniquet. Be PREPARED!
Joe
The labs in my office are LOUD, I keep a pair of earmuffs on my desk, and whenever I don’t grab them I immediately regret it.
Especially when working on some early stuff where fan control isn’t working yet, so they’re screaming at like 25k RPM.
This is my daily risk, then there is probably a bunch of other stupid stuff I do on the weekend.
Rx9
I know very well my luck is limited. I expect terrible things to happen. So, I am an enthusiastic user of PPE and safety procedures.
I can handle a knuckle buster with a wrench from time to time, but with table and miter saws, there is no FO because I refuse to FA, so to speak.
I’m also a big fan of n95 masks when working with any kind of dust generation.
Kompahko
I’ve been using anti-impact gloves for 3 years now. They protect my knuckles well enough that sometimes i dont even realize it could’ve been bad.
It doesnt bother me enough when trying to pickup fasteners from my tool belt
Scotty.
Agree that slowing down and using deliberate forethought is the best way to avoid many of those “oops”.
For myself, nearly every time oops happens it is because I am rushing to complete something. Yes time is valuable but having to fix oops or do it twice or deal with injury won’t help.
Jared
I’m pretty careful with wrenches – it’s been a LONG time since I busted a knuckle (just use an open hand when there’s a risk – or grab the XL wrenches to keep your fingers out of the way). However, my bad habit is gloves.
I have an allergy to some petroleum products and I’m not a fan of slivers. Hence I wear gloves when I work, basically all the time. I know gloves and moving machinery are not compatible, but it’s a hard habit to break. I’ve consciously tried to switch to nitrile when that type of risk exists, but I still catch myself occasionally – especially if it’s just a “quick” task in the middle of a project.
razl
I was struggling with something on rough metal a few years back, I think bending a tab, and looked at my bare hands while I was doing it and thought “if I slip I’m going to cut myself on the metal” and did it anyway. Sure enough, 2 seconds later, slipped and gouged my knuckles. Close to needing stitches but not quite.
I can not believe I looked at it, thought that to myself, and did it anyway. Was in too much of a hurry. At a minimum, knowing the metal around it wasn’t going to be forgiving, I should have been wearing gloves but didn’t.
Was a wake up call for me and a hopefully permanent reminder that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure (or more!)
Mark M.
Such a great reminder and spot-on!! A tiny bit of awareness and PPE goes a long way. 100% of my injuries could have been prevented by not rushing and/or PPE. For all the money we spend on stupid things, go overboard on safety glasses et al that you’ll enjoy using.
g
Good article and advice! I recently took down our rotting swing set. I tried to rebuild just the swings because that’s about all my kids like anymore. I initially thought about wearing a helmet just in case then decided against it. Big mistake. After taking a couple big swings, a bolt sheared in half and the swing bracket broke off and hit me in the head. Ended up not being serious, other than a lot of bleeding (head wounds really do bleed a lot, even if they’re tiny), no stitches needed and no concussion. But if I hadn’t brushed aside that momentary consideration of safety, the worst I would’ve suffered was a bruised butt.
Yadda
Any time is good for a public service announcement. Thanks for the reminder!
Jason T.
I think more than anything experience is a great teacher. I learned a lot of things the hard way when it came to safety. I also grew up in a time when PPE wasn’t thought of or used very much. Useful comment of the day… Welding gloves aren’t just for when you’re welding, they’re for picking up stuff after you’re done welding.
928'er
Years ago I was an air traffic control radar tech at Ramstein AB in Germany. Our worksite was about 300 yards from the center of the runway. I was, constantly, exposed to the noise of jet engines either landing and taking off – plus the noise of diesel backup generators.
I was never provided, or even offered, hearing protection. To this day I am partially deaf and have CONSTANT tinnitus. The only time I don’t have tinnitus is when I’m asleep.
