Woodworking Tip of the Day: Hearing and Eye Protection You'll Actually Wear

Not for nuthin'…. But….. the hearing and eye protection that stays in a drawer across the shop doesn't protect anything. I'm framing a Chamberlain Marblehead gunning dory this winter and hopping between quiet layout and loud cuts the same way I do on a GC job. Table saws, planers, routers, bandsaws and circular saws commonly sit well above 95 dBA at the operator — those are typical published ranges, not a meter reading of my bench. NIOSH's recommended exposure limit is 85 dBA as an 8-hour time-weighted average. Aim for about 75–85 dBA at the ear. Overprotect and people yank the gear off so they can hear the shop — then you're right back at unprotected noise.

Why it matters: Production woodworking almost certainly needs hearing protection (OSHA woodworking eTool), and PPE is the last line after you control noise at the source and along the path. Fit beats chasing the highest Noise Reduction Rating on the package — NRR is a lab number, not a guarantee of real-world attenuation. Earmuffs seal poorly against eyeglass temples and respirator straps (NIOSH's 5 Cs: comfort, compatibility, convenience, communication, cost). Eyewear has to meet ANSI Z87.1 and still be comfortable enough that you leave it on. And "just a quick cut" is still a cut — wear it every time the machine runs.

Materials

• Disposable foam earplugs (keep a box at each loud machine)
• Earmuffs and/or canal caps for intermittent on/off work
• ANSI Z87.1 safety glasses that fit your face and don't wreck field of view
• Face shield rated to wear OVER safety glasses (grinding, chop saw, aggressive routing)
• Chemical splash goggles for epoxy, paint and solvent work
• Optional: muffs designed to work with glasses / hardhat-mount muffs if that's your setup

Tools

• Your loud machines: table saw, planer/jointer, bandsaw, router, circular saw, grinders, chop saw
• Optional sound-level app or meter for a rough shop check (treat phone apps as ballpark, not a formal survey)
• Hooks, a peg, or a small bin at each machine so PPE lives where the noise lives

Steps

1. Estimate the noise, don't invent a hero NRR. Typical published ranges (examples, not your shop): table / rip / bench saws often ~100–110 dB(A); planers/moulders ~100–105; circular saws ~97–104; bandsaws ~90–100; routers often ~93–108 depending on the tool. Use those as a starting point. Choose protection that brings the level at your ear into about 75–85 dBA. Don't chase the highest NRR as a hard requirement — fit and consistent wear matter more.
2. Match the protector to the work pattern. Continuous loud machine runs: well-fitted foam plugs are often more comfortable for hours. Intermittent noisy work (GC site or boat shop hopping between quiet layout and loud cuts): muffs or canal caps are easier on and off. At 100 dBA or greater, or for impulse sounds: double up — earmuffs OVER earplugs (NIOSH).
3. Fit the plugs. Roll foam plugs thin, insert deep, hold until they expand. Quick check if you don't have a formal fit test (NIOSH): count out loud while slowly cupping and uncupping your hands over your ears — your voice should sound about the same if the seal is good. If your voice changes a lot when you cup, reseat the plug.
4. Respect compatibility. Safety-glass temples and respirator straps break an earmuff seal. When you need glasses and hearing protection together, prefer well-fitted foam plugs, or muffs made to work with glasses. Don't assume muffs alone are sealing if the cushions are riding on temple arms.
5. Eyes: stack the right gear. Protective eyewear must meet ANSI Z87.1 (OSHA woodworking guide OSHA 3157). Wear Z87.1 glasses for flying chips and dust. For grinding, chop saws and similar, add a face shield OVER the glasses — a shield alone is not enough. For epoxy, paint and solvents, use chemical splash goggles. Choose glasses that fit, stay comfortable, don't wreck your field of view, and don't fight your respirator or muffs.
6. Keep PPE at the machine. Convenience drives use. A box of plugs and a pair of muffs on a hook at the table saw beats the "good" kit in a drawer across the shop. Post a reminder where the noise is. Wear it for every cut — including the thirty-second one.
7. Controls first, PPE last. Prefer quieter blades, sharp cutters, enclosure, distance and shorter exposure where you can. Hearing and eye protection are the last line, not a substitute for fixing the source when that's practical.

MOAM's shop note: On the dory and on a jobsite I'm not running one machine for eight straight hours — I'm laying out, then ripping, then routing a fairing block, then back to quiet work. So I keep foam plugs for the long sanding and planing sessions and muffs for the hop-on/off cuts. Glasses stay on my head, not in a shirt pocket. The gear you'll actually wear is the only gear that counts. Fancy NRR numbers in a drawer don't help anybody.

Sources: NIOSH / CDC, Provide Hearing Protection (REL 85 dBA as 8-hour TWA; aim ~75–85 dBA at the ear; avoid overprotection; double protection at ≥100 dBA or impulse; NRR is a lab rating — fit matters; foam-plug cup/uncup voice check; 5 Cs of selection); UK HSE RR1223 and HSE woodworking noise good practice (typical machine ranges: woodworking often >95 dB(A); planers/moulders ~100–105; bandsaws ~95–100; table/bench/ripsaws ~100–110; circular saws example 97–102); 3M Noise Navigator examples (table saw ~104 dBA at 90 cm; circular saw ~100–104; bandsaw ~90–95; routers often ~93–108); OSHA woodworking eTool (production woodworking almost certainly needs hearing protection; prefer source/path controls, PPE last); OSHA 3157 woodworking guide (ANSI Z87.1 eyewear; chips/dust and chemical splash). Ranges are typical/example published figures — not measurements of this shop.

MOAM Out.

