Keeping Your Hands Safe When Using Power Tools, May 2016

Injuries related to power tools are on the rise, largely because of the increase in DIY aficionados. Professionals, although not immune to accidents, generally know how to stay safe when using power tools. If your idea of a great weekend is building a deck, renovating your kitchen, or constructing a storage shed, you are invariably going to be using tools that can easily slice off a finger or even a hand, so it is important that you know how to use them safely.

Read on to learn about the most dangerous power tools, and how to avoid injuring yourself.

Table Saw

The table saw is probably the most dangerous power tool you can use. Equipped with a ten-inch blade, spinning at 3500 revolutions per minute, and an edger operating at over a hundred miles per hour, improper use of this tool can be a recipe for disaster. Always keep your hands away from the saw blade and the edge. When feeding a piece of wood through the saw, push it using another piece of wood – never your hand.

In any given year in the United States, approximately 60,000 injuries are due to table saw use. 3,000 of them result in amputation. So be careful.

Nail Guns

Nail guns work by using compressed air to deliver a nail into a piece of wood at a pressure of approximately 120 pounds per square inch. Even a small nail gun can be very dangerous. About 42,000 injuries are reported annually, and 40% of those injuries are incurred by do-it-yourselfers. In addition to puncture wounds to the hands, nails have often been delivered to other parts of the body.

When using a nail gun, you should always make sure that it is in sequential mode as opposed to contact mode. This does add another step to the process, since you need to pull the trigger instead of just depressing the muzzle, but doing so can prevent injury. And obviously, keep your hands away from anywhere that a misfire could cause a nail to exit unexpectedly from the wood.

Chainsaws

We probably don’t have to tell you the kind of damage that a chainsaw can do to your hands, arms, or other parts of your body. A chainsaw is very dangerous when used improperly, and without the use of protective gear. Over 30,000 chainsaw injuries are reported yearly in the United States, and the typical injury requires over a hundred stitches.

Now, if you’re thinking you can forego the protective gear, because after all, it is expensive, think about those 100+ stitches. Think about the fact that a pair of protective chaps costs about as much as one stitch in your hospital emergency room. You know what you have to do.

Circular Saw

Practically everybody owns a circular saw, and most people have no idea how to properly use them. Most injuries are caused by people bracing a piece of lumber against their knee, and this is a recipe for disaster. Other injuries are caused by using the saw with one hand while holding the wood with the other. You should always clamp the wood, so that you can keep both hands on the saw and, ideally, use a sawhorse.

Conclusion

Power tools are among the greatest conveniences of modern life, but when handled improperly, they can provide a great deal of work for a hand surgeon. Always work safely and make sure to read the owner’s manual of your power tool to understand the proper applications, limitations, operation and hazards.

Contributed by: Dr. Avery Arora is a hand surgeon at Avery Arora, MD practice in Southfield and Livonia, Michigan. He is also a member of The Physician Alliance, one of Michigan’s largest physician organizations representing more than 2,200 physicians in southeast Michigan.

This blog is for informational purposes only. Please consult your doctor for more information or if you have a medical concern.

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