Protect your hearing, it doesn’t get better with age…
Nathan
I admit I don’t do the gloves quite enough but I do the others. Eyes ears and head when applicable always
The other stuff. Comes with experience if there is a open hole in an expensive part of the car cover it. Engine transmission diff etc. if it’s got a spinning blade cover it and/or keep your hand away. But yes I think fear keeps a lot of people away from doing their own work
Lawson
I feel naked when I catch myself working without gloves! It’s became that much of a habit. Slow and methodical with the power equipment is the goal but I’ve caught myself using power tools with a less than preferred method. Forethought, as mentioned above, should be our methodology. Here’s to keeping all our digits and other bits in 2026 and beyond.
Jonathan OAF
My hobbies in woodworking I love to do but if I’m too tired, I skip it. Routers especially I double check everything before making the cut.
MikeK
It’s never the wrong time to remind people about safety. However, I’m pretty sure you meant “closed toe shoes”:
“Gloves, face shield, closed toe shoots, maybe even safety toe boots…”
Stuart
oops – yes! Thank you!
Rog
I was always taught that before running anything through the table or circular saw to ask, ‘where are my fingers’ so that way you never have to ask ‘where are my fingers’…
Stuart
Great tip!
I don’t remember where I picked it up from, but sometimes I register a finger to the miter slot. That way one hand holds a push block, stick, or other guard and the other is physically kept away from the blade with tactile reminder of where exactly it is. I also never remove the blade guard except when using a dado blade.
Adabhael
Before we turned on any power tool in his shop (or used some hand tools) my grandfather used to make me physically play out based on the forces/motions what would happen to tools and workpieces if something went wrong. I can still hear him saying as he taught me to use a lathe: “if the tool grabs, It’s liable to pull right out of your hands” as in slow-motion he demonstrated the path it would follow: bouncing off the wall and cartwheeling back into me. Made an impression.
“Liable” was a favorite word of his, not in the legal sense, but a reminder that bad things were not merely possible but likely. Thanks for the safety reminder, and the memory!
John
Also be sure to think about securing materials to your work surface when cutting, sanding, grinding or drilling. I was repairing water damaged subfloor in our bathroom and thought it would be easier to layout the waste stack location and cut the hole on the work bench. After getting everything laid out, I grabbed my big, corded drill and a 4-1/2″ hole saw . The 48″ x 24″piece of 3/4″ subfloor was very heavy and I had one of those tacky rubber drawer liners between the OSB and workbench to hold it in place. I held the drill and side-handle and slowly started to make the cut. Everything was going as planned until the hole saw bound up and spun the heavy piece of plywood around like it was nothing. I ended up with a nasty bruise and laceration on my stomach from the corner of the spinning board. Ouch!
Jim Metzger
34 years ago I was adjusting a safety switch on an electric riser in the middle of a coffee table, One last check and I got my finger caught between two moving metal bars acting like a scissor. I didn’t lose the finger but had 6 months of physical therapy to be able to bend it again. That is not the story however.
While I was at the therapist a man came in for his first visit, his “hand” was wrapped to the size of a grapefruit. Unwrapped it looked like Dr. Frankenstein had done the work, almost more stitch than skin.
He was a woodworker, at the table saw he was using hearing protection, dust collection, goggles, and overarm blade guard with splitter that concealed the blade.
He thought there was a blockage and turned the saw off, reached under the table but the blade had not stopped spinning. Stuck his hand into a coasting blade that’d SO MUCH DAMAGE.
He was rushed by helicopter to Bellevue Hospital in NYC, they do great reattachment surgery. The therapist said to me privately he would have been better off if he hadn’t had the hand re-attached, it would be forever useless and he would be better off with an artificial hand.
Be safe but double think everything you thought you knew about being “safe”.
Josephus
I routinely use PPE for even “light duty” tasks because you never know when shit can go wrong. Sometimes it’s not even you doing the stupid shit. You’re just around it.
Have watched people cut live power lines with bolt cutters (after being asked not to by myself… multiple times), locking switch angle grind with no protection, try to stop toothed belts by hand (no gloves, using fingers), all kinds of dumb shit. In case you couldn’t tell, training is nearly nonexistent at my job.
Anyone tries to give me shit? I don’t care about your opinion. I have to do this job for twenty more years. Not trying to go into management.
Stuart
Great point!
“I’ll be quick” are dangerous words in dangerous situations. “I just need one cut.” These are hard ways to learn a lesson.
