I've read a lot of the thread so far and just wanted to post up my way of thinking.
Being someone that works in a different environment for safety . I was trained in OHS because I was on the Johs committee (joint occupational health and safety). There are a lot of different hazards in a welding shop compared to being out in the woods, but the principal is still the same.
Most accidents happen from either a young, inexperienced person ( not properly trained) or someone that's been doing it for 20-35 years (complacency). ITs very easy to make a mistake when you've done something for so long. You start skipping steps and just become complacent to the job at hand.
There's 5 hazard controls that employers and employees follow for safety hazards. I won't list them as I'm trying not to be a safety nazi here haha. But PPE is the LAST line of defence for anyone. Which makes sense. If you have done everything to make your job safe (( I'll make it about the chainsaw world) ie. Made sure chain brake worked, chain is sharp, other engineered safe guards on the saw were in good working order, ergonomically the job was in a position that is safest etc etc.) technically you wouldn't need PPE. But why not wear it just to make sure?
Of course I'm a hypocrite and should practise what I preach. I usually wear all my PPE at work but find I have a hard time wearing respirators while welding. My goal is to wear it more as I definitely weld a lot of dirty stuff. Also I know the fact of "get 'er done". Sometimes you can't make everything as safe as possible by trying to do a quick job.
All I really want to say is everybody be safe anyway you can and happy cutting
