Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

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RFGuy
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by RFGuy »

algale wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 7:00 am
chapmanruss wrote: Thu Apr 28, 2022 1:54 pm Do move the feather board ahead of the blade. Never have it "pinching" against or behind the blade.
^^^This is worth emphasizing!!!!!!

As pictured in the OP's current set up, the feather board will push the work piece toward the blade and, as the cut is completed, this set up could could cause a kickback (although the riving knife might prevent contact at the rear of the blade). At a minimum, the front of the bade may continue to chew up the trailing edge of the work piece. Move the feather board toward the operator until none of the feathers/fingers overlap with the blade.
Alan,

Thanks. I agree. I probably should have emphasized this one more in my previous post. Of course, we don't know if the OP had this featherboard in place on the kickback that injured him or not though. I believe he is posting all of the safety methods he has in place now. Still, this featherboard is too far forward and shouldn't be located where the workpiece (wood) first comes in contact with the sawblade. I still think the fence needs alignment. Pictures are never perfect and there is parallax to contend with, but looking closer at this pic below from the OP it appears to me that the fence might be misadjusted. If you look in the red oval, it appears that the fence is closer to the sawblade at the back which is a prerequisite for having a kickback for sure. Reason that I say this is because the gap between the fence and the table's right miter bar slot has a larger gap near the front compared to the back, or at least it appears this way in the pic.

I highly recommend the OP check and perform a fence alignment first.
See pages 29-30 of the manual at the link below, if I have the correct Skil model #

https://www.skil.com/media/productattac ... manual.pdf
fence_gap_2.jpg
fence_gap_2.jpg (163.93 KiB) Viewed 1327 times
Last edited by RFGuy on Fri Apr 29, 2022 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by JPG »

+1 !!!!
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by Hobbyman2 »

Off topic but still a safety issue, I knew a guy that was having a issue with his saw, said it wasn't working right and wouldn't cut, said he was on his second blade and it was burning the wood, went over to see what was going on and found he had set his fence on a angle trying to make a tapered cut .said he seen a taper jig and it was the same thing ,,,,,,, it isn't !! after making him a sled that would cut tapers he understood . I had not noticed the fence in the post above being off and I believe that could be correct if this was the set up , the topic said it was non through cut ,,the fence being off is still a major issue even making dado's , a non through cut ,, I am still confused at the question in the topic how one could use a riving knife and anti kick back fingers on the riving knife in a dado cut ,, the riving knives on the saws I am familiar with stick up above the blade for the shield and are not used in making dado's or rabbits . in the past I have used feather boards, anti kick back fingers next to the fence on the outfeed and infeed at the same time but only when they provide downward pressure not horizontal pressure and never beside of the blade JMO.
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by jsburger »

Hobbyman2 wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:35 pm Off topic but still a safety issue, I knew a guy that was having a issue with his saw, said it wasn't working right and wouldn't cut, said he was on his second blade and it was burning the wood, went over to see what was going on and found he had set his fence on a angle trying to make a tapered cut .said he seen a taper jig and it was the same thing ,,,,,,, it isn't !! after making him a sled that would cut tapers he understood . I had not noticed the fence in the post above being off and I believe that could be correct if this was the set up , the topic said it was non through cut ,,the fence being off is still a major issue even making dado's , a non through cut ,, I am still confused at the question in the topic how one could use a riving knife and anti kick back fingers on the riving knife in a dado cut ,, the riving knives on the saws I am familiar with stick up above the blade for the shield and are not used in making dado's or rabbits . in the past I have used feather boards, anti kick back fingers next to the fence on the outfeed and infeed at the same time but only when they provide downward pressure not horizontal pressure and never beside of the blade JMO.
Many riving knifes do not stick above the blade. They are below the top of the blade and are not used to hold the upper blade guard. SS sells one that they say is for non-through cuts ONLY. Don't know why non-through only. I use mine all the time with my cross cut sled. You can certainly leave it in place to cut a dado but it does nothing for safety.

https://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cat ... _knife.htm
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by Hobbyman2 »

Thanks John , is that for the MK V500 ? If your Mark V (model 505, 510 or 520) machine was manufactured after November of 1985, your upper saw guard mechanism includes a riving knife that's designed to prevent this kerf-closing when making through cuts . ? it appears yours is a special order part ?
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by Hobbyman2 »

https://shopsmith.com/service/mark/500_ ... iagram.htm ,, this is what I have but I'm not sure the op has a ss ? it appears that have a skill saw ? I will look into the other part , it ;looks like a goo idea .
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by jsburger »

Hobbyman2 wrote: Fri Apr 29, 2022 10:45 pm Thanks John , is that for the MK V500 ? If your Mark V (model 505, 510 or 520) machine was manufactured after November of 1985, your upper saw guard mechanism includes a riving knife that's designed to prevent this kerf-closing when making through cuts . ? it appears yours is a special order part ?
That is not for the MK V 500 and it is not a special order part. It was introduced by SS in the last 5 years or so.

Did you read the description on the SS web page?

"Now You Can Avoid the Potential For Dangerous Kickbacks When Cutting Narrow Single or Multiple-pass Saw Blade Cuts In Any Direction For Grooves ... Rabbets... Half-laps, etc. on Your Shopsmith Mark 7 or Mark V Table Saw ! "

And...

"The knife is slotted to slip quickly and easily into the upper guard mounting system on your Mark V or Mark 7."

And...

"Note: For MARK 7 and MARK V Models 520, 510 and 505 only. It does NOT work with the MARK V Model 500. "
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by Hobbyman2 »

Thanks John
I read the article and it said ,, The knife is slotted to slip quickly and easily into the upper guard mounting system on your Mark V or Mark 7, I assumed it was a special order for the MKV 500. however I am not sure how this will work on a dado or rabbit with out a hold down in place . maybe there is a youtube video I can find.
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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by DLB »

Hobbyman2 wrote: Sat Apr 30, 2022 12:23 pm Thanks John
I read the article and it said ,, The knife is slotted to slip quickly and easily into the upper guard mounting system on your Mark V or Mark 7, I assumed it was a special order for the MKV 500. however I am not sure how this will work on a dado or rabbit with out a hold down in place . maybe there is a youtube video I can find.
That wording might not be ideal. It fits into the lower guard in lieu of the upper guard. It only correctly fits 510 and on lower guard. And if it can work with a wide kerf blade like a dado, it would be next to useless. (I don't think it would be compatible with a 6" or 8" blade, but have never confirmed.) It is independent of any hold-down. But for this operation I use a JessEm stock guide like the OP's. It is far superior, in my opinion, to featherboards.

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Re: Non Through cuts on table saw - Safety Tips

Post by Hobbyman2 »

Thanks David ,
so is there a special track that would mount to the SS fence for this install ? only asking since it seems to be a good topic , I have seen the system but it has been a long time ago and the one I seen was in a commercial shop and I believe the fence had t bolt slots in the top. since my SS is the MK V 500 with the 510 table and fence it may be a issue to install ? a feather board is a minimum safety device IMO that offers a great deal of protection if set right. I have made and used many of them over the years , even had the fingers / feathers break apart in a kick back situation .
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