Safety at Your Table

[JPG]

JPG
Interestingly I actually caused a problem with TOO much pressure. I was using the molding head and I was really pressing down on the table. What I accomplished was to push the table down increasing the bit of the moulding head cutter. Actually bent a moulding knife and chucked the wood a fair distance.
I now use a depth collar on the main table and rarely the moulding head cutter.

Perhaps I'm careless, stupid or something but I manage to find just about every mistake, or way to cause a problem. Needless to say I'm quickly learning to do things alternate ways than using the tablesaw for anything other than cutting and even then I'm cutting back on that.
Perhaps I'm an antithesis but I'm using more and more hand tools, hand power tools and my Radial Arm Saw. Yikes! I know but I like the idea that a Radial Arm the wood is fixed, my hand is controling the blade and my other hand is well away from the saw. Any kickback either moves the blade forward which triggers my thumb that is on the kill switch or shoots the wood away from me.

I don't do ripping on the Radial and I'm quickly getting talked into doing all my ripping on the band saw. Which makes sense since kerf is so thin you really save wood. I'm about this |<>| far from investing more in a guided saw system and doing 90% of all my cutting on it.

So! Are we to conclude that we need to position ourselves on the opposite side if the SS and pull the workpiece towards us?:D Or turn the SS upside down also?:rolleyes:

Bandsaw ripping makes a lot of sense(if it is set up correctly).

[------------------------]

I have only had two kick-backs:

#1- Cutting a 12"x12" square against the fence. As I finished the cut, it turned a hair and got caught on the backside of the blade. It spun like a helicopter blade into my chest.
#2- Cutting a small piece of cedar against the fence. My blade insert was set too low and the piece dropped down a hair as the tail of the wood came to the insert and pinched between the blade and fence.

After kickback #1 and the pain it caused, I changed the way I cut

1. I always stay out of the path of the saw line (bloodline)

2. When I rip using the fence, I always stand on the fence side of the saw blade and pull the board on the fence.

On every cut, I assume I am going to have a kick back so I position my body and fingers (and kids playing) accordingly

[Ed in Tampa]

So! Are we to conclude that we need to position ourselves on the opposite side if the SS and pull the workpiece towards us?:D Or turn the SS upside down also?:rolleyes:

Bandsaw ripping makes a lot of sense(if it is set up correctly).

Jpg
Actually I'm not a fan of table saws. I had my Radial Arm first and was very happy with it but like everyone else I heard if you want to be a "REAL" woodworker you must have a table saw. After all the versatilitly of the Radial Arm only the Shopsmith made any sense to me.
No I don't think I would pull the wood or turn the SS upside down. But I don't think it is weight or strenght either. I have learned to use hold downs, feather boards, jigs, and push sticks, along with saw guard and splitters.

I think everyone should have two SS splitters one to use as is (blade guard and all) and one that they cut down that when inserted it is even with the top of the blade. That precludes a blade guard of course. I also believe before they make a cut they should insure that the wood is fully controlled not by them but by hold downs and feather boards. Lastly they should stand out of the saw line (bloodline as someone said) and make sure every adjustment on the SS is locked down.

Tablesaws are everyone's favorite but to me they are dangerous tools. I don't like anything where the blade is buried and can't be seen until it cuts through the wood. For most cuts I prefer the notorious Radial Arm which to me is much safer I can always see the blade and know where it is going. If it grabs the wood the wood is going away from me which I also like alot.

[JPG]

Jpg
Actually I'm not a fan of table saws. I had my Radial Arm first and was very happy with it but like everyone else I heard if you want to be a "REAL" woodworker you must have a table saw. After all the versatilitly of the Radial Arm only the Shopsmith made any sense to me.
No I don't think I would pull the wood or turn the SS upside down. But I don't think it is weight or strenght either. I have learned to use hold downs, feather boards, jigs, and push sticks, along with saw guard and splitters.

I think everyone should have two SS splitters one to use as is (blade guard and all) and one that they cut down that when inserted it is even with the top of the blade. That precludes a blade guard of course. I also believe before they make a cut they should insure that the wood is fully controlled not by them but by hold downs and feather boards. Lastly they should stand out of the saw line (bloodline as someone said) and make sure every adjustment on the SS is locked down.

Tablesaws are everyone's favorite but to me they are dangerous tools. I don't like anything where the blade is buried and can't be seen until it cuts through the wood. For most cuts I prefer the notorious Radial Arm which to me is much safer I can always see the blade and know where it is going. If it grabs the wood the wood is going away from me which I also like alot.

Now don't go getting too serious here! I hope you realize I was not 'serious'! I agree re how 'dangerous' a table saw can be.

Watch yer 'other' hand when pulling that radial arm saw with the 'right' hand.

[swampgator]

I'm a newbie to such power tools as table saws and SS. I have wanted one of these versatile machines the first time I saw one in the late 1970's. I have not had a kickback since getting started, but I am using all the safety equipment except the provided push stick. I would rather use the push pads if spaces permits or for a narrow stock, use a shoe. But, when I want to crosscut something, I am not that good with the mitre, so I made a sled bed. It is built with a leading and trailing 2 X 4 screwed to a 3/16" sheet of plywood. This helps to control the boards that have some length. Of course, then the blade guard and attachments have to be removed for that operation.

My old Craftman Radial Saw did teach me how to feed the stock into it. I fed a piece in the wrong way ONE time. That 2 X 4 went through a 3/4" plywood. That happened because wifey was asking me a bunch of questions and I wanted to get the job done. Impatience does not work safely.

[foxtrapper]

I don't believe I understand the theory here. Is it your hypothesis that if the blade is raised so as to be well above the material being cut there is less chance of kickback?

That is the theory, and it's not simply mine. You can find it mentioned many times over of various publications and such. With the blade high the teeth contact the wood in a far more vertical orientation. This reduces kickback incidence and strength.

As others have pointed out, there are many ways to get kickback, far beyond mere blade pinching in the kerf.

As I said, I very much like feathers and fingerboards, but I do not believe kerf pinching and board lifting are the sole causes of kickback. Cocked boards, improper use of equipment, slop in the miter, dull blade, resin buildup, etc all can create kickback.