A Really Stupid Mistake

I was cutting a sheet of pegboard on the garage floor. Nothing to it -- I've cut plywood and particle board like this hundreds of times. Just raise the sheet up off the floor on 2 x 4s, mark the cut line or clamp a cutting guide (measure twice), adjust the saw cutting depth, and cut -- but not before the safety checks:

Check depth of cut
Electrical cord clear of the saw blade
Extension cord behind the saw and long enough for the cut
Safety glasses and ear muffs on
Cutting guide firmly clamped (if used)

Today I forgot one of the checks. The saw just wasn't cutting as fast as usual and it took me a while to figure out why. I had the blade set too deep and was cutting a nice clean groove in the concrete floor. You can see it clearly in the photo.

The Family Handyman magazine has a feature called Great Goofs. Readers whose tales of woe are published are paid $100. I'll send them this story -- $100 would buy a lot of saw blades.