Three Tools That Every Woodworking Hobbyist Should Have To Make Their Shop Safer

If you work with wood as a hobby, you want to make sure that your shop is safe as possible. Things like cleaning your shop can help to prevent injury. Equipment like table saws can be extremely dangerous, and tools like a push stick to keep your hands away from cutting edges can help to make your shop safer. You may also want to add things like dust collection systems to keep the air in your shop clean and safe. Here are four essential safety tools that you will want in any woodworking shop:

1. Push Sticks For Table Saws And Power Equipment

Table saws, band saws and other powered cutting equipment are some of the most dangerous tools in your shop. These are tools that often cause people to lose fingers, but with a simple aid like a push stick, you will be able to keep your hands and fingers a safe distance away from these cutting edges. You can even make your own push stick with a lip for holding the boards, as well as a decorative handle like you see on antique hand saws.  A push stick is just a handle that allows you to push the board you are cutting, without getting your hands in the way.

2. Dust Collection System To Keep The Shop Clean

Dust collection systems are also a good addition to the safety in your shop. You can use a shop vacuum and a connection to things like table saw jigs to safely remove dust from materials you are cutting. You can add hose connections to different workstations, so that you can easily connect the vacuum to wherever you are working to catch the dust in your shop. You may even want to consider extending some of these workstations with lumber to make a dust collection area at the ends of them.

3. Safe Tool Storage Systems For Hand Tools

If you have a lot of hand tools, such as saws, chisels and other items, these items can be in the way when they are not well organized. If you have a carpenter's bench in your workshop, you may want to consider the addition of storage systems like the French cleat system, which is a simple shelve storage system that allows you to store tools of many different sizes. You may also want to consider hooks and other handing systems to hang large items like ladders, where they are out of the way and create more working space.

These are some of the things that you can do to make your workshop a lot safer. If you need help building some of these things, contact your local lumber supplier to get the materials you need for your projects.

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