I Sure am Glad it was Unplugged

[Bryan S]

I am not always as diligent at unplugging the shop tools as I should be, but yesterday was a big wake up call, and I am glad I had. I was putting a few things away in the shop before I left for work when our 3 year old grandson came into the shop to park his toy push mower beside pawpaw's real mower. He normally climbs onto the riding mower and pretends he is driving, but this time, he made a beeline to the table saw and started pushing buttons. Fortunately it was the big red stop paddle he was pushing on and I had unplugged the saw.

I know we jokingly refer to our shop tools as toys, but I also know it is not a playing matter being around these tolls that can hurt someone in a hurry. I went from being relaxed to Oh **** real quick, then relieved to see the cord laying across the saw. I mainly say this because I do not believe we can remind each other enough how fast we or someone else can get hurt in the shop, especially our little ones.

 

[cskipper]

Thank goodness all is well. Thank you foir reminding us of shop dangers!

 

[RayH]

Thanks for the reminder. We have a 7 year old coming to visit next weekend.:icon_thum

 

[ehpoole]

This is where having a load center (distribution panel) in your workshop can come in very handy. When you are done for the day you can switch off the circuit breakers to all your stationary power tools.

For several years after I setup my workshop we had a young boy with ADD who was truly a fearless bundle of energy whose curiousity tended to override any notion of caution. Needless to say my greatest fear was him getting into my workshop (garage) and making a bee-line for the "big-boy" tools. Given my father's (I'm disabled and live with my parents) tendency to leave the garage door wide-open whenever he was outdoors, my concerns were more than founded. I always shut off the breakers to these tools (and locked out lesser used 120V tools with padlocks). I always kept the table saw blade parked below the table and made sure the guard was in place on my jointer. I also kept my planer lowered close to the bed so that hands could not get near the blade and my bandsaw was kept untensioned to prevent power from being delivered to the blade.

Needless to say, I would have felt awful if anything had happened to our neighbor's young son. It's easy to say that it should not be my responsibility to look out for someone else's child, but children (especially 3-4 year olds) do not comprehend the dangers that these tools present, nor is it fair to expect them to. Nor can parents keep a perfect watch on their children 24/7 -- especially once they master the front door and sneak out unseen on occassion. So it falls on all of us to look out for the little ones and ensure that they NEVER discover how dangerous these 'toys' are -- at least not the hard way. Some lessons are best learned by way of age and wisdom, not by experience and consequence!

I, too, am grateful your son was not hurth. A good opportunity for a quick age-appropriate lecture on shop safety for your young son, and a good reminder for mom and dad that he is now at that age of fearless curiousity.

 

[Trent Mason]

Bryan, I'm very glad that your grandson wasn't hurt. I guess that's the one good thing about only having one outlet in my shop. I always unplug the power pad that everything is plugged into when I finish working in there. Up until this point I did it to protect against a power surge, but I guess in the future I will continue to do it in case a little one is around. :thumbs_up:thumbs_up

 

[jhreed]

Thanks Brian, you taught me a lesson. I have a 3 year old grandson that means more than life itself to me. If he were to loose a finger, I would not live long enough to get over it. Thanks to you, I now have a new safety plan of action.
James

 

[Bryan S]

So it falls on all of us to look out for the little ones and ensure that they NEVER discover how dangerous these 'toys' are -- at least not the hard way. Some lessons are best learned by way of age and wisdom, not by experience and consequence!QUOTE]

Well said Ethan

If he were to loose a finger, I would not live long enough to get over it. James

Neither would I James.

 

[merrill77]

I'm glad I can lock the doors to my basement shop. My boys are pretty responsible (for 6-year-olds)...but when they start bringing friends over, I'm going to start locking the shop. FWIW, I usually unplug everything...but this issues is one of the things that keeps me from putting a 240 outlet closer to the TS - since it runs across the shop floor I'm much more likely to remember to unplug it on my way out.

 

[TracyP]

Great Reminder. Thanks for posting it.

 

[Marlin]

I have a 20month old and he loves to go to my shop. Only time he is even allowed in is if I am carrying him or standing right on top of him the whole time.

I also switch my 240v off at the breaker when I am done. My 120s are on a GFCI and I have a fire extinguisher as well.

Years of joy could end in a split second so I never take a chance like that for me and my son.