Here's one recipe for an explosive debate: Gather some folks who make their living doing dangerous work with tools, and challenge them on the safety shortcuts they take to speed production. Saw guards, footwear and safety goggles are among the hottest topics, but perhaps none so volatile as nail-gun triggers.
Last October, Tools of the Trade editor, David Frane, posted a story about Eugene Rakow, a Minnesota carpenter who accidentally shot himself through the heart with a framing gun—and miraculously, survived.
In the original story, Frane, commented on the mistakes Rakow made, which included oienting the gun in an unsafe position, and calling his wife instead of 911 after the accident. In December, Hester Lipscomb, a professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the Duke University Medical Center sent a letter that's well worth reading. In the letter, she took Frane to task for blaming the victim instead of focusing on a simple technology that could have prevented the accident—a sequential-trip trigger.
It's these two perspectives—both Frane's and safety expert's—that provide the backdrop to this recently published debate by seasoned professionals who use nail guns to make their living. All three pieces are worth reading, and afterwards, we hope you'll add your voice by commenting on the discussion.
