Join us each week as we work our way through this Winter Ready Workshop Checklist! 

Part 1 - Personal Protection

With woodworking comes many risks, from the more obvious risks such as injury from spinning blades and knives, to the almost invisible threat of wood dust.

The most effective control is to eliminate the risk. If this isn’t reasonably practicable, then we need to minimise the risk by working through other alternatives such as;

• Substituting the hazard with a safer alternative (for example, upgrading your table saw with one that includes SawStop finger saving technology),
• Isolating the hazard from people (for example, keeping young children out of the workshop when woodworking) and
• Reducing risk through engineering controls (for example, installing a safety enclosure around your CNC machine).

Because they rely on human behaviour and supervision, and don’t control the hazard at the source, administrative controls and PPE are the least effective at minimising the risk.

Personal Protection is vitally important but is the last line of defense for safety.

Woodworking can be a messy pastime and reducing the amount of wood dust that you breathe in is critical to remaining healthy. 
A high-quality dust mask can help keep you safe from the harmful particulates generated in your workshop.
Unfortunately, only wearing a dust mask is not enough, as when you remove your mask after cutting, harmful particulates are still floating in the air.

Carbatec also offers a range of filters that when paired with the appropriate mask, will help reduce odours as well.



Click here to view our range of Dust Masks

Ear Muffs
 

The Managing of noise and preventing hearing loss at work Code of Practice recommends the target ’in-ear’ noise exposure level is set below the exposure standard for noise, eg @ 80 dB(A).

Safe Work NSW (viewed 26/05/20). Hearing personal protective equipment (PPE) – The facts. Retrieved from https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/resource-library/hazardous-manual-tasks/hearing-personal-protective-equipment-ppe-the-facts

If the noise level in your workshop exceeds 80 decibels, wearing ear muffs will help reduce the noise exposure level and the risk of hearing loss.


Click here to view our range of Ear Muffs

Safety Glasses and Goggles

When working with power tools tool guards and eye protection is critical.
Safety glasses and goggles help prevent particles from entering your eyes and damaging them.

Carbatec’s range of Safety Glasses and goggles includes models with a foam seal that prevents dust from getting into the lens and anti-fog lenses, different focus levels, as well as varying lens strengths to protect from varying levels of impact resistance.

Gloves

Protective gloves should be chosen based on the relevant hazards in your workshop.

Carbatec offers a range of gloves that help protect the wearer from sharp knives; chisels; etc while carving and whittling; etc. These gloves help to significantly reduce the risk of cuts from sharp objects.
Flexx-rap is also available which helps prevent damage to hands and fingers when completing repetitive work.
Disposable gloves are also available which offer textured fingertips and long cuffs to prevent liquids from easily getting inside the gloves. These gloves are great for when applying finishes to your project.

Click here to view our full range of gloves

Push Blocks & Sticks

Instead of using your hands to push the timber into your table saw, Jointer or router table. 
Push Blocks are a great control to reduce the risk of fingers coming too close to a spinning blade.



Click here to view our full range of Push Blocks & Sticks

Featherboards

A featherboard is a hold-down safety device used to apply pressure against a workpiece, keeping it flat against a machine table or fence while the workpiece is being cut or otherwise machined. 
It can be positioned close to the blade, applying pressure where it's most effective and least likely to be overcome by vibration.
Featherboards also provide safety and protection against kickbacks.



Click here to view our full range of Featherboards