Reading an old trade journal and found a surprising fact about nail guns

I was flipping through a 1998 issue of 'Fine Woodworking' at the library and read that pneumatic nailers cause over 37,000 ER visits a year. I always knew they were powerful, but that number really stuck with me. Do you think modern safety features have made a real dent in that statistic, or is it still a major hazard on the job?

3 comments

3 Comments

mitchell.wade27d ago

My uncle still has a scar from a 16-penny nail that ricocheted in '02... safety glasses wouldn't have helped that.

barbara4299d ago

But ricochets are why you need a full face shield, not just glasses. Like @the_patricia said, it's all about respecting the tool.

the_patricia26d ago

Yeah, that stat doesn't surprise me at all. It's wild how a split-second mistake can go so wrong. Reading @mitchell.wade's comment made me remember this guy on a job site who nailed his boot to a subfloor, not even a ricochet, just pure bad aim (he was fine, just really embarrassed). Makes you wonder about all the close calls that never make it to the ER, you know? Those tools demand a crazy amount of respect every single time you pick one up.