From Woodworking.com

A lot of heart felt messages and wisdom flowed through this forum when one woodworker got on to explain that, because of a muscular disorder, his doctor recommended that he give up woodworking. He is resisting the suggestion, but wanted to know which tools were the most dangerous and thus things he should avoid. He also said that, while hand tools were safer, they also took more energy and strength than he could muster. So the conundrum was, power tools are dangerous but they are simultaneously necessary when you don't have the hand and arm strength to use hand tools all of the time.

The first respondent wrote, "I am sitting here trying to imagine giving this up, and getting very sad. You have to fight this."

It was generally agreed that the table saw was both the most necessary tool and possibly the most dangerous. One woodworker suggested that a power feeder that could be adapted to both the table saw and jointer might be a worthwhile investment if he insisted on continuing his hobby.

A router, especially not mounted in a table, also scored high as a dangerous tool with a lot of torque. While less likely to do as much damage, a belt sander was also cited and a tool that took a lot of strength. There were mixed reviews on band saws; some said they were dangerous and others asserted that they were very safe.

The lathe, of course, showed up as a dangerous power tool, and the woodworker with the health troubles admitted that he had a lot of trouble with both the lathe and holding the gouges steady. Hand planers and circular saws both showed up more than once, the latter because they're so heavy.
The scrollsaw was mentioned often as one of the safer tools he could use.
There were also a lot of stories about injuries and safety tips. One woodworker wrote, "I have met a few guys who had 20 years of experience and only 8 fingers. They thought they knew it all and couldn't get hurt. That led to carelessness and, as Mr. Rogers would put it, 'can you say amputation?'"

One woodworker had obviously been working on this kind of issue for some time. He wrote, "If strength is an issue, a radial arm saw wouldn't be a good option in that it wants some upper body strength to control the cut. A miter saw would be a better, albeit less versatile, option. I'm working on a machine design right now that may make either obsolete for people with limited strength or hand control difficulty - a completely different kind of crosscutting saw than I've ever seen on the market. For obvious reasons (public forum) I'm reluctant to write freely about its design here."

So that was encouraging. He also had a lot of suggestions for making different tools work for people with less strength, including an overarm router and something he built called a stroke sander. He included this picture of his creation.
Many of the participants empathized with this woodworker and had physical limitations of their own that they wrestled with. When we were visiting Lucian Brown (see the story in an upcoming issue of the print version of Woodworker's Journal) recently, he had a great contraption for his circular saw. He had a rope tied to the handle that wound around a couple of pulleys near the ceiling and was counter weighted with an old tobacco can full of sand. It was pretty slick and it made using the saw almost effortless. We can imagine a similar set up for handheld routers, if you put it on a swinging arm or something.

This might be an issue that toolmakers should look into. We know many are making tools designed for the growing number of female DIYers and woodworkers. They may need to look into designing them for the aging or disabled woodworkers too.