April 14, 2007

Nail Gun Injuries on the Rise

According to Reuters, since 1991 the number of annual nail gun injuries has increased about 200%. The actual number is now around 37,000 per year. Not good. The interesting thing about this increase is that the number of work-related nail gun injuries has stayed about the same. This indicates that the swell is due to all of you DIYers out there. The article states:

"This increase likely corresponds to an increase in availability during the 1990s of inexpensive pneumatic nail guns and air compressors (to power the nail guns) in home hardware stores; however, no sales data are available for confirmation," the CDC reported.

This may be so, but the responsibility to take your tools seriously lies with you. Nail guns are very dangerous and you’re a moron if you’re not wearing eye protection every single time you shoot one off. If you can blast a nail through engineered lumber, flesh and bone aren’t going to stand much of a chance. Please understand your tools and their safety features and each time you pick one up, stop for a second and think of all the damage it can do to you.

Read past the jump to see what can happen if you are not careful with a framing nailer.