Table saws are dangerous

Last weekend at the Pictou Craft Market I had three woodworkers at my booth comparing their injuries from table saws.

The first to arrive was a freshly bandaged finger. It sounded like the nail and some skin was gone, but otherwise it will probably heal reasonably well. Just then a friend of mine passed by so I called him over to show his scarred finger off to us. Meanwhile a fellow from a nearby booth saw what was going on and came over to show off the four-and-a-bit digits on his hand.

Coincidence? Certainly. But considering how few woodworkers I know, an awful lot of them have injuries from circular saws. Another friend of mine nearly lost his thumb to a radial arm saw last winter. Fortunately it has healed very well.

While all these cases can joke about it now, one local dentist had to give up his practice after a table saw accident since he lost the sense of feel to his injured finger. His career wiped out in milliseconds which must have hurt him both emotionally and financially.

The moral of the story? Learn all about table saw safety before using one. Reading about it is a help, but professional training would be best.


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