5 Indispensable Shop Safety Devices
Updated: Nov. 07, 2022Safety gear can be a pretty boring (yet very important) topic for the wood shop. Luckily, there are some really amazing products available today that not only make woodworking safer, but more enjoyable, too.
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Dewalt DPG15 Digital AM/FM Hearing Protector
You have to wear hearing protection much of the time in the shop. Why not make it entertaining by listening to music instead of the drone of power tools in the background? Especially when you’re sanding or planing wood for an hour or two. It even makes other tedious tasks like mowing or leaf blowing less painful. Learn everything you need to know about hearing protection here.
3M BX Reader Protective Eyewear
I got tired of switching back and forth between my cheaters and safety glasses so I finally popped for safety glasses that were also bifocals. The fact that they do double-duty means I’m also more diligent about wearing eye protection.
FEIN Turbo I Vacuum Cleaner
I never do any random orbital sanding without having the sander hooked up to my Fein shop vacuum. It makes for virtually dust-free sanding. Plug the sander to the Fein and the machine turns itself on automatically when I pull the trigger on the sander. And it’s the quietest shop vacuum I’ve ever heard.
GVS Elipse P100 Half Mask Respirator
There are lots of stinky, hazardous stuff in the shop that you shouldn’t be inhaling. Contact cement, polyurethane, lacquer, etc. Dust masks will do absolutely nothing to keep that stuff from your lungs. A charcoal filter respirator will. In fact you won’t even detect these odors when you’re wearing one. Here’s another tip. If you have pet messes to clean up, you can skip the “gag” factor by wearing your respirator!
Jet Air Filtration System
Whenever I’m running power tools I start by switching on my overhead dust collector. It continuously filters the air to take out the smallest dust particles. A remote control makes it no fuss to operate. My shop stays way less dusty since I started using it a few years ago.