safety chat...

[mistermikev]

so, 5 minutes ago I was out in my garage routering my neck.  Using a 3/4" x1" x1/2" whiteside bit.  I see some movement in the corner of my eye and realize that my wife is standing there.  I carefully turn off my router and stand between her and it.  I have a full face shield plus glasses on.  She's just politely waiting for me to stop. 

I damn near shit my pants.  I have tried many times to impress upon her that when she hears that thing running she absolutely cannot come into the garage... cannot even knock on the door.  that it is a dangerous machine and if I loose concentration for a minute I could loose my whole hand or even my life.  She's not stupid... (I would def think that about anyone you told me this about).  College educated, professional, and often smarter than me (isn't sayin' much).  she just isn't taking me seriously.  She gets mad at me because I yell - because when I'm terrified I tend to raise my voice and get excited!

This is about the 6th time it's happened.  I have given myself time to calm down and approached her about it calmly after the fact.  Trying to impress upon her that I could get seriously injured.  In tonights' case - she could have been seriously injured. 

I just sent an email to her with a picture of some guys hand (from the internet) - after he had an accident on a table router.  I'm not even sure that will do it.  I'm thinking I'm going to go buy a sliding lock for the door so at least she can't open it while I'm out there... but I don't want to get startled while running a router.

what would you do?

[Bizman62]

I'd politely ask if she had secretly taken a million bucks life insurance for you (how kind!) and now trying to get the money fast (that b***h!).

Seriously, maybe you should let her try the gear with all the protection you have. Even starting the router without any bit is a bone-jarring experience for a first-timer!

[mistermikev]

3 hours ago, Bizman62 said:

I'd politely ask if she had secretly taken a million bucks life insurance for you (how kind!) and now trying to get the money fast (that b***h!).

Seriously, maybe you should let her try the gear with all the protection you have. Even starting the router without any bit is a bone-jarring experience for a first-timer!

I would think just the sound of that router would be enough to tell someone they shouldn't be near it without some sort of eye protection.  seriously beside myself.

[ADFinlayson]

They don't listen, full stop.

I was having a similar conversation with my band mates the other week - We tell them something and they either ignore it or dismiss it, but someone else, someone at work etc, their parents; will tell them the exact same thing and they will come home and tell you all about it as if it's gospel while inside your head you're screaming at them that you already f%^king told them that 3 times.

Locking the door however is a dumb arse idea (no offence) because if you did have a serious accident, you're f!^ked.

[mistermikev]

5 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

They don't listen, full stop.

I was having a similar conversation with my band mates the other week - We tell them something and they either ignore it or dismiss it, but someone else, someone at work etc, their parents; will tell them the exact same thing and they will come home and tell you all about it as if it's gospel while inside your head you're screaming at them that you already f%^king told them that 3 times.

Locking the door however is a dumb arse idea (no offence) because if you did have a serious accident, you're f!^ked.

well, on the one hand lets not generalize about all women as that would be sexist... on the other you are totally right in my experience, lol!  I suppose that may be true of any of us at any given time.  I have fine tuned ears but somehow cannot hear anything in the freq range of my wifes voice.

afa locking the door - you don't keep your cell phone in your pocket at all times while woodworking?  I do.  I freq am out there while my wife is gone so... not sure how an unlocked door helps me there but... I see what you are saying - might not have a free hand while keeping pressure on the artery!

 

[Bizman62]

27 minutes ago, ADFinlayson said:

We tell them something and they either ignore it or dismiss it, but someone else, someone at work etc, their parents; will tell them the exact same thing and they will come home and tell you all about it as if it's gospel

I have noticed similar behaviour on the other forum I'm following. I may be the first one to answer a computing related question, followed by a bunch of less savvy contributors. Then, on day two or three someone a fellow countryman of the OP gives the same answer I already had given and he gets the kudos. So aside of not listening some people aren't reading.

[mistermikev]

9 minutes ago, Bizman62 said:

I have noticed similar behaviour on the other forum I'm following. I may be the first one to answer a computing related question, followed by a bunch of less savvy contributors. Then, on day two or three someone a fellow countryman of the OP gives the same answer I already had given and he gets the kudos. So aside of not listening some people aren't reading.

you know what they say: "want to get your idea accepted at work?  convince the boss it's his/hers."

[curtisa]

Just a friendly reminder that users here should be careful about the underlying tone of where this thread is touching on. Keep it civil, please.

