As a woodwork teacher, this is a fantastic video to show students who keep "forgetting" to put on their safety glasses. Thanks for being so vulnerable and sharing your story. I hope the healing process goes well and that your sight will return. Best of luck to you.
Thank you so much. My sight has returned about 10%. It's not enough to see or navigate with, but it is enough for my eye to track light/dark and not go lazy on me. I'll count that as a blessing.
I left my safety glasses at home today. I used my table saw at the job site today. Thank you for the wake-up call. I hope this message finds itself to all our fellow woodworkers.
I am beyond impressed with your immeasurable courage, testimony, honesty and willingness to share this story, and teach others through this. You are among the few today Good Sir. I wish you all the absolute best and thank you again for being so open to mentoring the many who just don't accept those guards and good practices are there for a reason. Cheers!
go watch a few woodworking videos no one keeps the guards on their table saws they just cause more grief than they help and half the stuff people do wont be possible with the guards in place he made a couple of mistakes that contributed to this accident, first this was a job for the bandsaw that's the tool to use for re-sawing and second the blade was way to high it should have been set to just over halfway through not all the way up like that and lastly when it stopped moving forward he should have just stopped pushing held it in place and turned the saw off if he could not figure out what was causing it to bind up taking his hands/push stick off the work piece when reaching for the stop button was a big mistake my saw has a big red protruding off button you can hit with your knee i think almost all saws have stop buttons like that
Dang man, wish you a swift recovery and that you're able to retain sight in your left eye. Thanks for sharing the story of your injury and I hope that it reaches people in time to save their eyes from similar accidents.
Thank you for making this video! I really appreciate your concerns for others and sharing what happened to you. I've done the exact same things using my table saw! (Except the injury) I am sharing your video to my work group. We have a monthly staff meeting and include safety. Also, I represent our R&D group in a monthly Global Safety meeting. I have shared your video with my employer's global safety group so it can be seen in China, Germany, Belgium, England, Italy, Brazil, etc, etc! Thank you!
It's nice of you to make a warning ⚠️ video. I have two friends who just recently had eye injuries, one with a sharpening stone spinning thing and the other with a thick 2/O electrical cable that he was securing into the electrical box. Both were not wearing eye protection. Wear protection people!⚠️
Hi Josh - Thank you so much for sharing this story. I also wear prescription glasses, and I had been rationalizing that for that reason I didn’t need to wear safety glasses when using my table saw. I’ll change my ways immediately. Thank you so much, again, for your message.
Josh, a mutual friend let me know you'd gone through this recently. So sorry to hear. Thanks for sharing -- it's a real wake up call. Best of luck in your recovery. God speed, brother!
My cousin had a bungee cable snap and blind him in one eye. He survived an I.E.D in Iraq that killed his buddy and he lost his eye tieing down a load. The ironic thing is he works in a bungee factory now and is their safety guy.
This is Karma at work. How many innocent Iraqi people your American invading soldier cousin killed and injured in Iraq? I am glad that his buddy was killed and that he lost one eye. What goes around comes around for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall also he reap. Amen.
I know this happened to you a while ago, but thank you for talking about this. I had almost resigned myself to giving up on telling my brother to wear safety glasses. He's so incredibly resistant to wearing them for some reason, with statements such as "I'm wearing my [regular perscription] glasses" and "I've never had a problem yet". Watching you tell your story has reinvigorated my hatered, anger, and fear of those statements and their like. I will never stop telling him to wear appropriate eye protection until he makes a habit of it himself, nor anyone I interact with around such dangers. Admitting you made a mistake shows humility, sharing your mistake so others may learn from it shows selflessness, both of which demenonstrate your courage. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you for being willing to share this accident. I’ve started using a full face shield, as well as, my safety glasses. Table saw is definitely the most dangerous tool on the job site.
I’m really sorry to hear about your injury, I work in an industrial environment and know the hassle of wearing safety glasses, but it is certainly a necessary step in being precautious in the work place. I wanted to thank you for sharing your story, I know it must be a really difficult thing to accept and you seem to have done so in a very admirable way. You’ve inspired me and I will be sure to wear my safety glasses in the workplace and in the shop. I subscribed an hour ago, I had just watched your video on the decked bed liner, I found your channel completely by chance and ended up here at this video. Thank you again for sharing and I wish you a speedy recovery.
