Rule 31 of 31 · Chapter VI — Finishing and Shop Habits
Wear eye and ear protection
Why this rule exists
Eyes and ears don't grow back, and both take damage you can't feel happening in the moment. A chip flung off a router bit or a shard of a shattered blade tooth finds an unprotected eye in a blink, and a table saw or planer runs loud enough to quietly cost you hearing over the years. Neither injury announces itself, which is why people skip the gear right up until the day they wish they hadn't.
In practice
Put safety glasses on the moment you enter the shop and leave them on, not just for the cut you think is risky, since chips fly at odd times. Wear a face shield over glasses for lathe work and anything throwing chunks. Keep muffs or plugs hanging by the loud machines, the saw, planer, and router, and wear them for any sustained run. Buy a comfortable pair you'll actually keep on, because the best protection is the kind you don't resent wearing.
When it doesn't apply
A quiet hand-tool session, paring or planing at the bench, may not need hearing protection, though eye protection still earns its place against a slipped chisel or a snapped blade. Match the gear to the hazard, but when a machine is loud or throwing debris, there's no cut short enough to justify going without.