Jose Kilpatrick
01-29-2009, 11:04 AM
The sight of my spinning 10" TS blade always invokes a sense of respect in me. It used to make me feel a bit fearful, until I realized that exact feeling of fear could cause a mishap as easily as a careless haphazard mistake. I make a living with my fingers. All 10 of them to be exact. I work in the IT industry and my job requires that I pump out quite a few articles and press releases every few months. I couldn't imagine my proficiencey with a blunt nub of missing digits.
Often, I have intruding thoughts that come out of no where there center around the theme of a quick involountary visual of my hand being disentegrated in a cloud of red splatter. Makes me cringe every time.
In lieu of this, I take very careful precautions towards every cut on my TS. It took a few botched projects before I realized the importance of taking the time to setup a cut property, and only two kick backs to realize the safety in minimizing any disasters at the TS. I say two, because the first one simply amazed me. A section of 1x2 being ripped for trip jettisoned out of my hand and lodged in the drywall behind me. The 2nd time, the edge of the board left a nasty scrape on my forearm.
As many of you know, sometimes setting up a cut can take time in measuring the blade height, angle, fence setting, etc whereas the actual cut can take mere seconds. Taking the time to make sure you're ready to slide that expensive piece of wood through your blade will ensure you not only make a decent cut, but also prevent injury.
The most used jig I have ever made is a cross cut sled. If I showed a picture of my scrap-made-finger-saver, you may surely get a good laugh, however, my confidence is boosted when I use it for a cross cut and my fear subside before I slide a piece of stock into the blade. I also use my modified sliding miter thingie with a long piece of stock to give me plenty of surface area to slide piece of stock through at an angle. Then there's my L-Jig, which is 3 pieces of 3/4" MDF sandwiched and cut into a perfect 90 degree L shap that attaches to my miter guage for making cheek cuts. Aside from jigs being an electable choice for safety and accuracy, an outfeed table is a must have.
Most of my jigs were not made with a safety concious mind, but were more hinged on accurate cuts. The only thing true on my old Craftsman table saw are the slots in the cast iron top and the blade alignment. My fence is something left to be desired. If I do use the fences, it's generally for ripping, and even then, I have to align the front and the back with the use of a square.
Now I'm on a mission to build a jig for virtually every cut. Essentially the more secure stock can be before cutting and the farther you keep your fingers from the blade, the safer the operation becomes. I don't want to be one of those old timers down the road like Nahm, who is comfortable cutting stock with my fingers within inches of the blade. I cringe everytime I watch NYW. Also, many people seem to be opting for the saw stop setup, and if you have the funds available for such a nice piece of technology, then by all means, add the extra safey layer to ensure your digits remain intact and useable. But the truth is, many people, like myself, do not have the means to buy such an expensive piece of equipment. Yes, a finger can be valued at 4 grand or more, and losing a hand would be losing a lively hood to some, but the fact still remains that it's not possible for some of us to come up with $4,000 tomorrow, next month or even next year.
I have found plans to build nearly every jig imagineable for a tablesaw. couple this with good featherboards, clamps, a nice shop built fence and the patience to take time in setting up a cut, and suddenly, using the beast in your shop isn't such a scarey task.
The only jig I have yet to discover is a jig for ripping.
Often, I have intruding thoughts that come out of no where there center around the theme of a quick involountary visual of my hand being disentegrated in a cloud of red splatter. Makes me cringe every time.
In lieu of this, I take very careful precautions towards every cut on my TS. It took a few botched projects before I realized the importance of taking the time to setup a cut property, and only two kick backs to realize the safety in minimizing any disasters at the TS. I say two, because the first one simply amazed me. A section of 1x2 being ripped for trip jettisoned out of my hand and lodged in the drywall behind me. The 2nd time, the edge of the board left a nasty scrape on my forearm.
As many of you know, sometimes setting up a cut can take time in measuring the blade height, angle, fence setting, etc whereas the actual cut can take mere seconds. Taking the time to make sure you're ready to slide that expensive piece of wood through your blade will ensure you not only make a decent cut, but also prevent injury.
The most used jig I have ever made is a cross cut sled. If I showed a picture of my scrap-made-finger-saver, you may surely get a good laugh, however, my confidence is boosted when I use it for a cross cut and my fear subside before I slide a piece of stock into the blade. I also use my modified sliding miter thingie with a long piece of stock to give me plenty of surface area to slide piece of stock through at an angle. Then there's my L-Jig, which is 3 pieces of 3/4" MDF sandwiched and cut into a perfect 90 degree L shap that attaches to my miter guage for making cheek cuts. Aside from jigs being an electable choice for safety and accuracy, an outfeed table is a must have.
Most of my jigs were not made with a safety concious mind, but were more hinged on accurate cuts. The only thing true on my old Craftsman table saw are the slots in the cast iron top and the blade alignment. My fence is something left to be desired. If I do use the fences, it's generally for ripping, and even then, I have to align the front and the back with the use of a square.
Now I'm on a mission to build a jig for virtually every cut. Essentially the more secure stock can be before cutting and the farther you keep your fingers from the blade, the safer the operation becomes. I don't want to be one of those old timers down the road like Nahm, who is comfortable cutting stock with my fingers within inches of the blade. I cringe everytime I watch NYW. Also, many people seem to be opting for the saw stop setup, and if you have the funds available for such a nice piece of technology, then by all means, add the extra safey layer to ensure your digits remain intact and useable. But the truth is, many people, like myself, do not have the means to buy such an expensive piece of equipment. Yes, a finger can be valued at 4 grand or more, and losing a hand would be losing a lively hood to some, but the fact still remains that it's not possible for some of us to come up with $4,000 tomorrow, next month or even next year.
I have found plans to build nearly every jig imagineable for a tablesaw. couple this with good featherboards, clamps, a nice shop built fence and the patience to take time in setting up a cut, and suddenly, using the beast in your shop isn't such a scarey task.
The only jig I have yet to discover is a jig for ripping.