One of the issues with any sort of hand labor (carpentry, automotive, etc.) is there is a danger from the tools you use. You need to always be on guard, especially with powered equipment (like Table saws, miter saws, etc.). Whenever I’m working with powered equipment, I make sure the guards are on, and I use a healthy respect for these tools. It is one of the reasons I got a Sawstop table saw – it has a braking system in it that cuts out the saw if it detects it is cutting flesh. I can honestly say that I have not had a power-tool injury in the 30+ years I have been doing this work.
Unfortunately, I now can’t say the same about hand tools. Yes, those tools that are powered by Human muscle. Its very embarrassing.
I have a few old-time wooden hand planes that I don’t use very frequently. I’ve got them stored above a cabinet, since I only pull them out once every 2 years or more. Well, I was pulling something out of the cabinet, and one of the hand planes fell. For wooden hand planes, the blade is held in with a wooden wedge, and in this case, the wedge came loose, and the blade fell down. Did I step back and away? Of course not, I reflectively tried to catch the plane & blade, and the result was a somewhat severe cut to my ring finger on my left hand. Ouch!
Visit to minute clinic and then hand doctor yielded a bandaged hand, and then an operation to reattach one of the nerves in the hand. Luckily there was no damage to the ligaments, so I still have full range of motion. But for the next 2 weeks, I’ve got no shop time – have to keep in clean.
Lesson’s learned – never store sharp tools above where they could fall. This has been fixed in my shop now. As my wife says, it could have been worse.