Woodworking Tip of the Day: Bandsaw Safety: Guide Height, Hand Zone, Relief Cuts and Round Stock

This is catching the MOAM's attention today….. the bandsaw is the friendly one in the shop. It cuts down toward the table, so it doesn't throw stock back at your belt buckle like a table saw can. That's exactly why people get casual with it. But the blade is still an open strip of steel running at full speed, and almost every bandsaw story starts with a hand that wandered into the wrong spot. Here's the short list I run through, pulled from the saw makers' own manuals and the woodworking magazines.

Why it matters: Popular Woodworking points out that a bandsaw's cutting force is aimed at the table, which all but eliminates kickback toward you. It can still drag small offcuts down into the throat plate, and a bad cut can snap the blade or pull it off the wheels. The Grizzly manual says dull blades take more effort and raise the risk of accidents, and OSHA's woodworking rules call for pulling dull, badly set or improperly tensioned saws out of service before they start to jam or kick back.

Materials

• A sharp blade that suits the job, not cracked and with no missing teeth
• Safety glasses, hearing protection and a dust mask or respirator
• A push stick or two, and a shop brush for the table
• A V-block or cradle jig for any round stock
• Your saw's owner's manual (yes, really, because the numbers differ)

Tools

• The bandsaw, unplugged for setup
• A pencil for the layout line
• A shop vac or dust collector hooked up

Steps

1. Unplug it and check the blade. Teeth point down toward the table. Look it over for cracks and missing teeth before every use. Grizzly says not to run a dull, cracked or badly worn blade. Fine Woodworking's tell for a dull one is that it takes extra pressure to cut, runs hotter and leaves a dark end on the kerf. Make sure the wheel covers are closed.
2. Set tension and guides. Tension to the scale for the blade width, as your manual says. Grizzly's 14" saw fine-tunes it by backing the tension off until the blade just flutters, then going 1/4 turn tighter. Set the guides and thrust bearing close to the blade without touching it. Grizzly says about 0.016" behind the blade (four thicknesses of a folded dollar bill) and Laguna says about 1/16" behind the teeth.
3. Drop the upper guide to about 1/4" above the stock and lock the post. Laguna, Grizzly's 9" saw, and the University of Washington shop all say 1/4". Popular Woodworking says 1/4" or less, since a guide set too high leaves the blade unsupported and it can twist. Rikon says 1/8" to 1/4". Be aware that Grizzly's 14" manual allows up to 1", and Fine Woodworking's curve-cutting article uses 1/2" as a gap that still blocks your fingers from passing under. Follow your manual, and keep it as low as the cut allows.
4. Plan the cut so you never back out of a curve. Match the blade width to the radius. Fine Woodworking says a 1/2" blade won't make a 1" radius. For a tight curve, make relief cuts first from the waste edge, stopping just short of the line and about an inch apart. The waste falls away in small pieces and the blade doesn't pinch. Backing out of a short straight cut is OK, but not out of a curve, where the stock can catch the back of the blade and pull it off the wheels.
5. Suit up. Glasses, hearing protection, and a dust mask, with the dust collector running. Laguna, Rikon and Grizzly all list these.
6. Set your hand zone. Popular Woodworking says to keep your hands outside a 3" boundary around the blade and the guide/guard. The University of Washington shop says at least 2" to the side of the blade and never in front of it. I go with 3". Hold the stock flat on the table with your hands off to the sides. Never put your fingers in line with the blade. Narrow or small pieces get a push stick, jig or vise. Scraps on the table get a brush or a stick, never your fingers.
7. Round stock goes in a V-block. A dowel on the bare table is unsupported where the blade bites it, so it spins and drags your fingers in. The University of Washington says to hold round or cylindrical pieces in a V fixture, and Popular Woodworking says to V-block all round stock. Betty Scarpino wrote in American Woodturner that a dowel as small as 1/4" can break a blade. Keep your hands at the outer ends of the jig, well off the cut line.
8. Start and cut. Switch on and let it come to full speed first. Never start with the work touching the blade. Feed evenly with light pressure, and don't twist the blade around small curves. If the motor is dragging, you're feeding too fast. Lightly cupped boards go cupped side down on the table. Grizzly says not to cut badly warped stock at all.
9. Stop it, then fix it. To back a piece out of a curve, jammed scrap or a broken blade: switch off and let the blade stop on its own. Don't try to slow it with your hand or the wood. Unplug it before you reach into the table slot to clear a jam. When you're done, wait for a full stop, unplug, brush off the table and, if it's going to sit, release the blade tension (Grizzly and Laguna both say this saves blade and saw).

One more thing on stance: Popular Woodworking says the blade, if it breaks and flies off the wheels, tends to whip to the right as you face the saw. Facing the blade is the usual stance. Keep a balanced footing, and don't stand in the whip path when you don't have to.

MOAM's shop note: The easy mistake is raising the guide for one tall cut and then leaving it up for the next skinny one. It takes five seconds to drop it, and that's the difference between a blade that's guarded and supported and one that's waving around in the open. Do it every cut, along with the glasses and the push stick. The number of times I've heard "I only needed one quick cut" is the reason these rules exist.

Sources: Laguna V10 Bandsaw owner's manual; Grizzly Model W1706 14" and W1878 9" bandsaw manuals; Rikon 10-324TG 14" bandsaw manual; University of Washington Woodshop band saw safety procedures; Popular Woodworking, "Band Saws" (2008); Fine Woodworking, "How to Cut Flawless Curves on the Bandsaw"; Betty Scarpino, American Woodturner (Feb 2016); OSHA 29 CFR 1910.213 (bandsaws and inspection and maintenance of woodworking machinery). OSHA's rules are written for workplaces; they're still good sense in a home shop.

MOAM Out.

