As a part-time woodworker and carpenter, I was happy to see that a German company has bought and is operating a wood- and metalworking company in Northampton [“A luxurious acquisition,” Gazette, Jan. 11]. I was surprised, however, at the front-page photo of a Metrica worker operating a table saw.

The worker in the photo is pushing a piece of wood between the blade and the fence with their hand. The piece appears to be about 2-3 inches wide, placing their hand perilously close to the spinning blade. I have used table saws for over 40 years, and I know this to be very dangerous practice. There is a push stick (used to push boards safely through the saw) sitting on the machine to right of the worker. Why are they not using it?

I’m sure that Metrica cares about worker safety, and perhaps the photo was staged when the saw was turned off. But it takes only a split second for a table saw to slice off a user’s fingers. To show respect for the machine, it is always advisable to keep one’s fingers as far as possible away from the blade, and the photo should have shown this basic safety practice.

Alex Kent

Amherst