Thread: Do any tools scare you?

Same here! I am not comfortable when working with a circular saw. I cant imagine myself being cut by a circular saw!

How do you go from being a novice with a power tool to being comfortable and confident handling it? Surely there is a learning curve involved there, when you first start using power tools and you don't have the experience that is necessary to engender confidence, when a little fear (not debilitating terror, but good old healthy "I might cut my finger off with this damn thing" fear) is a good thing.

I don't get to use my table saw often enough to feel completely comfortable with it. And I've never used my spindle moulder (yet), so I imagine the first few times I give it a go I'll have a sphincter-clenching moment or two... And I'm not entirely reconciled with my jointer after it gave a finger a nip. I had a blade break once on a bandsaw while I was using it, and that nearly made me have a little secret with my underwear.

I defy anyone who has not experienced a big kickback moment on a tablesaw for the first time to experience that without jumping higher than a really high jumper can jump.

And the first time a cutting wheel on my Dremel exploded I had a "moment".

I'm entirely confident using an angle grinder (always with safety eyewear), Dremel, drill, router. I know they're dangerous, and I respect them, but I've used those things quite a bit. I'm fairly confident with my tablesaw, but always very careful. I'm also confident with hand tools - but again I try to be careful.

"Anything with sharp teeth wants to bite you."

How do you go from being a novice with a power tool to being comfortable and confident handling it?

Hopefully you've either got someone with you who knows what they're doing, or you've done your research and know what to expect and how to set up properly for safe operation. Nothing wrong with being a bit nervous or tentative the first time, I just wouldn't use the word 'fear'. Fear is irrational and can lead to panic.

When you have an incident, and everyone has had at least one, you look at what caused it and you're better prepared next time. If anything it should improve your understanding of the tool and make you more confident.

I learnt very early on to respect three things Nature anything with a Blade and my Wife.

Worst thing I have ever seen was a neighbour come over to use my Triton TS I had asked him if he knew how to use a table saw, Yes Mate no worries looked at me like I was stupid so off he went then I heard some of the strangest noises in my life ran into the shed to find the ####ing TOOL trying to feed his panel into the Saw from the wrong direction .

Wouldn't it be stopped by the riving knife if it came in the wrong direction? Triton does have a riving knife doesn't it?

It has a splitter which is very easy to remove

We used to cut corrugated iron with a circular saw that had the blade in backwards. But you still had to push the saw in the right direction.

My router. Its still sitting in the box until i can find someone to talk me through my first use!!
Whenever i use my circular saw (often cause i dont own a table one), i hold it expecting it to kick or get stuck, that way I'm never surprised or get caught out when it does. And for any big pieces i always have someone to help me hold it. I always treat my power tools with the upmost respect and I have a good understanding of my limits. (Being an ambo and seeing the results of flying blades or misplaced arms and fingers makes me a little extra cautious to!!)

All fingers present and accounted for

Originally Posted by novice185

My router. Its still sitting in the box until i can find someone to talk me through my first use!!

I don't see that as fear - I see that as common sense!

Originally Posted by Wongo

Wouldn't it be stopped by the riving knife if it came in the wrong direction? Triton does have a riving knife doesn't it?

Originally Posted by silentC

It has a splitter which is very easy to remove

Yep very easy, I had it off for some bloody reason cant remember why though.

That is unusual for a Triton user. They are usually very careful.

Hand held circular saws worry me (they only scare me in someone else's hands) because I can see so many possible ways it can all go wrong very quickly. Any tool can turn nasty if you're not careful, but on most, you only have a few things to be careful of, and they usually only turn nasty if the holes in the cheese line up, but on a t/s any one of a number of things can cause a disaster.

Dentist drill
Particularly in the good old days with the cord driven drill.
The taste and smell of smoke coming off your tooth.

I treat all tools with respect but the thing that turns my stomach is when you think of what could have been after you have a near miss whether it be with a saw, a chisel or stanley knife