4 Key Woodturning Safety Tips For Employees

Woodturning is a craft that has been respected for centuries. Specifically, skilled woodturners are responsible for taking a stock piece of wood and turning it into a beautiful, symmetrical object, such as a spindle or even a kitchen utensil. Despite machinery taking over many of these types of jobs, the demand for woodturners remains high because today's consumers deeply value authentic, handmade items.

For woodturning businesses, having skilled woodturners on-staff is key to creating quality products. However, taking the time to ensure that all employees are following key safety guidelines is a must for preventing workplace injuries.

Check Your Lighting

One of the biggest mistakes a woodturning business can make in its production areas is having insufficient lighting; this can not only create a safety risk (preventing workers from seeing what they're doing well enough), but it can also impact the quality of the pieces being created. With poor lighting, imperfections can easily affect the quality of your products.

Choose Wood Stock Wisely

Choosing a quality wood stock for employees to work from is one of the best ways to ensure quality pieces and protect workers from injury. Specifically, all incoming wood stock should be visually inspected for cracks, knots, and other imperfections that could create a safety hazard. Imperfections in wood stock can make the wood more prone to break apart or even get caught in cutting tools.

Wear the Right Gear

Make sure employees are wearing the right safety gear at all times while on-the-job. This includes a pair of quality goggles, as even a small splinter flying off a piece of wood can cause serious eye damage otherwise. Workers should also wear gloves and avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing or any dangling jewelry that could get caught in machines. Implementing a dress code is the best way to avoid these kinds of injuries.

Avoid Skew Chisel Injury

The skew chisel is easily one of the most dangerous tools that a woodturner will work with, so make sure access to these tools is strictly limited to only your most experienced workers. Specifically, employees using a skew chisel should make sure they have a tight grip on wood stock at all times, as this equipment has a tendency to try to "pull" wood otherwise.

Running a safe woodturning business is extremely important, and by making sure workers are following these key safety tips, you can avoid injury in your place of business. Contact a company like sumachillcreations.com for more information.