[MiKro]

Put a red light on the door inside for anyone to see. When it is on DO NOT ENTER.

Has worked wonders most of the time. LOL!!!

 

[mistermikev]

7 minutes ago, MiKro said:

Put a red light on the door inside for anyone to see. When it is on DO NOT ENTER.

Has worked wonders most of the time. LOL!!!

 

Unfortunately, it's not that she isn't aware of the situation... she just doesn't acknowledge that it's a danger... or perhaps doesn't care.  That's the baffling thing.  Honestly, I wouldn't want to open the door to someone running a router even if I knew they were totally safety conscious, never flinched, and waited for the router to wind down every time they used it - hehe.

[MiKro]

1 hour ago, mistermikev said:

Unfortunately, it's not that she isn't aware of the situation... she just doesn't acknowledge that it's a danger... or perhaps doesn't care.  That's the baffling thing.  Honestly, I wouldn't want to open the door to someone running a router even if I knew they were totally safety conscious, never flinched, and waited for the router to wind down every time they used it - hehe.

My wife understands the DANGER. She stays away when the light is on. I even use it when I am on the PC working on CAD stuff. I hate to be distracted on that, it can be the difference of me putting the decimal in the wrong place. She may leave me a txt message if she is leaving or something. LOL!!!

Merry Christmas All,

MK

[mistermikev]

1 hour ago, MiKro said:

My wife understands the DANGER. She stays away when the light is on. I even use it when I am on the PC working on CAD stuff. I hate to be distracted on that, it can be the difference of me putting the decimal in the wrong place. She may leave me a txt message if she is leaving or something. LOL!!!

Merry Christmas All,

MK

right on, sounds like a very understanding wife.  how long you been together?  We're creeping up on 25yrs.  With most things there's a lot of understanding between us and she's def better than I deserve. 

 

[Crusader]

Sometimes I'm using a long router bit (ie. for a skunk stripe) and when I'm finished the question is - Do I turn it off and leave it in while holding the router firmly, or take it out? Sometimes no matter how careful I am I nick the edge if I take it out while its still spinning........Having someone come into the shed at a moment like that could be catastrophic

As for people not listening to advice or suggestions, I have experienced this and I've heard my father complain about it as well. One time a friend asked me to explain modes and he said he didn't get it. Then the next day he was all excited about an explanation he saw on a video and he got it. He just didn't want to understand my explanation

My father had numerous situations in the building trade where "the bloke next door" had better advice than him even though he'd had 40 years experience in the business

This "phenomenon" has nothing to do with race or gender, I don't know what it is. Sometimes people just get a bee in their bonnet and they just don't want to listen to you

[mistermikev]

1 hour ago, Crusader said:

Sometimes I'm using a long router bit (ie. for a skunk stripe) and when I'm finished the question is - Do I turn it off and leave it in while holding the router firmly, or take it out? Sometimes no matter how careful I am I nick the edge if I take it out while its still spinning........Having someone come into the shed at a moment like that could be catastrophic

As for people not listening to advice or suggestions, I have experienced this and I've heard my father complain about it as well. One time a friend asked me to explain modes and he said he didn't get it. Then the next day he was all excited about an explanation he saw on a video and he got it. He just didn't want to understand my explanation

My father had numerous situations in the building trade where "the bloke next door" had better advice than him even though he'd had 40 years experience in the business

This "phenomenon" has nothing to do with race or gender, I don't know what it is. Sometimes people just get a bee in their bonnet and they just don't want to listen to you

I hear ya... I try to let the router spin down before moving it but I'm guilty of breaking my own rule all the time. 

afa advice - sometimes it's less about the advice or sender and more about if the receiver is in the right space to learn it.  Lots of different types of smart in the world and many are not recognizable to each other.

[Andyjr1515]

I'm going to come at this from a very different direction - especially as the emotion of the moment will, hopefully, have faded a touch 

Most of my career has been managing industrial operations where health and safety has to be part and parcel of everything that is done.  In the latter years of my career, I started getting involved significantly in EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) within the whole Group and, with it, did detailed work with the various teams round the world to eliminate injuries. 

With a workforce of 23,000 people in some very hazardous environments, there were, nevertheless, near-misses, actual injuries and (thankfully very) occasionally fatalities.  And a critical method for eliminating the repeat of an injury was to find the REAL root cause and eliminate that. 