This is catching the MOAM's attention today….. the bandsaw is the friendly one in the shop. It cuts down toward the table, so it doesn't throw stock back at your belt buckle like a table saw can. That's exactly why people get casual with it. But the blade is still an open strip of steel running at full speed, and almost every bandsaw story starts with a hand that wandered into the wrong spot. Here's the short list I run through, pulled from the saw makers' own manuals and the woodworking magazines.

Why it matters: Popular Woodworking points out that a bandsaw's cutting force is aimed at the table, which all but eliminates kickback toward you. It can still drag small offcuts down into the throat plate, and a bad cut can snap the blade or pull it off the wheels. The Grizzly manual says dull blades take more effort and raise the risk of accidents, and OSHA's woodworking rules call for pulling dull, badly set or improperly tensioned saws out of service before they start to jam or kick back.

Materials

• A sharp blade that suits the job, not cracked and with no missing teeth
• Safety glasses, hearing protection and a dust mask or respirator
• A push stick or two, and a shop brush for the table
• A V-block or cradle jig for any round stock
• Your saw's owner's manual (yes, really, because the numbers differ)

Tools

• The bandsaw, unplugged for setup
• A pencil for the layout line
• A shop vac or dust collector hooked up

Steps

1. Unplug it and check the blade. Teeth point down toward the table. Look it over for cracks and missing teeth before every use. Grizzly says not to run a dull, cracked or badly worn blade. Fine Woodworking's tell for a dull one is that it takes extra pressure to cut, runs hotter and leaves a dark end on the kerf. Make sure the wheel covers are closed.
2. Set tension and guides. Tension to the scale for the blade width, as your manual says. Grizzly's 14" saw fine-tunes it by backing the tension off until the blade just flutters, then going 1/4 turn tighter. Set the guides and thrust bearing close to the blade without touching it. Grizzly says about 0.016" behind the blade (four thicknesses of a folded dollar bill) and Laguna says about 1/16" behind the teeth.
3. Drop the upper guide to about 1/4" above the stock and lock the post. Laguna, Grizzly's 9" saw, and the University of Washington shop all say 1/4". Popular Woodworking says 1/4" or less, since a guide set too high leaves the blade unsupported and it can twist. Rikon says 1/8" to 1/4". Be aware that Grizzly's 14" manual allows up to 1", and Fine Woodworking's curve-cutting article uses 1/2" as a gap that still blocks your fingers from passing under. Follow your manual, and keep it as low as the cut allows.
4. Plan the cut so you never back out of a curve. Match the blade width to the radius. Fine Woodworking says a 1/2" blade won't make a 1" radius. For a tight curve, make relief cuts first from the waste edge, stopping just short of the line and about an inch apart. The waste falls away in small pieces and the blade doesn't pinch. Backing out of a short straight cut is OK, but not out of a curve, where the stock can catch the back of the blade and pull it off the wheels.
5. Suit up. Glasses, hearing protection, and a dust mask, with the dust collector running. Laguna, Rikon and Grizzly all list these.
6. Set your hand zone. Popular Woodworking says to keep your hands outside a 3" boundary around the blade and the guide/guard. The University of Washington shop says at least 2" to the side of the blade and never in front of it. I go with 3". Hold the stock flat on the table with your hands off to the sides. Never put your fingers in line with the blade. Narrow or small pieces get a push stick, jig or vise. Scraps on the table get a brush or a stick, never your fingers.
7. Round stock goes in a V-block. A dowel on the bare table is unsupported where the blade bites it, so it spins and drags your fingers in. The University of Washington says to hold round or cylindrical pieces in a V fixture, and Popular Woodworking says to V-block all round stock. Betty Scarpino wrote in American Woodturner that a dowel as small as 1/4" can break a blade. Keep your hands at the outer ends of the jig, well off the cut line.
8. Start and cut. Switch on and let it come to full speed first. Never start with the work touching the blade. Feed evenly with light pressure, and don't twist the blade around small curves. If the motor is dragging, you're feeding too fast. Lightly cupped boards go cupped side down on the table. Grizzly says not to cut badly warped stock at all.
9. Stop it, then fix it. To back a piece out of a curve, jammed scrap or a broken blade: switch off and let the blade stop on its own. Don't try to slow it with your hand or the wood. Unplug it before you reach into the table slot to clear a jam. When you're done, wait for a full stop, unplug, brush off the table and, if it's going to sit, release the blade tension (Grizzly and Laguna both say this saves blade and saw).

One more thing on stance: Popular Woodworking says the blade, if it breaks and flies off the wheels, tends to whip to the right as you face the saw. Facing the blade is the usual stance. Keep a balanced footing, and don't stand in the whip path when you don't have to.

MOAM's shop note: The easy mistake is raising the guide for one tall cut and then leaving it up for the next skinny one. It takes five seconds to drop it, and that's the difference between a blade that's guarded and supported and one that's waving around in the open. Do it every cut, along with the glasses and the push stick. The number of times I've heard "I only needed one quick cut" is the reason these rules exist.

Sources: Laguna V10 Bandsaw owner's manual; Grizzly Model W1706 14" and W1878 9" bandsaw manuals; Rikon 10-324TG 14" bandsaw manual; University of Washington Woodshop band saw safety procedures; Popular Woodworking, "Band Saws" (2008); Fine Woodworking, "How to Cut Flawless Curves on the Bandsaw"; Betty Scarpino, American Woodturner (Feb 2016); OSHA 29 CFR 1910.213 (bandsaws and inspection and maintenance of woodworking machinery). OSHA's rules are written for workplaces; they're still good sense in a home shop.

MOAM Out.

