Shopsmith Forums

My 12 year old is completing assignment 4 of the self study course.

What a great start!
I like your storage wall too.

Great -- YES but is that cutoff trapped between the blade and the fence. If yes - a kickback is likely.

dusty wrote: Sat Feb 01, 2025 12:03 pm Great -- YES but is that cutoff trapped between the blade and the fence. If yes - a kickback is likely.

Fear not, he is well positioned away from the path of the inadvertent missile.

Good catch!

I hope the pix is staged(saw blade motionless).

If you look closely there is a stop block clamped to the fence at the input end. That is exactly how that operation should be done to prevent a kick back.

Good eyes, John! Yes, he is following the instructions to a T, and they are very explicit. Interestingly enough, Trey actually questioned me on the need for the block, and I showed him a staged scenario of what would happen without the block.

How did you get him away form his cell phone?
Also, might suggest you have him wear ear protection, otherwise by the time he reaches our age, he won't hear much....

He doesn't have a cell phone yet; we allow our kids a phone once they get a part time job. That's very good advice on the hearing protection. We're pretty hit and miss on using it. We'll do better next time...

It is not the workpiece being cut that I was concerned about, but rather the two already cut pieces that appear to be sitting between the blade and the fence.

That is a valid point, but in my defense, over the last 30 years as a carpenter, I have never seen a loose piece even start to kick back as long as there was adequate clearance between the blade and fence. Having said that, I still acknowledge that it's never a bad idea to take extra precaution.