It’s those “do I really need PPE/clamps/etc?” times when the answer is almost always YES.
If I ask myself because I don’t want to go through the trouble, rather than asking because I think it’s 100% safe without extra steps, my inner voice forces me to do things properly.
Lgontoolguyd
Most of my tool related mistakes have come from making decisions while under the influence of hypoglycemia. It’s amazing how poor of a decision seems like a national choice when your blood sugar is lower than usual.
Jack D
I had a friend who used to call me “Safety Cat” because of my predilection for taking my time to make sure whatever I was doing was safe and ready to go before starting. I took it as a badge of honor, and still do the same to this day.
Take your time, get it right, and you’ll never never have a “user error” accident…
Tony
It took me a long time to trust my intuition and ignore the goal/pressure to complete a task. I’ve stopped kicking myself for not trusting it. Now, when I feel something isn’t right, I ask myself, “Is there a better way of doing this?” Is the cut line correct?
One idea not covered is to look around blind spots for hazards. There was a crosscut jig on my table saw blocking my view of the saw blade. Turning on the saw ruined my old Starrett rule that was left near the blade and destroyed many carbide saw teeth. I’ll trade ruined tools for no personal injury all the time. Now I look around blind spots when checking my set up.
There’s a Safety Poster on my wall I’ll share with you.
Eyes/Mind on Task?
Focus on Task; Think job through; Clear mind of distracting thoughts
Pinch Points?
Guards in place? Guards effective? Hands/fingers clear of hazard?
Over Exertion/Body Position?
Check weight; Is help needed?; Can lifting device be used?; Plan route; Anything blocking route?
Line of Fire?
Clear moving parts; Hands near the point of operation?; Don’t catch falling objects
Slips and Falls?
Wet floors?; Tripping hazards?; Floors clear?; Holes in floor?
PPE?
Flying particles; Sharp objects; Chemicals; Gloves needed; High noise; Proper removal of PPE
MM
Speaking of safety posters: Many years ago when I was a young teenager I first learned to use shop equipment like a drill press, grinder, lathe, etc, in the maintenance shop of the chemical company my father worked for. He worked in the office but was buddies with the maintenance supervisor at the production plant and frequently borrowed the facilities on weekends to work on his ham radio and my school Science Fair projects. The men’s washroom was decorated with a variety of posters. The safety ones featured graphic uncensored photos of the aftermath of industrial accidents, showing exactly what happens when someone is careless. One of them depicted a person’s scalp wrapped around the spindle of a drill press after their unsecured long hair had gotten caught. Another showed a mangled hand when someone’s gloves got caught in a stationary grinder. And so on. There was a series of them, I think they probably were printed in the 1970’s. I don’t think posters like that would be politically correct in today’s world, but they certainly made an impression on me to take shop safety seriously.
Other Nathan
If you have a tourniquet, PRACTICE WITH IT. You do not want the first time you have to use it to be under pressure in a bad situation.
Jay
Totally agree, practice and have them setup for a stressful deployment
EBT
I wear gloves when working/assembling stuff (unless it needs dexterity like electronics assembly, and even then, I may wear a second skin due to metal case/surrounds).
I cannot find a pair of fitting gloves that protect knuckles and from cuts that also keeps hands either dry or warm. Gotta work under hood to reach up or down for an oil filter (hot) or nearby headers (hot) or sharp metal (nuts, lines, etc). Or gloves that last for atleast a year of use.
I liked the coated hands knitted gloves (grey/black or blue/black) but they wear with handling rough material. And do not protect against liquids like motor oil or lubes. I’ve found safetygloves website that really has variety like impact protection and cut protection or impact and liquid protection, or cut and thermal protection, or knuckle protection…
Gloves are important. Eyewear. Respiration (read about Welder’s Anthrax!) protection. Steel toe or composite toe work boots. Can’t assemble those shelves wearing tiktok flipflops!
zchris87v
I’ve worked in several factories, and I’ve seen the result of gloves and rotating equipment, especially bench grinders. Too many guys nicknamed “stumpy” for my liking.