I won't bore everyone with the techniques of doing that but my conclusion of the root cause here, had there been an injury, is probably not the obvious one: It is that there was no way of safely attracting your attention when you were working.

It happened to be your wife.  It could have been a next door neighbour; a postal worker; a next door neighbours child.  It could have been important and urgent.

Worth a ponder?

 

[mistermikev]

Just now, Andyjr1515 said:

I'm going to come at this from a very different direction - especially as the emotion of the moment will, hopefully, have faded a touch 

Most of my career has been managing industrial operations where health and safety has to be part and parcel of everything that is done.  In the latter years of my career, I started getting involved significantly in EHS (Environment, Health and Safety) within the whole Group and, with it, did detailed work with the various teams round the world to eliminate injuries. 

With a workforce of 23,000 people round the world in some very hazardous environments, there were, nevertheless, near-misses, actual injuries and (thankfully very) occasionally fatalities.  And a critical method for eliminating the repeat of an injury was to find the REAL root cause and eliminate that. 

I won't bore everyone with the techniques of doing that but my conclusion of the root cause here, had there been an injury, is probably not the obvious one: It is that there was no way of safely attracting your attention when you were working.

It happened to be your wife.  It could have been a next door neighbour; a postal worker; a next door neighbours child.  It could have been important and urgent.

Worth a ponder?

 

Thank you for your input Andy - given your obvious experience with that, I respect that opinion and will take a moment to look inward, but that only addresses half the problem.

I didn't have an accident.  I didn't flinch, didn't even take my focus off of the router - just consciously decided to stop. I did safely stop.  That doesn't put safety goggles on my wife.

I think there is merit in trying to prevent the scenario: Ex. I remove all metal tools from my bench when I work with a router because if I slip it could create a lethal projectile.  Sure, not slipping is a good way to prevent that too.

I can prevent her from opening that door with a lock... I can't guarantee she will put on safety glasses if she opens that door (in fact I know she won't).  We're dealing with a hostile witness/employee here... one whom I love and don't want to see get hurt.  I also don't want to see myself get hurt and no matter how safe you are - you can't guarantee it won't catch you eventually.

 

[MiKro]

16 hours ago, mistermikev said:

>snip<  how long you been together? >snip<

 

going on 43 years.

[mistermikev]

18 minutes ago, MiKro said:

going on 43 years.

holy crapola... congratulations.  You don't make it that far without practicing "yes dear" so my hats off.

[Andyjr1515]

2 hours ago, mistermikev said:

I can't guarantee she will put on safety glasses if she opens that door (in fact I know she won't).  We're dealing with a hostile witness/employee here

Well...there is that too

 

[mistermikev]

for the record... if I offended anyone with my initial, or other comments - I apologize.  I was a little wound up for sure. 

26 minutes ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Well...there is that too

 

good news is - no one got hurt.  I very much appreciate your and everyone's input.

[Prostheta]

I work in a wood manufacturing factory where there's a lot of people around me all of the time. Situational awareness means that you are rarely surprised when routing, feeding a spindle moulder or whatever. I did however manage to get kickback from one of those stupid small Festool KS60 mitre saws, shooting an offcut of white Oak eight metres or so across the shop floor and straight in front of my supervisor Kaisa's feet. This surprised her, but not me. Those smaller Kapex saws are terrible for kickback, and I know just how to make them do it. 

[mistermikev]

49 minutes ago, Prostheta said:

I work in a wood manufacturing factory where there's a lot of people around me all of the time. Situational awareness means that you are rarely surprised when routing, feeding a spindle moulder or whatever. I did however manage to get kickback from one of those stupid small Festool KS60 mitre saws, shooting an offcut of white Oak eight metres or so across the shop floor and straight in front of my supervisor Kaisa's feet. This surprised her, but not me. Those smaller Kapex saws are terrible for kickback, and I know just how to make them do it. 

Being in a shop there is a certain acceptance that something can happen... I'm not so sure that is there with the wife, but then perhaps some of the employees where you work didn't know before (I bet they know now). 

When I was in high school I worked at a place where I was brutalized for being a newbie.  Sent me to look for the 'sky jack' and 'board stretcher' and such.  One of the guys would use a paper clip to pull back the safety mechanism on the brad gun, and he'd shoot you in the ass with 2 1/2" brads.  Unfortunately they don't make safety goggles for your butt.  at 50ft those things stung like a bb gun.  I was just a sander so no real danger there... but the humility.  aaahhh... good times.