Closed shoes. Every lesson.
No flip-flops. No Crocs. No sandals.
If something heavy or sharp drops, your shoes are all there is between it and your toes.
Tie it back, tuck it in
A spinning machine grabs anything loose and pulls it in. You come with it.
- Long hair tied back
- Lanyard in your pocket
- Hoodie strings and sleeves tucked away
The injury that happens most
It is not a cut finger. It is dust or a tiny piece of metal in the eye.
Almost every time, the person was not wearing eye protection.
Goggles on for every electric tool
Every electric tool. Every time. Even for a ten-second job.
- If you see Mr B using a machine without goggles, he buys you a bubble tea.
If it breaks, stop and tell me
I will never be angry about something that broke, or about a real accident.
- Machine broken? Don't use it. Tell Mr B.
- Blade snapped? Stop the machine, find a teacher, ask for a new one.
- Hurt, even a tiny bit? Stop the machine and tell the teacher straight away.
No gloves near spinning machines
Gloves feel safer. On the drill or the sander they are the opposite: a glove catches and pulls your whole hand in.
One student per machine
- One student at a machine at a time
- Don't lean on a machine someone is using
- Don't talk to someone who is using a machine
- No running, no throwing, no food or drink
Ask first
- The band saw needs Mr B's permission, every time
- The machines in the back area are not for students: they are the most dangerous ones
- No teacher in the room? No machines.
- Not sure how to use something? Ask. Never guess.
Pack up in this order
- Work away
- Tools away
- Mess away
And before you walk away from any machine: switch it off and clean up around it.
The emergency stop
The big red button stops the machine straight away.
Know where the nearest one is before you switch on. Mr B shows you in the demo.
Now watch the demo
Close your laptop and come to the machines. Mr B shows you each one:
- Pedestal drill
- Hand drill
- Scroll saw
- Disc sander
Stand behind the line with your goggles on. The next four steps are your reminders.
Pedestal drill
- Goggles on
- Scrap wood underneath, so you don't drill into the table
- Clamp the work. Never hold it by hand
- Guard down
- Test, then drill
Hand drill
- Goggles on
- Scrap wood under your work: not into the table, not in the air, not on the floor
- Ask how to change the bit before you need to
Scroll saw
- Goggles on
- Go slow
- The blade only cuts at the front: feed the wood straight in
- Blade snapped? Stop the machine, find a teacher, ask for a new one
Disc sander
- Use the left side of the disc only
- Keep the wood flat on the table
- Nothing smaller than the yellow and black tape: any smaller and your fingers are too close
Triple check, every time
Before the motor goes on:
- Goggle check
- Hair check
- Body check: sleeves, lanyard, hoodie strings
- Dust and offcuts already on the machine? Clear them before you start.