Woodworking Tip of the Day: Oil Finishes: Linseed, Tung or Danish Oil, and Disposing of Oily Rags Safely

Not for nuthin'…. But….. it's Halloween, and the scariest thing in most shops tonight isn't a costume. It's a wad of oily rags balled up in the trash barrel in the corner. Before we get to that, let's straighten out what's actually in those cans of "linseed," "tung" and "Danish" oil, because the labels sure won't tell you. I've got thwarts, a tiller and a rack of tool handles waiting on the dory, so I went back to the makers' own directions and Bob Flexner's finishing work and wrote it all down.

Why it matters: An oil finish is about the easiest finish there is: wipe it on, wipe it off, and it brings the grain up warm. But it only cures right if you take off every bit of the excess, and every rag you used is a fire waiting to happen until you deal with it. NFPA counts an average of about 900 home fires a year started by oily rags.

What's really in the can

• Raw linseed oil is straight flax oil with no driers. It takes weeks to cure. Flexner says he knows of no interior use for it, and I'd leave it on the shelf for furniture and trim.
• Boiled linseed oil (BLO) isn't boiled. It's linseed oil with metallic driers, so it cures in about a day once the excess is off. Klean-Strip says to let it soak in 10 minutes, wipe off all the surface film, and figure up to 16 hours to tack-free and several days to fully cure. Good on tool handles, mallets and shop jigs.
• Pure tung oil gives you the best water resistance you'll get from a straight oil, but it's slow. Waterlox says to thin it about 1:1 for most work, let each coat soak in for up to 45 minutes, and keep re-wetting until it sits on top. Then wipe off all the excess and give it 7 to 14 days to dry and up to 30 days to fully cure. Flexner figures five to seven coats, with two to three days between them and a light sanding after every coat.
• "Danish oil" and most "tung oil finish" products are oil/varnish blends. Flexner lists Watco Danish Oil and Minwax Tung Oil Finish as blends, and some other "tung oil" products (Formby's, for one) as thinned wiping varnish. A blend gives you a little more protection than plain oil and is just as easy to wipe on. One more curveball: Tried & True calls its straight polymerized linseed oil "Danish Oil." Read the ingredients, not the name.

Where oil belongs in a boat shop: interior trim, thwarts and seats on a boat that lives under cover, tool handles, bench tops and cabinets. Oil alone isn't exterior brightwork. It darkens in the sun and needs regular maintenance coats, and Watco, Minwax Tung Oil Finish and Tried & True are all labeled for interior use. For brightwork that lives out in the salt air, oil is a maintenance plan, not a finish. (If you want a film that builds, that's the wiping varnish from the Oct. 19 tip.)

Materials

• Your oil: BLO, pure tung (plus mineral spirits or citrus solvent to thin it), or an oil/varnish blend like Watco Danish Oil
• A pile of clean, lint-free cotton rags (old T-shirts work)
• 0000 steel wool or 220-grit paper for between coats
• An old metal paint can with a tight lid, water and a squirt of dish detergent
• Nitrile gloves

Tools

• Cheap natural-bristle brush or a folded rag for flooding it on
• Random-orbit sander or a sanding block for prep
• A clear spot outdoors, away from the building, plus a few rocks or scrap blocks to weigh rags down

Steps

1. Read the can first. If mineral spirits or petroleum distillate is on the ingredient list, it isn't pure oil. If you're not sure, do Flexner's puddle test: half a teaspoon on a piece of glass, then wait 24 hours to a couple of days. Smooth and hard means wiping varnish. Soft and wrinkled means an oil/varnish blend.
2. Prep bare wood. Get every old finish off, sand smooth (Watco's sheet runs 120, 150, 180, 220), and vacuum or wipe off all the dust. Oil goes on bare wood only, because it has to soak in to cure.
3. Flood it on. Use a brush or rag and lay it on heavy, adding more wherever it soaks right in. End grain will drink it.
4. Let it soak, on the label's clock. Watco Danish Oil: 30 minutes, then wet it again and give it 15 more. Minwax Tung Oil Finish: 5 to 10 minutes. BLO: about 10 minutes. Pure tung: up to 45 minutes, re-wetting the dry spots until the oil just sits there.
5. Wipe off ALL the excess. Use clean, dry rags, with the grain, until the surface feels dry. Then change rags and do it again. Anything you leave on top cures soft and gummy. This is the step that makes or breaks an oil finish.
6. Come back for the bleed-back. Open-grained wood like oak and mahogany pushes oil back out of the pores. Check it over the next hour or so and wipe off any shiny beads. On pure tung, keep a rag handy for the first couple of weeks.
7. Let it cure. Watco says it's ready for light use in 8 to 10 hours. Minwax says 24 hours between coats. BLO, overnight at least. Pure tung takes days. Cold shops are slower, and Watco wants 60 to 90°F.
8. Scuff and recoat. Knock down the raised grain with 0000 steel wool or 220, wipe off the dust, and repeat. Two or three coats of BLO or a blend (Minwax says two), and five to seven for pure tung. Going over it with varnish? Watco says to wait 72 hours first.
9. Deal with the rags right then and there. See below. Not after supper.

The rags. Read this part twice. Linseed and tung oil cure by soaking up oxygen, and that reaction gives off heat. Spread out flat, the heat just drifts away. Wad it up in a pile or a trash bag and the heat builds until the rag lights itself, hours later, after you've shut the lights off and gone in the house. NFPA and the Massachusetts fire officials say:

• Never leave oily rags in a pile, a box or the trash.
• Option A: Hang them or spread them flat outdoors in a single layer, weighed down so they don't blow around, away from buildings, until they're completely dry and stiff. Klean-Strip says at least 24 hours above 40°F for BLO rags, and Waterlox figures 7 to 15 days for pure tung.
• Option B: Put them in a metal can with a tight lid (an old paint can is perfect), cover them completely with water and a little detergent, and keep the can somewhere cool and out of the sun. Watco's safety sheet says to put soaked rags straight into a sealed, water-filled metal container.
• Either way, the can of rags goes to your town's household hazardous waste collection, not the barrel. Check with your town for the date.
• The same goes for steel wool, paper towels, brushes and your shop apron if it got soaked.

