tmiller

A retired friend just stopped by to see me and he was asking about the lightly used table saw that I had just purchased. He's done lots of home improvemnet projects in his day so I figured he could easily handle cutting a 15 x 19 piece of luan for some little cover plate he needed. On the 2nd cut he got careless and ended up with a belly buster, from the piece he was cutting. Kick back is not a good thing to watch, I'm just glad he wasn't hurt any more than just knocking the wind out of himself.
I'm thinking the piece he was trying to cut will hang on the wall to remind me and anyone who comes around to always be SAFE!!!!!!!!

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Mike

It is never said too much; safety first. I always wear my safety glasses and hearing protection in the shop. I use push sticks to keep my fingers where they belong, on my hands. Let me tell you how even the most careful person is at risk. I was cutting a long board and did not have an outfeed stand for my saw. I leaned forward a bit to complete the cut and support the wood. As I straightened up my foot slipped and I hit the saw blade with my push stick. There is nothing like looking at a mangled push stick to make the lesson sink home. Without the push stick I would of been missing fingers. Do it the safe way, every time, no exceptions!

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Mike
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Joe Lyddon

Yes! Always think SAFETY first!
... no matter what the operation is or equipment being used... powered or hand tools...

Prior to making cuts:
Stand behind the piece as you intend to be during the cut... and actually move the wood through the cut without the power on and just enough to be sure there will not be anything in your way... and that you will be able reach everything as required.

Do a rehearsal cut movement...

I've uncovered problems this way that have prevented me of having the problem during the cut!

It works... for me...

Always make a small cut in scrap to be sure of depth of cut and distance from the fence, etc. ... sure beats finding out after the fact that you're 1/32 too deep, etc.!!

curiousgeorge

I had an incident where all the safety guards were removed from my table saw and I needed to make one cross-cut so I figured "just this one time won't hurt". WRONG! The board kicked back, flew across the room and hit my dog in the head. Luckily it only sacred the dog but it could have been worse for both of us. The moral is NEVER use your tools without the safety guards in place. Just this once might be the time you will always regret.

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George
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challagan

What you guys never participate in the kick back olympics? I have! about 16 years ago I was cutting some wood, all guards in place and I finished a cut and there was a small off cut still there and I turned to talk to my 6 year old. All of a sudden the off cut launched right out the garage door, accross the street and stuck in my neighbors front yard. We just stood there and looked at each other with mouths open. Then all of a sudden he took off inside the house yelling..... MOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM.... do you know what Dad did.................... Very careful ever since. And remember safety doesn't stop when the tools are turned off!

Corey

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kp91

You ain't kidding Corey! My worst injury with a power tool happened with the darn thing unplugged! Was changing blades on a Milwaukee Sawzall, just tightening up the blade clamp and I dropped it. Well, stupid me, before I even thought about it, I caught the thing before it hit the deck.... yep, by the blade. At least it was a fine cut blade, because after the 8 stitches came out there's barely a scar.

It definitely hurt my pride more than anything, that was over 6 years ago and I still hear about it at work.

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Doug
1 John 1:9

challagan

Yup, same here Doug. I smacked my hand on the tablesaw blade sticking up. Cut it half way around and to the bone. I hit it so hard that I had carbide chips in the cut. Ever since then I keep the blade below the table when the saw isn't in use!

Corey

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RustyW

Many years ago I watched a co-worker split his thumb right down the middle with a tablesaw. We were at a jobsite with the saw in the back of a large van. He was ripping 12' long 3/4"x1" cedar to be used as window trim. The blade was dull(there were sharp ones in the van but who wants to waste time changing)so he was forcing it through until he hit a soft area in the wood. When his thumb hit, he jumped back letting go of the wood which shot out the back of the van and through the windshield of the customers car parked behind.

After the ER doctor numbed it and asked if I wanted to see something "neat". He spread the flesh apart to show me the perfect 1/8" kerf/dado right down the center of the bone. That was nearly 25 years ago but hav'nt learned as much about safety in one day since.

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Rusty

If You Want It Bad, You Get It Bad The Worse You Want It, The Worse You Get It

Mike

While we are on this topic it is a good time to remind everyone that when we are using a plunge router we retract the cutter into the router body before lifting the router from the work piece. Always shut your router off before you set it down. Wait till it stops spinning before you let go. Always unplug your router before changing bits or while making adjustments. Professionals do this every time without fail.

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Mike
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harrysin

Two things I always make sure of,

1....Make sure the outfeed is a fraction wider than the infeed

2....Never stand directly behind the stock

This must be my shortest post yet! Harry