First kickback

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

WOW.

that's all I could say after. I was cutting 1/8" luan for a small project one of my kids. I actually managed to rip the 4'x4' sheet down to smaller pieces even though it was pretty cupped. The kickback happened when I was trimming just a little off a smaller piece. I had a hold-down on the fence, and I didn't put the "waste" side between the blade and the fence. I was just about done and *whoosh* the piece was grabbed and flung across the room. Looked like it got picked up by the back of the blade, "sucked" into the blade (a nice score/gouge in the entire face of the piece) and then thrown off. Missed me by a mile, but it was an eye opener. I tossed the piece into my scrap bin, but I think I'll pull it out tonight and nail it to the wall so I can see it as a reminder.

[Jason Perrott]

:eek:
The first one is the underwear soiler!
1/8 " material is pretty "springy" and can surprise you quick...
glad you are ok!
Jason

[Mike Goetzke]

I hate cutting that warped thin stuff on the TS. That's one of the major reasons I have resorted to a circular saw "dead-wood" type rail cutting system for panels.

Mike

[Jose Kilpatrick]

The MasterCraft Accu-Rip circular saw attachment is what I use when the ripping gets too close to the TS blade for comfort. With this guy, I can rip down to 1/8th accuratley and easily. It has increased my margin of safety when ripping small pieces.

http://markmakingthings.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/accurip.jpg

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I might have to consider alternatives. I wasn't thrilled about cutting the larger sheet but was very cautious. the smaller pieces were much more manageable - and they weren't *too* small to be cutting on the TS....but in retrospect, I probably should have used my sled.

[Chris Padilla]

The kickback happened when I was trimming just a little off a smaller piece. I had a hold-down on the fence, and I didn't put the "waste" side between the blade and the fence.

What was the size of the piece you were trimming just a hair off of?

I'm curious why the good piece wasn't between the blade and fence.

Usually, when I trim just a hair off of something, the waste side is between the blade and nothing but free space.

[Scott Mann]

I had a similar kickback happen to me. Sounds like you got off lucky, I had two broken fingers after the plywood shot back at me and smashed my hands.

[Brett Nelson]

I had a similar situation with 1/8" masonite. TS threw a 12"x12" piece like a frisby right past my head and just missed the back window of the in-law's SUV. Hit a shelf 40' away with such a loud bang that the FIL had to come "check on me". That one really coulda hurt more than just my pride.

[mreza Salav]

Glad that you are Ok. I suppose you didn't have a splitter.
If that's the case you invited the trouble yourself!
It will *reduce* the chance of such incidents greatly.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

No splitter - it's on my 'list' for when I do end up upgrading my saw.

Chris P. - the cut was just as you mention. the good piece about 12"x18" was between the fence and the blade, and the waste side (a couple inches) was on the 'open' side.

[Lee Schierer]

Chris P. - the cut was just as you mention. the good piece about 12"x18" was between the fence and the blade, and the waste side (a couple inches) was on the 'open' side.

That is the safer way to make the cut.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I thought so too. maybe I just took my eye off for a second, but I dont think so......as I think about it, I bet something got caught between the big piece and the fence, causing it to push out into the blade. just glad it wasn't a bigger piece, and there was no one else around.

[Chris Padilla]

No splitter - it's on my 'list' for when I do end up upgrading my saw.

Chris P. - the cut was just as you mention. the good piece about 12"x18" was between the fence and the blade, and the waste side (a couple inches) was on the 'open' side.

My bad...I inferred your statement incorrectly in my little head. :p

Okay, so how big was the piece your trimmed off? I assume it was ~18" by like 2-3" or something? I don't mean to pick, but I'm trying to understand how the kickback occured if the waste piece was between the blade and nothing. Seems to me there was nothing for it to get bound up against. Maybe I'm just being a dork today? ;) haha

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

My bad...I inferred your statement incorrectly in my little head. :p

Okay, so how big was the piece your trimmed off? I assume it was ~18" by like 2-3" or something? I don't mean to pick, but I'm trying to understand how the kickback occured if the waste piece was between the blade and nothing. Seems to me there was nothing for it to get bound up against. Maybe I'm just being a dork today? ;) haha


Not at all. I had the kickback, so maybe *I* am the dork. :rolleyes:

Seriously - it was a very straightforward cut (not like the larger cupped piece I started with). small piece, reasonable flat/on the table. Just shows to go ya, I guess....

