Woodworking Safety Rules for Every Shop

This is the general layer: principles that hold across a shop, and the classes of hazard to plan for. It does not replace a machine's manual. For setup, guards, minimum stock size, feed direction, blade and cutter changes, clearances and operating procedures, follow the exact manual for the machine in front of you; makers differ, and where BenchRoot has a machine-specific safety guide it is linked below.

NIOSH ranks five levels of control by general effectiveness: elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls and personal protective equipment. Applied to a shop — BenchRoot's examples, not NIOSH's — that means avoiding a risky operation where you can, choosing a safer tool or process for the job, using guards, riving knives and dust capture at the source, following the maker's procedure, and then wearing eye, hearing and respiratory protection for what remains. NIOSH advises against relying on PPE alone when other effective controls are available. Safety glasses do not make an unguarded cut safe.

Grizzly's manuals say guards and covers reduce accidental contact with moving parts and flying debris, and must be properly installed, undamaged and working before the machine is run. Use the guard and configuration the manual requires for each operation. Some operations call for a different setup in the manual — SawStop's, for example, uses the riving knife without the guard for cuts the guard cannot make, such as non-through cuts. Where a maker documents that, follow it exactly and restore the standard safeguards afterwards. Do not remove or defeat a guard for convenience. Table saw guards, riving knives and splitters are covered in table saw blade guards.

• Keep hands out of the cutting path. Grizzly's band saw manual puts it as never positioning hands in line with the blade. How close is too close depends on the machine, the guard and the work; BenchRoot gives no universal distance.
• Secure the work. DEWALT warns that holding work by hand or against the body is unstable and can lead to loss of control, and asks for clamps or another practical way to secure it. Some machines are fed by hand against a fence instead; the manual decides which. See clamps, the workbench guide and vises.
• Push sticks and push blocks keep fingers away from the blade and help control the work. Makers set different thresholds and designs for when to use them; follow the machine's manual and its safety guide, such as table saw safety or band saw safety.
• Small parts reduce hand clearance and control. Grizzly asks for small or narrow work to be fed with push sticks, push blocks, a jig, a vise or a clamping fixture; sometimes the safer answer is another tool or process altogether.

Kickback is not only a table saw hazard, but each machine has its own mechanism, terms and remedies: a table saw's is set out in table saw safety, a track saw's in track saw safety, and jointers, planers and routers in their own guides, such as how to use a jointer and how to use a router.

• Cut the power first. Grizzly says to disconnect a machine from power before adjustments, tooling changes or service; DEWALT, to disconnect the plug or the battery pack before adjusting, changing accessories or storing a tool. Then follow the maker's change procedure.
• What workplace rules say. OSHA's lockout/tagout standard applies to employers, for servicing where unexpected start-up could injure employees; it excludes cord-and-plug equipment that is unplugged with the plug under the exclusive control of the person doing the work. It is a workplace rule, not a hobby-shop requirement, but unplugging and keeping the plug in view is the same idea.
• A removed battery stops the motor, not the hazard. Edges stay sharp; handle the tooling as its maker directs.
• Remove keys and wrenches. On machines that use a chuck key or an arbour wrench, both makers say to remove it before switching on; Grizzly warns tools left on a machine can become projectiles.
• Damaged or dull tooling. Grizzly says not to run dirty, dull, cracked or badly worn blades, because dull blades take more effort; DEWALT says sharp, clean cutting tools are less likely to bind and easier to control. Neither makes a sharp tool safe on its own.
• Right accessory, within its rating. Use accessories the maker recommends, of the size and type the machine accepts, and never above their rated speed — router bits are covered in the router bit guide and the router speed chart, table saw blades in table saw blades, drill chucks in the drill guide.

• Eyes. Grizzly calls for ANSI-approved safety glasses or a face shield when operating or watching machinery, and says everyday eyeglasses are not approved safety glasses. OSHA's rule for employers requires side protection against flying objects, protection that incorporates or fits over prescription lenses, and devices meeting ANSI Z87.1.
• Hearing. For workplaces, OSHA's limit is 90 dBA as an 8-hour time-weighted average, with a hearing conservation program from 85 dBA; NIOSH recommends keeping exposure below 85 dBA averaged over eight hours. NIOSH says occupational hearing loss is permanent but preventable. Machine makers' sound figures often omit test conditions, and BenchRoot does not calculate protected exposure.
• Breathing. Start with dust capture; OSHA calls engineering controls the preferred approach and PPE a short-term solution, and in workplaces respirators belong within a respiratory protection program. A respirator's protection depends on its type, its fit and the hazard. Collection is explained in the dust collector guide, shop vacuums and shop air filters.
• Clothing and gloves. Grizzly says not to wear loose clothing, gloves, neckties or jewellery that can catch in moving parts, and to tie back long hair. That is about moving machinery; gloves may be right for handling rough stock or chemicals, as a product's label says.

OSHA treats wood dust as a health hazard, and warns that accumulations of fine wood dust can be a fire and explosion hazard. Visible chips are not the fine dust that stays in the air; capture at the source, filter the room afterwards and keep fine dust from building up, as the dust guides set out. Finishes and solvents add chemical and fire hazards: follow the product label and safety data sheet for ventilation, storage and disposal. NFPA warns that rags wet with oil-based finish can heat as they dry and ignite; its procedure is in the finishing oil guide, and applying finishes in how to apply a wood finish.

• Cords and plugs. Grizzly says a damaged or worn cord or plug should be disconnected and replaced, and to unplug by the plug, not the cord.
• Switches. DEWALT says not to use a tool whose switch does not turn it on and off.
• Wet places. Grizzly says not to use machinery in wet, cluttered or poorly lit areas.
• Supply and wiring. Run each machine on the supply its manual specifies; Grizzly leaves electrical installation and repair to qualified personnel. Planning outlets is covered in the workshop setup guide. BenchRoot gives no wiring, breaker or conversion instructions.

• Alert and undistracted. Grizzly says full mental alertness is required and never to operate machinery under the influence of drugs or alcohol, when tired, or when distracted.
• Bystanders. Keep children and visitors clear of the work, and stop if they become a distraction (Grizzly). Grizzly also asks for machines to be installed where access can be restricted; BenchRoot sets no age at which machinery becomes safe to use.
• Don't force it; don't leave it. Let the machine cut at its designed rate, and turn it off and wait for moving parts to stop before walking away (Grizzly).
• Stop when something is wrong. Grizzly's advice for any difficulty with an operation is to stop using the machine. A strange sound, a binding cut or a guard that will not sit right is a reason to switch off and find out why.
• Housekeeping. A clear floor, stored offcuts and good light reduce trips and slips; the workshop setup guide covers layout and light.

• Saws: table saw safety, table saw blade guards, band saw safety and track saw safety.
• Dust: the dust collector guide, shop vacuums and shop air filters.
• Finishes: the finishing oil guide and food-safe wood finishes.
• Other tools: moisture meter safety, and the shop itself in the workshop setup guide.