I was at a jobsite a few years ago, and a colleague was chipping concrete with a hammer drill. A piece of concrete, about 4cm (1.5") was launched *exactly* towards my eye by the drill at a surprising speed. Fortunately, I was wearing safety glasses, and the piece just **ding** bounced off. Had I not used eye protection, I'm sure that would've been a life changing injury.
Just came across your channel. I'm so sorry brother. But thank you for sharing this because people don't think of this untill it happens. God bless you
Could have happened to me many times. I do wear safety glasses at the table saw because I don't like sawdust in my eyes. But videos like this helps keep me a little safer. I'm going to buy new safety glasses tomorrow. I have several, but so scratched up I avoid them sometimes when I should have them on. Just checked Home Depot...bifocal safety glasses $11.77...I have no excuse for not having several pairs.
Thank you for sharing this story, such a great reminder for us all about how the small moment to moment safety decisions we make in our shops can be so much more important than we give them credit.
I am seeing this video on Tuesday, September 27, 2022. I have not seen any videos past this video but I truly hope you have gained your vision or some kind of vision back. I rarely use safety glasses during my job as a general contractor/handyman. Were I use a lot of power tools and hand tools of that nature where things are spinning very fast. After watching this I will for sure buy a pair of good quality safety glasses.
Thank you for posting this. Nobody ever wants to be a victim of a woodworking accident. I had my first one just a few months ago where by a freak accident, a Forstner bit in a drill press got caught in a piece of wood and kicked it away, dragging my hand into the Forstner bit going at 1100 RPM’s. Miraculous, I did not lose the thumb, but it is a mess. I keep the piece of the nail by my drill press as a reminder to always be extra careful and think about what could go wrong before making any cut/drill, etc.
Brother I’m so sorry to hear this. I just recently subscribed to the channel after watching your deck’d review and appreciate the content. As a very young man I too had an eye injury that was silly and could have been prevented. You get used to it, but know that the other eye isn’t “gross” at all. I’ll be saying prayers that your vision returns. Feel free to reach out if you ever need anything. Thanks for the good reminder to everyone, and try to just focus on all of your blessings.
Oh, thank you Brad. I am sorry to hear of your accident. I am blessed indeed. I've been practicing gratitude throughout this process. There are so many other things in my life to be grateful for. Thank you for reaching out.
I always give props to folks that have an unfortunate accident and use their misfortune to educate others to keep it from happening to them. Thank you for posting this and prayers for a speedy recovery! For the rest, yes this can happen to you, take the advice or not , your choice.
Great PSA. Best of luck to you on your recovery. I was under my car, removing a rusted exhaust bolt. A small piece of rust caused a corneal abrasion and months of misery.
thank you for your honesty, posting this will undoubtedly make folks think twice with regards to shop safety. You could have posted nothing out of shame or embarrassment but have instead turned a negative into a positive - respect 🙏❤
Thanks for making this video. It does help to heighten safety awareness - which is a good thing - I sent it to the other guys who also working my shop. I am also aware that it takes a fair amount of humility to send something like this - thanks!
Josh I staked you in a coffee shop in Kalamazoo. Because of this video safety glasses are to worn moving forward. Thx for sharing. Sorry for the accident.
I just want to say I'm sorry this happened to you. We ALL have done things in the shop we wish we could go back and change. It makes my me shake my head when I think back how may times I've been very lucky. I've had a few nicks and close very close calls. I hope you get you site back. Thank you for sharing and I truly hope people listen. I truly hope the best for your eye.
Hi Josh, hope you are doing well now. I suffered a catastrophic eye injury when I was 9, lost the vision in my R eye. I definitely feel for you. The VERY FIRST THING I DO when I enter my shop is put on my full wrap-around safety glasses with the 1.5 reader bottoms. Unfortunately, you and I learned our lesson too late. Hopefully, others will heed our advice and not make the same mistake we've paid for. PLEASE PEOPLE ... WEAR YOUR EYE PROTECTION.
