(1) Always wear protection. Your health and physical well-being depends on it. When you're cutting, sanding or finishing a piece always wear a mask even if you work outside. Wear goggles to protect your eyes from flying Debris. Don't forget to wear earplugs when using noisy tools such as routers, etc.
(2) Always work in a well-lit environment. Operating any power tool under poor lighting conditions can be very dangerous.
(3) Never operate your power tools wearing loose clothing such as a loose shirt sleeve. It can easily get caught in the rotation of the blade causing bodily harm.
(4) If possible, lock the entrance door to your work area to avoid interruption when operating your saws. Family and friends have a tendency to drop by to say hello unannounced and without warning. This can lead to a very serious injury. If securing your area isn't possible, ask those around you not to interrupt you when you're using your tools.
(5) Measure twice, cut once. As obvious as this sounds and as many times it's been preached, it's often forgotten until the workpiece has been cut to the wrong measurement. To make matters worse the majority of times it's will be on the shorter end spoiling the piece.
(6) Make sure your workpiece is properly secured before turning on your tools. If the workpiece is too small to hold it safely by hand, clamp it. However, when operating tools that require you to feed the work into the blade such as the bandsaw or scrollsaw, do not place your fingers in a direct path of the blade but to the side while holding your board.
(7) Always turn off your tablesaw before you try removing your workpiece. To do so prior to the blade stopping can cause kickback sending the board flying through the air.
(8) Never try to cut your workpiece free-hand on a tablesaw. Use either a miter gauge, fence, or a specially-made jig for cutting.
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