MOAM's shop note: The mistake I see most is the "one more coat for good measure" fella who floods it on and walks away. Oil isn't varnish. It doesn't build, and whatever's left on top turns into a sticky, wrinkled mess that you'll be scraping off in a week. Wipe it like you're trying to take it all back off. The wood keeps what it needs.

Sources: Watco Danish Oil technical data sheet and Rust-Oleum safety data sheet, Minwax Tung Oil Finish directions, Klean-Strip boiled linseed oil guidance, Waterlox 100% Pure Tung Oil application guide, Tried & True product directions, Bob Flexner, "Oil Finishes: Their History and Use" (Popular Woodworking), Hendrik Varju, "The Confusion Over Wipe-On Finishes" (Fine Woodworking #207), Power & Motoryacht, "Varnishes, Oils, and a Little Heresy," NFPA "Oily Rags" safety tip sheet, and Mass.gov, "Disposing of oily rags."

MOAM Out.

Woodworking Tip of the Day: Router Safety: Feed Direction, Climb Cuts and Keeping Your Fingers

Not for nuthin'…. But….. the router is the tool that's going to bite you when you're not paying attention. It doesn't kick back like a table saw, and it doesn't jam like a bandsaw. It just grabs and runs. I'm putting roundovers on the gunwales and rubrails of the Chamberlain Marblehead gunning dory right now, plus a hatch coaming or two, and every one of those cuts goes better when the router is going the right way. So today: which way to feed, when a climb cut is fine and when it isn't, how to seat a bit so it stays put, and how fast to spin the big ones.

Why it matters: A router bit turns upwards of 20,000 rpm. Feed it the right way and the bit pushes back against you, so you're the one in charge. Feed it the wrong way and the bit pulls the router, or the board, along with it. Fine Woodworking puts it plainly about the router table: climb cut while feeding by hand and the stock can be ripped from your hand, drawing your hand into the cutter. Add a bit that wasn't seated right, or a big panel bit spinning too fast, and you've got a projectile.

The rules, with the numbers

• Handheld router: seen from above, the bit spins clockwise. Woodcraft's rule is to feed against that spin: go counterclockwise around an outside edge, and clockwise around the inside of an opening. On the edge nearest you, that means left to right.
• Router table: the router's upside down, so the bit spins counterclockwise. Feed right to left along the fence, into the rotation, so the bit pulls the stock into the fence. Fine Woodworking's router-table basics also say to keep the stock between you and the bit, never trapped between the bit and the fence.
• Climb cuts: going with the spin cuts clean and kills tearout, but the router wants to take off. Fine Woodworking says it's fine handheld with light passes, a boxer's stance and both hands on the tool. Never with the bit tethered, like on a circle jig, and never on the router table when you're feeding by hand, unless the work is big or locked in a heavy jig or sled.
• Seating the bit: Amana says bottom the shank out in the collet, then back it off about 1/16". Bosch's manuals say the cutters should sit about 1/8" to 1/4" from the collet nut face, with at least 5/8" of shank gripped. Never tighten a collet with no bit in it.
• Speed: Freud's chart for maximum speed by cutting diameter: up to 1", 24,000 rpm; 1" to 1-1/4", 18,000; 1-1/4" to 2-1/4", 16,000; 2-1/4" to 3-1/2", 12,000. And never faster than the speed marked on the bit.
• Depth: on the router table, Fine Woodworking says to keep it around 1/8" per pass in hardwood; you can go deeper in softwood. Shallow passes don't burn, don't chatter, and don't yank.
• Noise: a compiled sound-level database puts the average router at about 97 dBA. NIOSH's recommended limit is 85 dBA over an 8-hour day, and the allowed time halves for every 3 dBA above that. Do the arithmetic and 97 dBA gets you about half an hour. Muffs or plugs, every time.

Materials

• A scrap of the same stock for a test pass
• Clamps, or a non-slip router pad, to hold the work
• Featherboards and a push block or push stick

Tools

• A router (handheld or in a table) with the right collet for the bit's shank; 1/2" shank whenever you can
• Sharp, clean bits; a dull one makes the router wander and burn
• Collet wrenches
• Safety glasses and hearing protection
• Dust collection or a shop vac on the router, and a dust mask (see the 10/23 tip)

Steps: a safe routing session

1. Unplug it before you touch the bit. Not just "switched off." Unplugged, or battery out.
2. Seat the bit right. Clean the shank and the collet. Push the shank all the way in, back it off about 1/16", and tighten the nut with both wrenches. The cutters shouldn't touch the nut, and you want plenty of shank in the grip.
3. Set the speed for the bit. Small bits run fast. Anything over an inch in diameter gets slowed down per the chart, and a big panel-raising bit belongs in a table, near the bottom of the dial.
4. Hold the work. Clamp it or put it on a router pad. Small parts don't get routed handheld: rout the edge of a wider board and rip the part off after, or use the table with a push block.
5. Glasses and muffs on. Dust collection on. Sleeves rolled, nothing dangling.
6. Start clear of the work. Let the router come up to speed before the bit touches wood.
7. Feed against the spin. Handheld: counterclockwise around the outside, clockwise inside an opening. Table: right to left, stock against the fence, featherboard holding it there, right hand feeding, left hand guiding, hands never over the bit.
8. Take it in passes. Around 1/8" per pass in hardwood on the table. Keep the router moving at a steady rate: too slow and it burns, too fast and it chatters and tears.
9. Climb only on purpose. If a corner or a nasty grain reversal tears out, take a very light climb pass first (handheld, both hands, steady stance), then finish with a normal push cut.
10. Let it stop. Wait for the bit to quit spinning before you set the router down, and don't grab the bit right after; it's hot.