[Chris Padilla]

Did you have a ZCI - zero clearance insert? If 'yes', then it didn't get hung up in the throat plate...maybe.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Did you have a ZCI - zero clearance insert? If 'yes', then it didn't get hung up in the throat plate...maybe.

yes I did. I wouldn't cut material like that w/out one....

[Lee Schierer]

Seriously - it was a very straightforward cut (not like the larger cupped piece I started with). small piece, reasonable flat/on the table. Just shows to go ya, I guess....

Any amount of spring back could potentially move the piece where the blade would catch on it and throw it. Cutting curved, wavy or bowed material needs special handing for sure. I use my magnetic griptite feather boards on pieces like that to hold them tight to the fence and hold them down to the table when I make the cut.

Blade height could also have been an issue. I've had thin stock flutter on the leading edge as each saw tooth hits the wood to make the cut. When that occurs, I use a different push stick or push pad to hold the stock tight to the table in addition tothe feather boards.

[Jeff Bratt]

No splitter - it's on my 'list' for when I do end up upgrading my saw.

Especially after this incident, why would you wait? Every table saw should have a splitter. If it's not built in, there's no reason one can't be added to your throat plate. See what I did here (http://home.roadrunner.com/%7Ejeffnann/WoodWorking/Shop/Shop.html#1950s_Sears_table_saw). This is an easy, no hassle way to prevent possibly serious injuries. Of course a riving knife is even better, but not so easy to add on...

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Especially after this incident, why would you wait? Every table saw should have a splitter. If it's not built in, there's no reason one can't be added to your throat plate. See what I did here (http://home.roadrunner.com/%7Ejeffnann/WoodWorking/Shop/Shop.html#1950s_Sears_table_saw). This is an easy, no hassle way to prevent possibly serious injuries. Of course a riving knife is even better, but not so easy to add on...


that's a good idea.

[Mike Goetzke]

Did your panel look like this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/Eric%20Aquarium%20Stand/IMG_1401_2_1.jpg

Rather than trying to hold it down on my TS I let my rail system do it for me:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/EZ%20Smart/PBB%20STK/IMG_2363.jpg

[Chris Padilla]

Microjig (http://www.microjig.com/MJ%20Splitter.htm) makes a nice splitter for a reasonable cost.

[Brent Smith]

Hi John,

Glad to hear you were lucky enough not to be hurt. Put the advise given here into play and hopefully avoid a similar situation in the future, and get that piece out of the garbage. I have my first kickback piece in the shop....every time I think of doing something iffy I just take a look at it and rethink the plan.

[J. Linwood Jackson]

now all you got to do is get a small cut on that table saw and you will have full reverence towards that beast.
When I was 15 I got a nice kick back on some small MDF parts, and then a few days later, got a nice cut on my finger. It was not bad but I am glad that the both happened. I have been cut twice and had 3 kickbacks in 15 years. I now have a sawstop and I still have the upmost respect for that blade and the havoc it can throw at you in just a SPLIT second. ALWAYS keep an eye on that blade and keep a good feel for what your work is doing while going thru that crazy thing. If in doubt...pull out and chunk the wood.

[Joe Chritz]

An inch is as good as a mile in a miss. First one I had tagged me right in the gut with a piece of 7/8" maple, 2" wide by 8" long at about 150 MPH. One of the disadvantages of a sliding table (at least that one) is that I couldn't stand as far to one side as I like.

It is good to have a wake up every now and then. It keeps you sharp.

Joe

[Fred Pickering]

A few years back I was cutting some 3/4" ash into 2x2 blocks. I think one of them was picked up with the back of the blade. After using table saws for fifty years, that little block hit me so fast that I did not even see it coming. It hit me on the nose. I found my self on my knees, with blood everywhere. I now have a face shield. I can not or will not turn the saw on with out the face shield on. If you are lucky and get to grow old you get a little safer in how you work.

Fred P...............

[Robert Todd]

I had the same thing happen to me cutting very thin plywood. I was trimming a one foot square piece and got a bad kickback exactly as you described. I tried to figure out why, and even though I was not using a splitter (something I would never do now ) it puzzled me. After careful investigation I found what caused it. My table saw had sheet steel wings at that time and the center of them was slightly dished out. This left just eneough gap beneath the fence and the table for the edge of the ply to slip under slightly. Once the edge went under the fence the piece being cut grabbed on the rear edge of the blade and took off. If your saw has sheet metal wings with a depressed center this may well be the cause.