STUPID!!!!

[Darryl Young]

I guess I need a feather board cause when I set the blade very shallow it tends to lift the material and it won't cut through unless you keep some downward pressure near the blade (so your fingers are already too near the blade). This is worse with the small parts we cut in lutherie........and worse with light woods like spruce. Not sure I could push a small brace under a feather board to rip the width.

I shape the 1/4"X1/4" braces in my drum sander, but I use the table saw to cut the height of my X-Brace (roughly 0.625") as the 1/4" width isn't wide enough to consistently hold the stock vertical. Haven't come up with a better way. Bandsaw typically isn't as accurate (but might be good enough) and leaves a rough finish.

[tippie53]

I use feather boards all the time I use them to hold work against and down . I also use a push block if I don't use a down feather stick.

[johnnparchem]

I am glad the injuries were not worse. I have become more and more reluctant to use a table saw.

[msanch24]

Glad each of you are ok.

If nothing else, this thread makes me see the upside of doing everything without power tools, for now.

-Matt

[Logan]

Not that they aren't dangerous, but seeing those two photos make me realize why I like bandsaws.

[David L]

That's gonna leave a mark (or two)! Join the club.

David L

[MaineGeezer]

A few weeks ago I pulled the same stunt Darryl did -- I got kicked in the palm by my push stick. Luckily, I have a small table saw (8") and the damage done to my hand wasn't as bad as Darryl's wound, but it still hurt an amazing amount. Note to self; be careful!

[btberlin]

I calculated once that a tooth on a 10-inch diameter table saw blade, spinning at 3600 rpm, is traveling about 60 mph. At least one of the pictures in this series would have tripped a sawstop brake. Others mentioned, not so much. The kickback occurs, for those not aware of this, when the workpiece lifts off the table and catches on the rim of the spinning blade. It then shoots back at the operator at about 60 mph or thereabouts. A heavy piece, like a square of material weighing less than a half a pound, hitting the operator at 60 mph, can cause internal bleeding. This happened to me (only once, believe me) and the doc was concerned about injury to my spleen and kidney. The bruise on my abdomen was a perfect outline of the workpiece that was flung at me. The hit stunned me.

So BE CAREFUL! Pay close attention to what you are doing on a table saw. Use a riving knife for rip cuts - it travels up and down with the blade, reducing the likelihood of the workpiece rising up to the spinning edge of the blade. Use a feather board running in a track on the fence to keep the workpiece from rising up into the blade. If you haven't made a secondary fence with a track in it for accessories - don't use your table saw again until you have made a secondary fence that you can attach a featherboard to. Find a woodworking article on line about how to make one, and do it.

If possible, stand to the side when ripping, so that, even if you follow all the safety rules (which you should look up using Google or some similar search engine) and a workpiece shoots back at you you wont be directly in its path.

I recently went into a friend's shop - this guy is a professional cabinet maker - been doing stuff on the table saw forever. He let a piece of plywood he was cutting rise up and get caught into the blade. In his case, the edge of the workpiece closest to him, hit his hand hard enough to remove the pinkie above the second joint. It's just gone, and he had physical therapy follow up for months after the wound healed. YOu don't have to touch the blade to lose part of your hand.

So - even the Sawstop won't protect you from every type of table saw accident you might encounter. So - think clearly about what you are doing when operating one of these machines. Read and re-read safety rules. And take them to heart. Don't operate a table saw when you are tired, cold or annoyed by something else. Pay close attention to what you are doing and visualize the points of danger, before they occur.

bert

[tippie53]

I do not use a push stick , I use a push block , yes they sting but I have seen a push stick penetrate a hand. I stopped using them that day and opt for a block.
SAFETY CANNOT BE STRESSED ENOUGH.

If it don't feel right , don't do it. The table saw is only as safe as the loose nut operating it .

[David L]

It is my opinion that more accidents happen while using a table saw than any other tool in the workshop. I have several reasons for this opinion but I won't go into them (most of you probably already know why anyway).

David L