Dull Bits are a Pain

Dull Bits are literally a Pain. There I was just grabbed the first one handy, I knew it was dull but , Just one hole. Of course you have to push too hard and force the issue (how easy it would be to stop grab a new one and start all over, less than a minute, I guess) Anyhow push and hold on tight, jazam it went through but in the process the jagged edge of the jacobs chuck pinched against my thumb nail and sawed a gash across, "Boy would my Sunday School Teacher be agasp if he heard what I said" Now my thumb is so sore and I am so POed at mine own self. Blood everywhere, throbbin' all night, probably loose the nail before it is over, Jagged edges will hang on everything, and hurt and hinder my smooth operation and daily activities, be ugly when we go on vacation, get all gooy when I wash up. What a dumb arse I can be, All because I was too stupid and lazy to get a sharp bit out of the box... Why do we keep those dull things laying about. Either resharpen or throw it away. Or at least keep it out of sight.


We all do it but why did I have to do it? I am so ....... Well, thanks for letting me vent my frustrations and demonstrate how simple it is to have injury by little daily tasks when we don't pay attention. All I wanted to do was drill a 1/4" hole in a piece of plywood so I could stick a bolt through it, simple, right? Short cuts are the long way sometimes.

My son-in-law says "If you have to force it or your having trouble, your doing it the wrong way" He be right, again... but I won't let him know.

When my thumb quits hurting I'm going in there and toss out all those old drill bits. (like I'm ever going to toss out anything)

Sorry to see you got banged up, but thanks for posting a very useful observation. Shortcuts can indeed be the long way sometimes. Heal up quickly.

Ouch Bill, that hurts just reading about it. I got myself a Drill Doctor (actually a present ) and it has prevented accidents like yours - similar to the ones I had prior to the DD.

Wes

Ouch Bill!

The Drill Doctor is on my short list of wants!

I have one too. (Drill Dr.) But too lazy to use it. In fact I think I loaned it to a friend. I can grind by free hand some pretty good drills but I'm too stupid to do it. In defense of mine own stupid self, it were a Bard point and I am not good at that... but still I should have changed bits as soon as I saw it were dull. Throbing is my thumb. Don't let this happen to you. Ouch!

Bill,

Sorry about your impending loss (of a nail). Sounds pretty ugly. But I just had to laugh at this:

"We all do it but why did I have to do it?" At least you can say that! For me, it's always "How can I be so stupid? Only *I* could do something *that* dumb!"

Thanks,

Bill

The Drill Doctor works pretty well... I hesitated getting one for years, but I'm sure happy with it.

I read this thread and kind of laughed...not at the injury mind you because as a former Safety Coordinator I would never do that...no I was laughing because you hit on a very important aspect of safety....the realization that behavior is te key to keeping all your digits.

Quite a few years ago when I was working for the railroad, we looked at our safety record and realized that we were in bad shape. Our injuries were at the highest levels in a decade, and insurance, production, profits and even the railroad's safety ethics were suffering because of it. We realized that we had got procedures in place, good training was being done, everything had guards...the only thing we were not addressing was peoples behavior.

So we started a new safety program called "BRI" or Behavior Risk Improvement. What we did was target why people did or did not do things. For a couple of years I worked real hard at selling this to the guys in the Maintenance of Way Crews. We got them to think about safety by observing how each other did certain tasks and had them jot down ways to improve things. What surprised me was, the workers had a ton of good ideas, it was the mid-level management that had a hard time swallowing the safety change.

On one crew I had, they had three injuries in a month. When I talked to the supervisor on that crew he said "all my guys are stupid", which I did not buy. All the injuries were because people were working on things without locking/ tagging them out...a behavior issue. I asked him if he ever told his guys to make things were locked out? The answer was no. I then asked him if he ever complimented someone who did lock things out. He said no because it was their job. So in the end what I realized was that this supervisor set up and environment where getting the job done fast and quick got compliments, not doing it safely. Those were the guys I targeted and soon the safety atmosphere changed.

In fact we started BRI in December and in the first year alone it saved the railroad 1.25 million dollars with less injuries than the previous year. All it took was getting people to stop and think about what they were doing.

Now even in a one man shop, you can apply the BRI safety Idea to yourself and save yourself time and aggravation. The key is to look for the patterns. Try to figure out what three of your worst safety habits are. Perhaps its having the table saw blade up to high, or maybe its not using a push sticks enough, or maybe its having a shop cluttered with clamps, tripping hazards and the like. You can't change everything over night, but if you pick three of your worst safety habits, and really try to improve them over the next month, you will quickly change that bad habit into a good one. After those three have become pretty good, pick three more and so one. You will be surprised how quickly and safely you work. Believe it or not, it really does work, and works exceedingly well.

