I have “volunteered” (appointed yesterday) to have the safety minute at our monthly woodturning meeting tomorrow . 

I have pieced together the info below for that meeting from this site and the AAW forum.  Any good short topics you could add would be appreciated:

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Use ESCAPE injury as your guide.

Equipment - learn the tool your using, off/on, where to stand and etc.
Surroundings - clean, organized, where things are, main shutoffs (breaker box) and etc.
Clothing - appropriate dress, shoes, hair ties and etc.
Ability - understand your level, limitations, think before you act and etc.
Protection - faceshield, safety glasses, gloves and etc. (these may change per job being done but use what is necessary for the job)
Example - be a leader and do the other five in your shop, demonstrating or teaching

A recent posting on a web site noted “of my turning friends having hospital visits” yeilding this result:

4   have been hurt on the bandsaw
2   by wood coming off the lathe
1   by wood breaking apart. Would have been insignificant if they had used a face shield
1   on the grinder
1   with a hand chisel
1   with a hand drill
0   with a chain saw!  People don't day dream when chain sawing.....
It’s the routine things that seem to get us in trouble.  Try to keep your mind in the present – like when you are driving home.

Finally, potential energy:  We recognize the kinetic energy of spinning wood, or the potential energy of heavy things stored on high shelves, but also remember energy less obvious like air compressors or chemical energy (the heat given off when CA glue sets up).

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"Stay out of the line of fire"....

  Sounds like the acronym ESCAPE can be broken down after your initial presentation to a monthly safety reminder ie. Jan. is E, Feb. is S and so on and soforth and what have you.   Also adding to fire safety, this being the heating season for so many of us.  What heating systems are being used also concideration again to flamable vapors near the heating system.

Clean your shop.  There is a reason pro shops cleanup at the end of the day.

Tom,
Tried to post this morning but I must have done something wrong, for I was "suspended" from the site after I PM'd you.  I guess I have paid my time for I am once again an official member.
Any, my safety comment had to do with ear protection.  I wear ear muffs when I'm at the bandsaw, chainsawing and when I have my dust collection system on.  As we get older, of course I'm not talking about myself , our hearing naturally begins to fade.  No need to accelerate the process.
Hope it went well,
Steve

On that note, do not have your dust collector pulling from the area around your sharpener.

I joke at work, but I'm dead serious, that you are most dangerous when you think you know what you're doing. When you aren't sure, you tend to take more time and make sure everything is correct before you complete what you were doing. When you "think" you know what you're doing, you take short cuts and often do things that if you'd taken just a few seconds to think about them, would never have done.

My $0.02

Safety oops from the Shop.

I was working on a jig last Saturday evening.  This jig would allow me to use a hole saw on the edge of a turning when the center of the hole was outside the turning (like taking a small bite out of a large cookie).  These specifics don't matter much, but the physics do.

The hole saw I was using was larger than I usually use, in that this one was 4 inches in diameter.  The teeth of the 4 inch hole saw are similar to the teeth of a 6 TPI bandsaw blade. I was using a corded drill motor (3/8 inch DeWalt).

I wanted an angled hole (another important point).

ALWAYS:  when using a hole saw make sure the pilot bit remains in the wood.  The importance increases with the diameter of the hole saw. 

•      It is easier to have the contrary happen when trying to drill an angled hole.

•      It is easier to have the contrary happen when drilling a larger hole.

ALWAYS: When advancing a hole saw in an existing hole, always start the drill rotating slightly disengaged from the wood and slowly introduce the bit to the wood.

•      If the bit starts already in contact with the wood and the diameter is large, the chances are there will be more torque than your grip can manage.

•      Just like on your lathe, rotational inertia is greater with larger diameter item, thus the larger diameter item is not likely to stop quickly once its rotating.

What DID happen:  From what I have said above you can quickly figure out that bad things happened quickly .  Upon re-starting to deeped an existing hole the drill motor and large bit were torn from my grip, but only after I managed to fully pull the trigger of the variable speed drill, and started only what I can describe as a chaotic dance across my workbench only to return to attack the hand that was using it.  The teeth of the saw took a liking to the thick fleshy part of my right palm  .  It proceeded up my palm to my wrist before I was able to back out of the “line of fire”.  The good news is this is an area of the hand has thick skin.  No muscle or nerves were involved.

I have included a photo, not for any added gore factor , but so that everyone reading this article will understand that even our small hand tools need to be respected and used with care.  The photo was taken two days after the event.  On the day following the event, I went to the range and sighted in a new handgun (I am right handed), and although this injury was on my right hand and less than 18 hours old, it was not bad enough to stop me from continuing my day-to-day plans ( I also mowed the lawn, but no one wants to show off photos of a lawn ).  I finished the jig later that evening and I will use it tonight.

Stay safe everyone!

Tom