re: Do as I say not as I do AKA Don't do this at home

I’ve been pretty fortunate since I started woodworking in the early ’80’s, but I broke one of my shop rules in ’86.

Never cut round wood on the band saw, without securing it. I tried to re-saw a slice off of an oval of 2" thick something. Using a fence, I was feeding it freehand when the blade caught the oval, spinning it quickly, which kicked it back, right along the fence into the left side of my face.

Luckily I was wearing safety glasses, but that chunk of wood split my lip, requiring inner and outer stitches. My principal drove me to the emergency room, where the nursing staff tried to get me to shave my mustache so I could be stitched.

Finally got it done when I clipped a path for them, to get into. Hadn’t been without a mustache since ‘77, so wasn’t gonna lose it then. Caught crap from my students and the principal, the rest of the year. :-(