On the dory: The gunwales and rubrails get a roundover, and that's a long run of handheld router work along a curve. I go left to right along the edge facing me, and I take two light passes instead of one heavy one. On the mahogany, where the grain swaps direction on me, I'll take a whisper-thin climb pass at the tearout spot, then clean it up going the right way. And the earmuffs stay on even for "just one quick pass." Years of quick passes add up.

MOAM's shop note: The mistake I see most is on the router table with a narrow piece: the guy feeds it left to right, or he runs the stock on the far side of the bit, between the bit and the fence. Either way it's a climb cut, and the bit can grab that strip and pull it right out of his hand. Right to left, stock between you and the bit, featherboard and push block on anything narrow. And if you hear the router bog and smell burning, you're taking too much at once. Back it off and take another pass.

The numbers here come from Woodcraft, Fine Woodworking, Amana Tool, Bosch's router manuals, Freud's router-bit speed chart, NIOSH and a compiled sound-level database. The half-hour figure at 97 dBA is my own arithmetic from the NIOSH rule. Your router's manual and the bit's packaging win if they say something different.

Sources: Woodcraft, Understanding Router Feed Direction; Fine Woodworking, Climb-Cutting: Don't Believe the Naysayers and Router-Table Basics; Amana Tool, Knowledge Base; Bosch, RA1152 operating instructions; Freud, Router Bits: Technical Information; NIOSH, Noise and Hearing Loss.

MOAM Out.

Woodworking Tip of the Day: Dust Collection You'll Actually Use: Hoods, Shrouds and PPE

This is catching the MOAM's attention today….. the dust. Not the chips on the floor, the stuff you can't see. Right now on the Chamberlain Marblehead gunning dory I'm sanding cured epoxy, fairing compound, a little teak and some cedar, and every one of those makes a fine powder that hangs in the air long after the sander stops. I've been building boats and running jobs as a licensed contractor long enough to know the dust setup that works is the one you'll actually turn on every time. So here's a simple one: catch it at the tool, clean the air as a backup, wear the right mask the right way, and clean up without stirring it all back up.

Why it matters: NIOSH treats wood dust as a potential occupational carcinogen and recommends keeping it under 1 mg/m³ over a work shift. OSHA's legal limit is much looser (15 mg/m³ total dust, 5 mg/m³ respirable), and OSHA itself says many of its limits are outdated and points employers to the NIOSH number. Teak is on the ACGIH list as a suspected human carcinogen, and Western red cedar is a known respiratory sensitizer, with a tighter ACGIH limit of 0.5 mg/m³. California's health department lists cedar, oak and mahogany among woods known to cause asthma. Then there's epoxy. WEST SYSTEM says the sanding dust of partially cured epoxy is still reactive, and breathing it raises your risk of becoming sensitized. Once you're sensitized, even a little exposure can set you off. Fairing fillers aren't much of a hazard on their own, WEST says, but any nuisance dust makes existing lung trouble worse.

Materials

• A HEPA-filtered shop vac (built for HEPA, not just a shop vac with a HEPA cartridge stuck in it)
• A cyclone separator and a bucket or drum between the tool and the vac
• Sander with a dust port, hose and adapter to fit it; hook-and-loop discs with holes that line up with the pad
• A small hood or shroud (store-bought or a shop-made box from scrap plywood) for jobs the sander port can't catch
• A half-mask respirator with P100 filters (or a NIOSH-approved N95 for short jobs); organic vapor/P100 combination cartridges if you'll be using solvents
• Safety glasses with side shields marked Z87, and earmuffs or plugs

Tools

• Random-orbit sander, longboard or sanding block
• Ceiling-hung air cleaner (optional, as a backup)
• Spray bottle and a damp rag or mop for the last pass of cleanup

