Shamuss

I've been legally blind my whole life (20/400 in both eyes) and have been honing my woodworking skills for the last five years or so. I've found that I can do most everything I need to safely, but the frustration comes from the extra time required to do even simple tasks. I always say that it takes twice as much time to be half as accurate...

That tip about the white tape is GOLD... drilling accurate holes has always been extremely difficult for me. Here are some other tricks that I use:

- The flush-trim bit. I have the same problem as described with the jigsaw and bandsaw, so most of the time I'll slowly and carefully create a template using MDF, then tranfer it to the final piece using the router and a flush-trim bit. I have a few templates that I keep around for simple curves and have copied templates from household objects more than once!

- Trust your fingers. The human sense of touch can feel features as small as a thounsandth of an inch. If you need two pieces of stock to be of the same dimensions, line them up and feel. You're going to do a lot of cut-and-fit this way, of course, but this works well in a lot of cases. Do not use your sense of touch to align cutting tools!

- Polarized safety glasses. Depending on your particular visual issue, these could help cut down on glare considerably.

- Technology. There's all kinds of stuff out there that will help with measuring and alignment of cuts. I have more digital gauges than I can count, many of them accurate to a thousandth of an inch or a tenth of a degree. Laser guides work if you can get someone to help align them for you (and if you can see the laser lines. I can't unless the ambient lighting is fairly dark, and operating saws and drill presses in a dark room is Not Recommended.)

My friends and family always worry about safety, as expected. I've had a few close calls like any woodworker, but I still have all of my digits, have never suffered any serious injuries, and have never hurt myself in a way I can attribute to my eyesight (knock on proverbial wood.) Still, it would be foolish to deny that this craft is no more dangerous for a visually-impired person than for someone with normal sight.

Besides all of the usual rules, here are some other tips:

- If something feels dangerous, that's probably because it is. If you feel that you may not be able to safely do a thing because of your eyesight, DON'T DO IT! This goes double if your vision loss is recent... you may not know your limitations. ALWAYS ask for help if you think your eyesight could create a dangerous situation.

- Face shield. You'll see face shields used by lathe operators all of the time... they work GREAT for close up work. Your face shouldn't need to be near the tool anyway, but sometimes it's necessary (the above jigsaw example, freehand router work, etc..)

- Zero clearance insert. This is really a must for anyone using a table saw, but it goes double if your eyesight is impaired. You may not see small pieces nearing the opening in a standard insert, and you don't want them flying back at you.

- Keep a clean work area! Besides tripping over junk scattered aroudn your workshop, you may not see little tools and parts near the "business end" of your power tools. In my first few weeks as a woodworker, I somehow managed to get a tape measure behind the fence of my mitre saw, didn't see it, and nailed it with the blade. (I still keep the mauled and useless tape measure around as a reminder.) You MUST be diligent about keeping track of where your equipment is!

- Safety your gear. When not using a bladed tool, powered or otherwise, make it safe! Put sheaths around your chisels, cover your hand saws, and lower the blade of your table saw when not in use. I like to lower the blade of the TS, then move the fence over top of the throat insert.

- Use your other senses. You'll be able to hear changes in motor pitch and feel vibrations when something starts to go wrong.

You'll find the little tricks that make you more productive over time, but safety is one thing that you just can't learn by trial and error. Best of luck, and BE CAREFUL!