4 ways to not cut yourself in the woodshop

I’ve not hurt myself much woodworking, but when I have it is usually minor cuts on fingers from various sharp things.

This is not good because (1) it looks bad at work the next day when my fingers are slashed and (2) it may get blood on the piece I am making, which is a job to remove.

Here is my list of scenarios to be mindful of:

1. Pressing on the back of a carving knife with your thumb…and realising the knife is upside down!
2. Rubbing a freshly sharpened blade with an oily rag – and the blade slices through the rag and gets to the finger.
3. Touching the sharp end of a chisel when making a selection from the tool cabinet.
4. Cutting the guiding thumb when sawing small or poorly-clamped material.

Generally, most of my accidents happen when I am trying to work with very small pieces that are difficult to clamp or grip properly. On occasion I get a blister from using a tool for an extended period of time – even if the handle is a well-formed quality item.

Given the frequency I get a minor cut, I have a supply of band-aids in the tool cabinet so I can grab one as soon as an incident happens.