Steps: a dust setup you'll actually use

1. Catch it at the tool, first. Hook the sander's port straight to the vac hose, with the cyclone in between. Fine Woodworking tested Oneida's Dust Deputy cyclone with quarts of the finest sanding dust, and "not even a teaspoon" got into the vacuum. That keeps the vac filter from clogging, so your suction stays strong, and you're not beating a caked filter out in the yard. Line up the holes in the disc with the holes in the pad, or the port isn't pulling anything.
2. Make sure the vac is really HEPA. A HEPA filter catches 99.97% of particles at 0.3 micron, the size that's hardest to catch. EPA's warning is worth hearing: a shop vac with a HEPA cartridge dropped in isn't necessarily sealed, so dust can leak past the filter. Buy one designed to run with a HEPA filter.
3. Put the hood right where the dust comes off. Suction dies off fast. OSHA's ventilation manual says that at one duct diameter in front of a plain opening, capture velocity is about 10% of the velocity in the duct, and the source should be no more than 1-1/2 duct diameters from the hood. OSHA's example: a 6-in. duct, 9 in. max. By the same rule, a 2-1/2-in. vac hose has to be within about 3-3/4 in. of the work. Blowing air carries a long way; suction doesn't. So for scraping, hand-sanding fillets or working inside the hull, clamp the hood right up to the work, and baffle the sides with cardboard or plastic so a fan or an open door doesn't blow the dust past it.
4. Run the air cleaner as a backup, not a substitute. Fine Woodworking's 2010 test of five ceiling-hung air filters in a mock 400 sq. ft. shop found they did clear the finest dust (0.1 to 10 microns) in 20 minutes or less, about 15 minutes for the best. The same test concluded they don't keep the air at levels experts call safe; for that you need collection at the source. Turn it on while you work and leave it running after you quit.
5. Pick the right mask. For dust, you want a particulate filter: N95 means it catches at least 95% of particles, P100 at least 99.97%. N means not oil resistant, R is somewhat resistant, P is oil proof. WEST's minimum for epoxy, wood and filler dust is N95 or better. On a long sanding session I wear a half mask with P100 filters. Organic vapor cartridges are for vapors (solvent wipes, or epoxy in a closed-up space like inside the hull), and a plain OV cartridge does nothing for dust. If you need both, use a combination OV/P100 cartridge.
6. Check the seal every time you put it on. OSHA's user seal check: cover the exhalation valve and breathe out gently; you should feel slight pressure with no leaks at the edges. Then cover the cartridges and breathe in gently; the mask should pull in slightly and stay that way while you hold your breath for 10 seconds. That check doesn't replace a fit test, which is how you find the right model and size. And the hard truth for us old-timers: OSHA doesn't let employers put tight-fitting respirators on anyone with facial hair under the seal. A beard breaks the seal. That rule is written for tight-fitting masks, so if the beard stays, look at a loose-fitting powered (PAPR) hood instead.
7. Change filters on time. NIOSH says replace any particulate filter when it's damaged, dirty or noticeably harder to breathe through. Vapor cartridges are a different story: OSHA requires either an end-of-service-life indicator or a change schedule based on objective data, like the maker's service-life figures. Bag the cartridges between uses.
8. Eyes and ears, quick. OSHA requires eye protection with side protection where there are flying particles; look for Z87 on the frame. NIOSH's recommended noise limit is 85 dBA averaged over 8 hours, and 85 dBA is also OSHA's trigger for a hearing conservation program (90 dBA is OSHA's limit). Planers, routers and a shop vac all at once add up. Earmuffs hang right on the vac.
9. Sand epoxy only when it's fully cured. WEST says epoxy cures to a sandable solid fast, but full cure can take more than two weeks at room temperature (or a post-cure with heat). Wait several days before sanding fresh epoxy, wet sand when you can, and if you can't wait, gear up: mask, glasses and long sleeves. Wash up with soap and warm water after sanding.
10. Clean up with the vac, never the air hose or the broom. The UK's safety regulator (HSE) says it straight: never dry sweep or blow wood dust off with compressed air, because it just makes a dust cloud you breathe. WEST agrees: vacuum or mop, because less dust goes back in the air. Vacuum the boat, the bench, the floor and your clothes, then a damp wipe.

MOAM's shop note: The dust setup that works is the one that's quick to start. Keep the vac, cyclone and hose on one cart next to the boat, with the mask hanging on the handle in a bag and the earmuffs on the hose. Plug the sander into the vac's tool outlet if yours has one, so the vac starts when the sander does. If it takes five minutes to hook up, some Saturday you'll "just do a quick pass" without it, and that's the pass that gets you. And if your shop's like mine in late October, with the doors shut and the stove going, the air cleaner and the mask matter more, not less.

Numbers here come from NIOSH/CDC, OSHA, EPA, WEST SYSTEM, Fine Woodworking, the California Department of Public Health and the UK HSE. The 3-3/4 in. figure is my arithmetic from OSHA's 1-1/2-duct-diameter rule.

Sources: NIOSH/CDC, Filtering Facepiece Respirators, User Seal Check FAQ, Service Time Recommendations for P-Series Filters, Understand Noise Exposure; 42 CFR 84.170 (LII). OSHA, Wood Dust, PELs vs. RELs, 29 CFR 1910.134 and Appendix B-1, 29 CFR 1910.133, Occupational Noise Exposure, Technical Manual, Ventilation. EPA, What is a HEPA filter? and HEPA vacuums. WEST SYSTEM, Preventing Overexposure, Shop Hazards, Epoxy Safety. Fine Woodworking, Dust Deputy Cyclone and Eric Constans, Air Filters (July/Aug. 2010). California Dept. of Public Health, Wood Dust and Work-Related Asthma. UK HSE, Wood dust.

MOAM Out.

Tools for this tip

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

• Oneida Air Systems Dust Deputy DIY anti-static cyclone separator for wet/dry shop vacs: cyclone between the sander and the vac, so fine sanding dust lands in the bucket, not the filter
• 3M 6503QL Rugged Comfort Quick Latch half facepiece reusable respirator, large: half-mask respirator for long sanding sessions on epoxy, fairing compound and teak (seal check every time)
• 3M 2091 P100 particulate filters, 3 pairs: P100 filters for the half mask: at least 99.97% filtration, oil proof
• 3M 60921 organic vapor/P100 cartridge, 1 pair: combination organic vapor/P100 cartridges for solvent wipes and epoxy in a closed-up hull
• 3M PELTOR X4A over-the-head earmuffs, NRR 27 dB: earmuffs to hang on the vac cart for sanders, routers and planers

Use whatever you already have in the shop; these are just the ones that fit this job.

How to Prevent Table Saw Kickback: Riving Knife, Featherboards and Where You Stand

Not for nuthin'…. But….. most of us have a kickback story, and the lucky ones only have a dent in the shop wall to show for it. Kickback is the table saw throwing the board back at you, hard and fast. It isn't bad luck. It has a cause you can see coming: the board drifts off the fence or the kerf pinches shut, the wood touches the back of the blade, and those rear teeth (which are coming up out of the table, toward you) grab it, lift it and launch it back over the top of the blade. That's how Fine Woodworking describes it, and anybody who's seen it happen will tell you it's faster than you can react. Everything below is about keeping wood off those rear teeth, and keeping you out of the way if something goes wrong anyway.

