Woodworker's Safety Week 2010
It's Safety Week 2010 for Woodworkers - a good time to consider some of your own shop safety practices and think about what you might improve. One of our customers, Howard Van Valzah, contributed this great safety tip that could be valuable to some of you. We've also included some links below to other blogs that are also 'celebrating' safety week with links and tips that could help improve your workshop safety.
Got tips of your own? Share them in the comments!
Enjoy and be safe!
A Two Minute Safety Tip
by Howard Van Valzah
As a veteran woodworker age 80 I have finally learned something I should have learned many years ago. Recently it became obvious to me that the majority of my woodworking injuries were on my left hand. The worst one was on my left thumb that wandered by itself into a table saw blade. Stitches didn't work so a skin graft was needed to complete the cure. That happened four years ago.
Recently I have been working on some large projects and observed on completion that I had three band aids on my left hand. Nothing major like the thumb incident, but they were scratches, bangs, and nicks. And then the realization came that this seems to happen after every major project, and to a lesser extent on smaller jobs. Then I looked closely at the way my hands get work done. In most cases I found that my right hand is directing work to be done. That would make you think that the right hand might be injured more frequently. Further study showed that my left hand was often used to steady or hold the work piece putting it right in line to be struck by a slipped tool or anything else that might go wrong. The right hand guiding the tool was perfectly safe. (The hand eye coordination required to get the work performed was the responsibility of the right hand. The left hand was used in support but the operator's eye was concentrating on the performance of the right hand, leaving the left hand unattended.)
Now that I knew that, I began to be more conscious of the left hand, but still got nicks, dings, and scratches on it. It quickly became clear that it wasn't enough to just be aware of the problem and hope I could correct it. Just about that time I purchased a pair of bright yellow cut-resistant Kevlar gloves from Highland Woodworking. I didn't purchase them for use with power tools - I bought them with the idea of using them when I occasionally have to hand carve a piece of work. Seeing them sitting beside the workbench one day I decided to try something. I put one on my left hand (they are reversible) with the thought that the bright yellow color might alert me to be cautious, as does the yellow light on a traffic signal. It seems to be working because I have not yet had a scratch or ding on my left hand, but I did bang it hard once, but no blood, just a severe "ouchie". I would encourage others to wear a "yellow caution light" on their left hand as a reminder that it is an accident waiting to happen.
A couple of safety links for you
The Wood Whisperer
Matts Basement Workshop
Saturday, July 21st
Hard as it may be to believe, it was once possible to buy an automobile whose body was made substantially out of wood. Yes, those old cars were known as Woodies, and today surviving specimens are both rare and priceless. 
Although men have historically dominated the craft of woodworking, half of all new woodworking hobbyists are women, according to recently published reports.
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Don't miss the new Highland Woodworking Red Hot Special! Our popular Deluxe Router Bit Storage Box is featured at an unbeliveable price, but quantities are limited, so you'll have to act fast! Visit 
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Hydrocote products have been Highland Woodworking’s primary water-based finish for many years. Professionals and enthusiasts have come to rely on Hydrocote’s overall quality, durability and broad choice of supporting products. They make a polyurethane for floors and tables, a lacquer for general cabinet work and an exterior urethane for outdoor projects.
Almost all of us who work here, including myself, are avid woodworkers. Needless to say, we love our tools. We take an active interest in making sure the stuff we sell works. If it’s expensive, we want the best. If it sells for less, we make sure it’s a good value. The bottom line is we want our friends, our customers, to be happy and enjoy our tools. So, we have things like a tech line and a fairly liberal return policy to make sure you get what you want. Another thing we do is we test our products. Product testing has been a tradition at Highland since day one. You’ve read our ad that says, “Our catalog gives you more than just manufacturer’s specs…” We really do take this stuff home, give it a go in our own shops and try to be as honest as possible with the copy in our catalog/web site.
Saturday, May 5th
We are excited to introduce a new educational series, 
Free Demos
We invite you to spend a festive day at Highland Woodworking as we host our semi-annual Tool Sale. We will have sale pricing, free refreshments, free demonstrations & door prizes. The wealth of restaurants & shops in Virginia Highlands wil keep the whole family fed and entertained, so pack everybody in the car & come on down! We won't have a tent, so we'll have parking available in our lot.