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7| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,A ugust 30,2018 theifp.ca I think of myself as a fairly careful person. Living on a farm, there are countless hazardous pieces of equipment that can do great harm. At an early age, I gained huge respect for any equip- ment that cuts, crushes or flattens anything around it. Big farm equipment can be quite dangerous and ruthless, especially equip- ment that operates in a field, cutting or harvesting a crop. I also have a collection of woodworking power tools, including drills, rout- ers, sanders, skil saws, sawzall and two stationary saws - a radial arm saw and a table saw. I give them lots of re- spect too. It's an unspoken law that I'm careful with all equipment. Last week, I was work- ing on a project in the ga- rage. I had to frame the ga- rage doors to install new ones. After struggling with the first cut using a skil saw, I decided this was a job for the table saw. I took the tractor and front-end loader to the barn, loaded the table saw in the loader and moved it to the garage. I decided to let our border collie Ham- ish out of the barn to join me as I worked on the ga- rage. Hamish loves to hang out with me, especially when I'm building some- thing in the barn. I some- times call him Daddy's Lit- tle Helper as he's so happy when he's included. I returned to the garage, and set up the saw. I did my first cut, and smiled to myself at how easy it was to cut with the table saw. I started to cut another two-by-four and Hamish began to bark; he doesn't usually bark. He ran around the ga- rage, like he was playing. We often play fetch when he's in that mood. I was in the middle of a cut, and he kept barking and circling me. As I was finishing my cut, I caught him in my peripheral vi- sion as he grabbed the pow- er cord of the table saw in his teeth and gave it a tug. I turned my head, to see what he was doing. Momentarily distracted by the dog, the tip of my left index finger 'touched' the saw blade, cutting a tiny notch the width of the blade out of my fingernail, and with it, took a bit of flesh. I hit the kill switch and felt the throbbing in my fin- ger. I was afraid to look. Miraculously, it turned out to be almost superficial - little more than a nick. But the full severity of the action suddenly struck me, and chills ran up my back. I could have easily cut the end off my finger. Hamish couldn't under- stand why I had stopped; he was still in play mode. I tell you, you could have bought Daddy's Little Help- er pretty cheap at that mo- ment. I wrapped up my finger to stop the bleeding, then continued. And the moment I turned on the saw, Hamish started barking all over again. It was the whine of the saw in the close quarters of the garage that set him off. In the barn, there's more space, so the saw doesn't bother him. I returned him to the barn until I finished. Afterwards, I trimmed the ragged end of my fin- gernail, and thought about my close call. Losing a fingertip could have a huge impact. There would be no more guitar playing, difficult keyboard- ing and a myriad of other things we do with our in- dex finger. And I did nothing differ- ent from countless other times I've used the saw, ex- cept I allowed myself to be distracted by Hamish for mere seconds. I can tell you one thing, I won't have Daddy's Little Helper 'help' me with a pro- ject anymore. Ted Brown is a free- lance columnist for the IFP. He can be reached at tedbit@hotmail.com. IN THE FUTURE, I THINK I'LL PASS ON 'DADDY'S LITTLE HELPER' OPINION WOODWORKING MISHAP COULD HAVE BEEN MUCH WORSE, SAYS BROWN TED BROWN Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT THEIFP.CA THE WAY WE WERE It's hard to believe that summer is winding down and students of all ages will be heading back to class next week. One of the rituals of the new school year is the class photo, and in this image dating back to 1908, students dressed in their best, gather for picture day outside Ashgrove SS#3, which stood on Trafalgar Road near 10th Sideroad. Submitted by Heritage Halton Hills Esquesing Historical Society photo • Truck Accessories • Upholstery • Heavy Equipment Glass •Window Tinting 354 Guelph Street, Georgetown 905-873-1655 Wehandleall insurance work. We handle all insurance work. • your window & door professionals • 11 Mountainview Rd., N. Georgetown, ON L7G 4T3 905.873.0236 www.buy-wise.ca info@buy-wise.ca • awarded readers choice 27 times • Visit our showroom Furnace Air Conditioning Gaslines Boilers Water Heaters Radiant Heating 905-877-3100 proud local dealer of Canadian made products .ca