Saftey

     In all the racing hobbies: motorcycles, go carts, boats or cars that I have done, there were rules concerning safety.  One of the biggest expenses in any kind of racing is the safety gear for the vehicle and the driver.   Just a helmet alone can be up to seven hundred dollars or more. 

     Fortunately, safety equipment for woodturning is fairly inexpensive.  About now is when I have to be honest and say that I am not the best at wearing proper safety gear for woodturning, but unlike racing, I can make my own rules at my shop, at least when my wife is gone.  I am also reminded of what a scuba diving instructor once said, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say“. 

     Having said that, I do recommend a few simple things.  Use a full face shield when roughing out wood which still has the bark on or when working with natural edge items.   The bark can and does fly off with enough force that if struck by a piece in the face could require stitches.  After all the bark is removed, I then switch to safety glasses, the kind that enclose your eyes completely.  These will keep chips and some of the dust from sanding out of your eyes.  Next up are gloves, gloves do a couple of things, first they protect you against cuts from those sharp edges created while turning, secondly, at least for me, I find that they take up some of the vibration in the tool handle which means less hand fatigue.  I use the gloves that leave your last two fingers out.  Now, here is the one that I am the worst about not doing, wearing a respirator.  I am not saying that you necessarily need one while turning, but definitely while sanding.  I know that they are uncomfortable, they can make your glasses fog up, and hey, they make you look funny, but sanding dust in your sinuses just can’t be good for you.  I make a lot of spalted wood items, the worst kind of sanding dust; some of that stuff has living organisms in it and they can continue to live in your lungs.  You can spend three to three hundred dollars on a respirator, but which ever you choose, USE IT.  Last is an apron or smock of some kind.  This is not necessarily a safety issue, but get the ones with a turtle neck collar, it will keep those pesky chips from going down your shirt or filling your pockets.