Thank you for sharing a very vulnerable, personal situation! I’m guilty of making excuses for not wearing safety equipment, not just glasses. Hope you get healed up quick
I admire your willingness to be vulnerable in order to help people. I cannot imagine your emotions whilst you were contemplating making this video. May your eyes get whole. I am rooting for you Josh.....
I always thought my regular glasses were enough! Now I will always wear both! Thank you! I'm still young but I'm pretty reckless so I'm really glad I saw this
too bad there is no such thing as a safety thumb, without being trained by a professional (not youtube) an accident is inevitable when wood working. Go do an apprentiship if you like woodworking, you get paid to do it too
Thank you for sharing this video. What surprises me most with your accident is that your prescription glasses did little to nothing to protect your eye. I often don't wear safety glasses when Im wearing my prescription glasses because I think my glasses will protect me. Clearly that's not the case at all.
May God Bless You. I will never forget this video. I remember it from watching it last year. This video WILL save eyes (fingers, teeth, etc). May God Bless You. ❤
Thank you for sharing this video, you are helping so many people out with this. People don't understand the power behind a table saw because of how smooth wood seems to go through them, until it doesn't! I was doing almost the same cut and size of wood you were doing right there and it ripped the safety stick out of my hand and through it about 60mph I would say right past my head. I got lucky. But I definitely wore safety glasses after that! Can happen to the beginners or the pros. Thanks man, and i hope your eye heals alright. 🙏
Reminds me to order those prescription safety glasses... regular safety glasses aren't quite good enough for me now so I keep switching back and forth.
I'm so so sorry you experienced this - thank you for the reminder...I just got on line now and bought the DeWalt safety goggles - as they'll fit over my prescription glasses. Thanks again for wake up call, and I hope your eye has actually improved since this video was made 🌸
I’m very new to power tools and crafting with wood. Call it being cheap or something but I was first hesitant on getting safety glasses. But I made sure I did Before I did anything with my circular saw or more powerful than a drill/impact driver. But I ordered some they just came today in the mail. I wanted to look up some videos on safety glasses and came across your testing of the glasses with the widow maker. I’m glad I ordered them and waited for them to come in. Thank you for sharing this very emotional and informative video. I hope you feel better from the pain it’s given you.
Kickback's are no joke I have been doing wood work mainly cabinetry now for over 25 years and have had a few myself but I have always wore safety glasses the small boards and deep rips are tricky hope you heal up good. Clay from mobile
I had several kick backs on both table saws and skil saws and right angle drills and for me it was a milwaukee right angle drill that kicked back and slammed my hands into the wall and locked down on me like a clamp, power tools are extremely dangerous especially contractor grade tools...
This video is truly heart breaking! This is beyond heart wrenching. My prayers go to God for you. I am legally blind, and have been since birth. I was born with many many congenital conditions. I've always done well with my blindness. But this video hit so close to home. I mean, I can't imagine how you got through that with such a positive attitude. You ended up getting struck in the eye, and having to learn to adapt to that eye being damaged. I admire you, and You are an inspiration to me!
Thank you. I have Covid19 and came here by chance looking for over glasses safety glasses. I used to cut vinyl fencing. With a saw just like that. I'm so lucky I can see. I'd have done what you did potentially down the road. Had I not seen this today. I hope you're okay. This was hard to watch. But totally worth it.
I am terribly sorry that you suffered this injury, and wish you a quick and full recovery. I respect your ability to confront your split-second lapse in judgement in such a public manner, and I appreciate your candor in reminding us all just how important PPE can be, especially aimed at protecting our eyes. I'll be the first to admit, I will often forego the safety glasses when I likely shouldn't. (running the table saw is a prime example) Perhaps ironically, I'm always good about wearing hearing protection. For whatever it's worth, your message has inspired me both to order a new pair of safety glasses, and to make a far more concerted effort to actually use them. Thank you.
