Woodworking routers are a much needed and appreciated tool, but you need to make sure to use the proper safety precautions. Otherwise it is a lot more likely that an accident will occur and you could get injured. Accidents in wood shops are particularly dangerous since they can be very serious, and result in the loss of a limb.

When you are working with noisy equipment, such as woodworking routers, you will want to wear hearing protection to keep from damaging your ears. However, this isn’t the only protective items you will need to wear. You should wear clothing that is fitted and that covers exposed skin so you won’t get hurt by any flying wood chips, and you should protect your eyes with safety glasses.

Woodworking Routers

You also need to take precautions to keep from getting injured by woodworking routers or other equipment. This means you should not reach anywhere near a blade, whether the equipment is on or off, unless it is unplugged. Otherwise you could bump the switch and turn it on accidentally.

It is important to keep your attention on what you are doing and to avoid distractions. You should also avoid drinking alcohol or using drugs while working with woodworking routers or other power equipment. Carefully look over each piece of wood before you use it to make sure there aren’t any metal staples, screws or nails that could damage the blade or cause kickbacks that could injure you.

One way to help keep from forgetting to unplug equipment that you are not using is to only use one extension cord in your shop. This means only one or two pieces of equipment can ever be plugged in at the same time, limiting the risk that something could accidentally get turned on and injure you.

Woodworking Routers and Safety Precautions

While most people believe that accidents involving woodworking routers or other equipment will never happen to them, these types of accidents are relatively common and can be prevented if you take the proper safety precautions and make sure to always pay attention to what you are doing while you are in the shop. This will help keep your woodworking hobby both safe and enjoyable.