Now I am not trying to preach to anyone here, but woodworking is supposed to be fun for many of us weekend wood butchers, and a paycheck for the rest. We really need to be safe in our shops. Hey did you know that for the average person between 24 and 52 years old, the greatest finical asset they have is not their car, truck, life insurance policy or even their home, but rather THEIR ABILITY TO EARN AN INCOME? Its pretty hard to do that when you are missing a hand, or nursing a bad back because you tried to lift that Curio cabinet alone. Keeping that in mind we all need to be safe.

Thanks for bringing that to our attention Bill. You are spot on. Our behavior is the key to safety.

Excellent post Travis

Geez, $1.25 million......... did you get a bonus

I was taught this at a fairly young age, my Dad was an electrical inspector for the province, he did that job for 30 years, and some of it involved safety inspections, when equipment came along from outside of Canada and did not have a CSA stamp. I remember one time a large piece of some kind of equipment with whirling blades and cutter, and pulleys and belts was installed by the maker at the factory, it came from Japan.

My dad went to inspect it, and he said it was really top drawer equipment, but there were no guards on anything

He talked to the Japanese engineer types and they told him not to worry, as they had painted yellow and red zones around the machines in the various dangerous areas, and if the workers just stayed out of the red and yellow zones painted on the floor, well they would be safe.....

My dad explained it to these guys that they had to have guards on the machines that would stop people from putting a hand or a foot into a whirring belt/blade/pulley etc..................

He said the Japanese engineers were dumbfounded, "Why would you want to stick your hand into the machine....?"

He told me that he got a good laugh out of the whole thing, and the Japanese engineers, with the plant millwrights built some very effective guards and everything got approved, but he really had to laugh at the cultural differences. Not saying one or the other is "good or bad" just the differences. In Japan, at that time, a red line on the floor was all that was needed. Makes you think.

I was also fortunate enough to work at a factory where we had a great, even fantastic line boss, this guy was all about getting the job done in the most timely manner, at the lowest price and in a very high mode of safety.

He was a very good teacher too, I learned a lot working with him, and he really taught us a very similar type of thing that Travis just posted about, he would watch you work, then he would ask you about the method of work you used to accomplish a certain task, and then lead you through a thought process that included questions, and suggestions. Usually we would arrive at the answer ourselves (with a lot of help from him) and this was a good thing, as when one comes up with the answer, it is easier to live with, and remember!

This was a production line environment, and it was all about getting it done, but, we also had to do it safely and with costs to think about too.

I remember him saying that if we work extremely hard all week to beat a production quota, (if we did, we got a bonus!) but then someone gets injured on Friday, then the whole week is just a waste of effort, so speed alone was not the answer.

Yep, methods of work, they are important to a safe and effective work environment.

Cheers!

Thanks for the post Bill - second hand wisdom is always cheaper and reminders like this are a real public service.

Travis - first class post and thanks again. I think that safety is more a mind thing than anything else. I am deeply aware that my ability to earn a living is the biggest asset that I have and that anything that risks it is to be avoided. Thanks for the thoughtful post.

"Try to figure out what three of your worst safety habits are."

This one's Easy: stuff lying around, so it would be a simple matter to slip or trip. Bandsaw needs tuning... "Oh, it'll be safe to make just this one cut." My lathe tools are on the bench behind the lathe, and I have to reach over or around the spinning workpiece to find them...

Maybe we should have a "top three" thread..

Thanks,

Bill

Travis,

You make some very good points. I've already thought of a few things I'm doing that I can improve on. I'm just in the process of building my new shop and the tripping issue has come up several times in the process. I wiil address it today!

Changed the bandage on my thumb today and was it ever ugly, although not as severe as I had thought, at first. She be black & blue and the nail is a jagged mess. (ever realize how important your left thumb is to buttoning your pants? Especially when its so sore you notice things like that)

Partial reason for my post was to vent my self frustrations but also to stimulate Safety thoughts, seems there are some wise thinking going on. Little stupid mistakes can do you in. In convenience of a dull bit can ruin your day, etc. Do the little things that make it more safe, even if it takes a little bit longer. Especially with the TS.... (whole another conversation)

Stu, If I followed the Japan way I would Paint a wide RED stripe across the entrance to my tiny dust bowl, shop. Their attitude: "Why would you want to..." Who knows Why, we just do. It does make sense but, I have noticed with students, they are mesmerized by spinning objects and want to reach out and touch them. Logic and intelligence tells you not to do it, but fools and babies have to be guarded. I'm not a baby anymore so where does that leave me?

I hope this string of ideas has spurred some safety thoughts while I must leave to go to the kids house to watch them set the grass on fire with fireworks on this 4th of July.