Being in the cabinet and millwork industry for the last 45 years and using tablesaws every single day I can tell you exactly why that piece jammed. Those type of portable tablesaws have the worst throat plates ever made! All it takes is one piece to be slivered off and jamb between the plate and blade to twist the plate. It might not even be visible but what happens is the plate at the back of the blade dips below the surface. Pushing material through, especially narrow pieces will follow the dip in the plate and come to an abrupt halt when it reaches the rim of the surface. Now, if one pushes even a tiny bit, the curvature of the throat will actually guide (push) the wood into the back of the blade! When ripping pieces higher than the blade, lower the blade to take a shallow pass, flip the piece over and cut the other side. Do this in steps and with a 10” blade one can rip a 6” piece with a maximum blade height of only 3 inches. Another piece of advice is to never put your body or face in line with a running blade. I always stand off to the side with only my arm in line pushing the material. Sure I have had kickbacks but they just simply launch into space and stick into the drywall! Last of all, I am always aware that I may have to hit the stop switch quickly so I know exactly where it is and what body part is best to hit it, usually my knee☺️ I have never been nibbled by any tablesaw in all of those 45 yrs!
You realized your mistake and showed what happened. Recognizing the mistake is the first step to correcting it going forward, pointing blame is a waste of time once you realized how it happened. Just move forward. I'm watching this 4 years later so I'm not sure what the final outcome was. I hope you regained your sight. As someone who spent a year being blind in both eyes due to a chemical exposure, I can relate. I couldn't see anything but over time my sight did return. I hope you were as fortunate. All the best...
I witnessed something today. Not an accident but I could see a tragedy. I was concerned and wanted to read up about injury at work. Thank you for sharing your story. Stay safe. Best wishes to you and your loved ones from beautiful Melbourne Australia.
Thanks Josh. When I was about 18 years old and cutting bricks with a brick hammer and no glasses a sliver of brick stuck in the center of my right eye .had it removed and patch over it 3 days turned out good.I do try to use now.
How cool is it that my 86 year old grandpa is commenting on my RU-vid videos! I didn't know this story. Good to know you can relate. I finally learned the lesson. I was wearing safety glasses all morning. I went out to make one last cut and then BAM.
I used to work at a machine shop where they allowed glasses instead of safety glasses. They thought I was the bad guy for bringing it up at the safety meetings. Hopefully they all still have their eyes.
I am a firm believer in safety glasses. Many years ago while cutting wire (not wearing safety glasses) the wire flipped catching the iris in my eye. It caught a bit of the iris tearing the iris loose leaving it only attached by 25%. I was lucky to have had a great eye surgeon because after a several hour surgery he was able to reattach the iris. This was 40 years ago, I have 99% use of the eye. I now have multiple safety glasses always in easy reach around my home.
Hi Josh I lost my right eye to ocular melanoma the surgery that killed the tumor left me with about 10 % vision in that eye and about two years later I lost all of it. Me left eye took over pretty good and now I mostly don’t notice it. My eye doctors at UCSF had me wearing impact resistant polycarbonate glasses even when I did not need them for vision impairment just to protect my good eye from day to day stuff. When I am in the shop I wear ANSI Z87+ goggles. thank you so much for sharing your story we all need a reminder. I wish and prey you heal.
Geez, Josh. I’m so sorry this happened to you. I am very careful in the shop but often do not wear good eye protection, just prescription glasses like you were wearing that day. Thank you for the public service message. I will invest in some good protection.
Could have been any of us. Accidents happen. Ive been hurt while wearing my PPE. Still unfortunate. I wish u well and we all hope u regain your vision. I dropped a running grinder on my foot that had a diamond cuttoff wheel on it on a steel toe boot. It helped some.
I had this with dirt stuck on the wood, that dirt got into my eye. The doctor took it out, it was very painful. Luckily nothing was damaged. Get well soon4
Whenever I bring up safety glasses on social media most of the replies are 'bro I'm not gay wtf' and it's infuriating. People are getting hurt because they want to look cool
I have had accidents in both of my eyes , Worked in shops all of my life and I get busy and I still forget the safety glasses. I now have only one working eye and the other is very compromised. I have had over 20 surgical procedures on my eyes including a corneal transplant that ultimately failed. all of this pain and disability could have been avoided had I stopped and put on a pair of safety glasses.
