On Aug 11, 10:08 pm, jo4hn wrote:

Mine is safely mounted on the overhead arm with the dust collection
hose. I use it almost without exception just for that little edge it
gives me.
chicken****,
jo4hn

Sorry John, I don't see the chicken****. After all my years in the
trades, I still have all my original equipment, less a little gray
matter.

I think it is perfectly fine for the Saturday afternoon guy to take
the guards off all his tools. The more fingers that are lopped off,
hands that are damaged, legs that are hacked open simply translates
into more work for someone like me.

I love to read about that wild man, that guy that is striking a blow
for personal independence, that maverick that disables or takes off
any safety feature on tool. I will stand next to him and wave my fist
in the air "givin' to the the sombitch that tries to tell me what to
do" with great gusto, knowing, sooner or later the odds are on my
side.

A lapse of judgment, a moment of inattention, a miscalculation, a
slip, working a when a little too tired, not understanding the tool's
limitations (or theirs), too much in a hurry, overconfidence with the
tools, mechanical failure (blade throws a tooth, router bit breaks, a
belt breaks), an unexpected surprise (a knot shooting out of a piece
of wood) and on and on with all the other things that go on when using
a tool are the things I wait for. They bring me business.

Sadly, most home shop guys don't actually use their tools enough for
the icy hand of the odds to finally be resting on their shoulder. An
occasional bookcase or glider isn't usually going to cut it.

But on the other hand, if all the guards are taken off tools and
there is no significant eye and dust protection, I figure my odds go
way up for getting new business.

Sadly, I know I may have lost a customer for my woodworking skills
when I go to their house for an estimate only to see most guards and
guides for the tools in use as well as dust masks, and good lighting.

They admit that usually this is due to a self inflicted injury and
they don't want to "take a chance on an accident anymore".

Weenies.

Robert