While I was working at the headquarters of a drug manufacturer in New York. One of my fellow staff members said he was going to buy a Skill Saw for some work he wanted to do around his home.
I immediately ask him if he had any experience using a Skill Saw. They were quite dangerous and anyone using one had to be super cautious. Skill Saws had a habit when they hit a knot or a nail in the wood will jump back violently with the blade still spinning at a high rate.

Then I related a story of my father-in-law who was a partner at Bomber Bait Company. He was in one of their warehouses and was using a Skill Sawt to rip some cedar boards to the proper width to fit a shaping machine for wood lure bodies. This by no means was his job since he was one of the owners, but he was the kind of guy to step anywhere and anytime something needed done.

While doing this ripping with a Skill Saw, for some reason it had a hard spot and jumped backward with the blade still spinning a high speed, striking him in the groin, and cutting into his femoral artery. If it had not been for a couple of his buddies who had stopped by for a cup of coffee. They immediately rushed him to the hospital which was only two or three blocks away. Had they not been there, Ike would have been a dead man!

So, if you own one be doubly careful, make sure the blade guard works properly, stand in a position where if it jumps back with the guard open, your leg will not be in the way! That might just keep you from receiving a severe or fatal wound.

So, what should you do if you need to cut some lumber? First, I would check with the lumber yard and see if they would do the cutting for you. Next, if that isn’t a solution, perhaps hire a carpenter to cut your wood to the proper size for you. Or if the job isn’t to cut large sizes or quantities of lumber, you might consider an electric jig saw. In any case, read carefully the instructions and wear an appropriate eye guard. Remember, if you are careless these saws will happily tear you a new one!

I have had molten lead explode and hit me in my eyes and face, enough to seal my eyelids until the doctor could scrape it off. Once, we were putting up wire to separate boat stalls we were building. Suddenly, when the wire was stretched ultra-tight, and just as I was beginning to drive the staple in to secure the wire, it broke. The staple flies up and pierces my Ray Ban sunglasses and drives glass into my eye! Another trip to the Ophthalmologist! It goes to show that even when you are being careful, accidents can happen. Don’t take chances. Just Sayin…RJS