Metalworking can be fun and even profitable, but it’s also a field fraught with various perils. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you can waste a substantial amount of time and money, or even seriously injure yourself. Here are a handful of useful metalworking tips to keep in mind during your next job.

• Jewelry and loose clothing can get caught in metalworking machines, potentially causing injury. Try not to wear these while fabricating metal.

• Eye goggles supply proven protection against tiny particles that become airborne during metalworking. You should also consider wearing gloves to protect the hands.

• It’s also a good idea to wear appropriate footwear—you don’t want to slip during your metalworking tasks.

• When you cut sheet metal, you create sharp edges that could injure your hands. Minimize the problem by wearing gloves and filing down those rough edges.

• Don’t pick up sheet metal when it is wet, as it could easily slip from your hands.

• To ensure accuracy, mark the center of the hole for your drill bit. Many machinists use ink for this.

• After you’ve inked the prospective hole, use a center punch or a manual punch to create an indentation. This will guide your drill bit accurately.

• Cutting aluminum can turn into a hassle when chips start getting loaded up along the blade. You can use lubricant to keep this from happening.

• WD-40 is commonly employed for this purpose, but it has a strong stench that not everyone can tolerate. If so, consider mineral oil as an alternative.

• These are only a few of the effective lubricants out there—you may wish to experiment a little to see which one works best.

• Some machinists tend to use their hand to hold sheet metal steadily while drilling a hole. This is inadvisable, however, as the sheet could easily slip, causing a botched drilling job or possibly even injury if the drill sends the metal spinning into the machinist’s body.

• Get the clamps out, even for those quickie jobs.

• Metalworking tools and equipment will eventually become worn with repeated use—and it may happen sooner than you think.

• Before using any of your tools, give it a good look to ensure that it hasn’t gotten dull or cracked.

• Using old, worn tools poses a safety hazard. For instance, a dull blade may seem fairly harmless, but it could indirectly cause injury by forcing the machinist to apply more pressure than usually necessary.

• For creating small holes in a speedy manner, nothing beats a portable hand punch. Simply center the punch over the hole you intend to create, then squeeze the handles together. The hole created with this method will generally have acceptably well-formed edges.

• Founded in 2006, Elite Metal Tools is a top supplier of high-quality industrial machinery, including ironworkers, drill presses, band saws, lathes, and crop harvesters. The company is headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan. Visit www.elitemetaltools.com.