Why it matters: It's mid-October in New England. The boat's coming out of the water, the winter shop projects are starting, and the saw's about to get more hours than it did all summer. I rip a lot of white oak and cedar for the dory, and reaction wood will close up behind the blade before you know it. A riving knife, a fence that's set right and ten seconds of thinking about where your body is will handle most of it.

Materials

• Stock that's been jointed flat on one face and straight on one edge. Never rip a board with a crooked or wavy edge against the fence.
• Scrap plywood or poplar for a shop-made push stick, and a push block for narrow rips
• A wood featherboard (a 30°–40° end with saw-kerf fingers, per FWW) or a commercial one that locks in the miter slot

Tools

• Table saw with its riving knife (or splitter on an older saw) installed and aligned
• A sharp blade that suits the cut: a rip blade for long rips in hardwood
• Combination square, and a tape or caliper to check fence-to-blade at the front and back
• Push stick, push block, featherboard
• Safety glasses and hearing protection

Steps

1. Check the fence. Mark one tooth, rotate it to the front of the throat and measure to the fence, then rotate the same tooth to the back and measure again (Woodcraft). Those two numbers should match. Some guys toe the back of the fence out about 1/64 in. so the board can't wedge; others, including Rockler's Chris Marshall and WOOD Magazine's shop, set it dead parallel and let the riving knife do the work. Either way, never let the fence toe in toward the back of the blade. That builds a funnel that shoves the wood straight into the rising teeth.
2. Put the riving knife on and leave it on. It rides right behind the blade, moves up and down with it, and keeps the kerf from closing on the back teeth. Since 2005, the UL 987 standard for new U.S. table saws calls for one: between 3 and 8 mm (about 1/8 to 5/16 in.) from the teeth, and its top 1 to 5 mm below the top of the blade. It should be thicker than the blade's body but thinner than the kerf, and dead in line with the blade. If yours is bent or crooked, fix that before you cut anything.
3. Set the blade height. The Power Tool Institute says no more than 1/8 to 1/4 in. above the stock, and WOOD Magazine likes about 1/4 in. showing. Less blade sticking up means less blade to get into trouble with.
4. Put the featherboard ahead of the blade, never beside or behind it. Clamp it so its pressure is on the board before the blade's leading edge. FWW: no part of it should extend past the front of the blade, or it'll pinch the cut piece against the side of the blade, and that's your kickback right there. Set it with light pressure. It's there to keep the board on the fence, not to clamp it.
5. Stand out of the line. Stand to the side of the blade, not behind it. With the fence on the right, that means a little left of the blade line, so if something does come back, it goes past you, not into you. Keep your hands flat on the board and out of line with the blade too.
6. Pick the right pusher. Saw manuals (Bosch's among them) carry the same standard safety rule: use a push stick when the fence is less than 6 in. (150 mm) from the blade, and a push block when it's under 2 in. (50 mm). Push between the blade and the fence, so the keeper stays tight to the fence.
7. Feed all the way through. Steady feed, and push the work completely past the blade before you let go or reach. Never reach over or around a spinning blade, don't back a board out of a cut with the saw running, and never cut freehand. Always use the fence or the miter gauge.
8. Crosscutting to length? Clamp a stop block to the fence ahead of the blade. Never use the bare rip fence as a length stop with the miter gauge. That traps the offcut between the blade and fence, and Woodcraft says it'll kick back "almost every time." Clamp a block to the fence well in front of the blade, butt the work against it, and the piece clears the block before it reaches the blade, so the offcut has room.

MOAM's shop note: The most common mistake I see is pulling the riving knife for one dado cut and never putting it back. A real riving knife sits below the top of the blade, so on most modern saws it can stay on for non-through cuts like grooves and rabbets made with a regular blade. A dado stack is usually a different story. Check your manual. Pro trick for the boat shop: when you rip oak or anything with a lot of tension in it, watch the kerf behind the blade. If you see it start to close or the board starts to pull, stop feeding, hold the board, shut the saw off and wait for the blade to stop. A wedge tapped in the kerf will get you through the rest of the cut. Don't try to muscle it through.

Sources: UL 987, Standard for Stationary and Fixed Electric Tools, §40A.2.4 (riving knife limits), via Sawmill Creek; CPSC staff report on table saws (UL 987 6th ed., 2005 riving knife requirement); Fine Woodworking, "Safe Procedures at the Tablesaw," "Mastering the Tablesaw" and "Work More Safely with Featherboards"; Woodcraft, "Preventing Tablesaw Kickback," "Staying Safe at the Tablesaw" and "Two Dozen Table Saw Safety Tips"; Rockler, "Should a Rip Fence and Blade Be Parallel?"; WOOD Magazine, "What's the proper rip-fence alignment?"; Power Tool Institute, "Table Saw Safety"; Woodsmith, "How to Make Accurate Crosscuts on a Table Saw"; Bosch and Ryobi table saw manual safety rules; CCOHS, "Woodworking Machines: Table Saws."

MOAM Out.

Tools for this tip

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

• Bench Dog 10-005 Feather-Loc single featherboard (miter-slot mount): locks in the miter slot so its pressure sits just ahead of the blade
• MICROJIG GRR-RIPPER GR-100 3D table saw push block: push block for narrow rips, keeps the keeper tight to the fence and your hands up out of the way
• iGaging 6-inch digital caliper: measuring fence-to-blade off the same tooth at the front and back of the throat
• Starrett 12-inch combination square (11H-12-4R): checking the blade and riving knife are square to the table and in line

Use whatever you already have in the shop; these are just the ones that fit this job.