should have bought a saw stop

[Tim Wagner]

Considering I ran my thumb into the blade on my PM 2000 tonight. I got extremely lucky and only shaved about 6 out of my 7 layers of skin off in about a 1/2" by 1/2" area of my thumb. I was trying to rip a miter cut down the center of a board and had trouble trying to stabilize it.

I have ground skin off with die grinders and bench grinders before, but this was truly a scary experience this time around. especially once i realized what I did and what could have happened, like loosing the digit all together.

extremely stupid move on my part. I will never make the argument that my saw was a better buy merly because it was cheaper ever again.:(

God was watching over me tonight:)

Tim.

[Mark Norman]

Glad no real harm was done....chalk one up for a learning experience....

Push sticks are your friends:eek:

[Jim Dailey]

Tim I'm glad it turned out so positively.

Accidents happen soooo fast. I've had a number of close calls with table saws over the last 40 plus years. Fortunately none that where as close as you had this evening. However when the opportunity came up a couple of months ago for a used SawStop cabinet saw I made the switch from my Unisaw. I hope I never even get as close as you came tonight to see if the saw actually works as advertised. But a SawStop still does not protect an operator from kickbacks if the guards/riving knife/kickback paws are not in place.

Again Tim it's great it turned out to be a "lucky evening" for you,
jim

[Frank Hagan]

Considering I ran my thumb into the blade on my PM 2000 tonight. I got extremely lucky and only shaved about 6 out of my 7 layers of skin off in about a 1/2" by 1/2" area of my thumb. I was trying to rip a miter cut down the center of a board and had trouble trying to stabilize it.


Yikes! Glad you weren't hurt any worse than you were. It always happens so quickly.

Looking back, what would have avoided the accident? Were you free hand feeding the board though, or using a miter guage? (From your description, I'm thinking you were cutting something like a 45° angled cross cut cut). Would a blade guard have kept your finger away?

[Nissim Avrahami]

Sorry to hear about your injury and wish you quick recovery.

As for bevel rips (same as for 90° rip), here are a few pics of how I do it....Feather board replaces my left hand and push stick, my right hand...I also use "Low fence" and with narrow pieces - the "Strips sled" and in some cases, the "Vacuum strips sled".
As you can see, I'm using "Short fence" so the piece is not trapped between the fence and the blade....Of course, Riving knife is a must...

niki

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/01.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/02.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/03.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/04.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/06.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/07.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/08.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/09.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/05.jpg

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb151/matsukawa/TS%20Bevels/10.jpg

[Jim Dailey]

Niki,

EXCELLENT set of pictures demonstrating various bevel ripping techniques!!!

Your vacuum sled & various spring loaded feather boards are nothing short of brilliant.

Thanks for taking the time to share your techniques.

jim

[Jeff Mohr]

Niki,

EXCELLENT set of pictures demonstrating various bevel ripping techniques!!!

Your vacuum sled & various spring loaded feather boards are nothing short of brilliant.

Thanks for taking the time to share your techniques.

jim


I agree with that one!

[Rod Sheridan]

Tim thankfully it was a minor "learning experience".

Glad to hear that you're OK...........Rod.

[Nissim Avrahami]

Thank you Jim and Jeff

Well, I don't have the money to buy a "Hi-tech" sawstop (we even don't have it in EU) so, I have to protect my fingers in different - "Lo-tech" - way...

Regards
niki

[Lewis Cobb]

Thank you Jim and Jeff

Well, I don't have the money to buy a "Hi-tech" sawstop (we even don't have it in EU) so, I have to protect my fingers in different - "Lo-tech" - way...

Regards
niki

Hi Niki - Greetings from Canada. Somedays I am not as sharp as others so forgive me if this is an obvious thing that I don't see, but what is the vacuum gadget doing in your photos? Is it to clamp to the piece being bevelled, or to provide some sort of dust extraction while bevelling the piece?

Thanks!
Lewis

[Sean Nagle]

Glad no real harm was done....chalk one up for a learning experience....

Push sticks are your friends:eek:

Featherboards too.

[Nissim Avrahami]

Hi Lewis

The "Vacuum sled" is - as you said - for clamping the workpiece to the sled...it's just one of the methods that I can use to rip bevels on narrow boards but the "narrow strip sled" is good enough.

The main purpose of the vacuum sled is to cut thin strips - the vacuum is clamping the strip after being cut so it will not flutter.

If you like, you can see the "Vacuum Sled" story (how to) here
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=73856

Regards
niki

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Sorry to hear of the close call.....

I've been getting afraid of the saw too. As I age, I seem to think a LITTLE more and try not to take those chances. I have tons of push sticks within easy reach. I TRY to keep guards in place...... Magnetic featherboard is a good idea too.

Ditto on the nice designs for sleds!

[Mike OMelia]

Man, I hate to see a thread with a title like that, you just know it is not going to be good.

Sounds like you came out ok,

Mike

[Tim Wagner]

Yikes! Glad you weren't hurt any worse than you were. It always happens so quickly.

Looking back, what would have avoided the accident? Were you free hand feeding the board though, or using a miter guage? (From your description, I'm thinking you were cutting something like a 45° angled cross cut cut). Would a blade guard have kept your finger away?

well- all of the mentioned saftey device would have helped in one way or the other, but I was free handing also. however i didn't do it pushing it thru, not exactly anyway. looking back, it happened because the back end wasn't supported. it happened as i was trying to catch or stabilize the outfeed end of the board. so I think a outfeed table would have helped me greatly as i wouldn't have had to try and finish the cut and support the back of the piece at the same time

no guard or riving knife was installed at the time. the blade was completly exposed and it was the stupidest thing i could have done. totally my fualt. I will be more cautious in the future, even if i have to plan the cut for an hour before i do it. all safety guards have been re-installed also. nothing like closing the barn doors after the horses run away.:(

[Sean Nagle]

Tim, I'm glad it wasn't more serious.

I think a lot of woodworkers have just had to figure out how to use their tablesaw and never had any real instruction. Two key rules that I was taught are: (1) to never stand directly behind the stock situated between the blade and the fence; (2) NEVER REACH ACROSS THE BLADE... NEVER!

A friend sent me a Youtube link some time ago showing a demo of the SawStop inventor demoing the SawStop. My first impression was that his tablesaw technique was awful, no wonder he had to invent a saw that would protect him from himself.

[Tim Wagner]

not to be gross or anything, but I thought I would post a pic.

[Robert Chapman]

Tim - I'm glad that there was more learning than bleeding. Take care.

[John Thompson]

First Tim.. glad you didn't get more than the flesh wound.

Second... glad to see you step up and admit you made mistakes that would not have happened if the safety aids were in place.

I run a guard on all rip cuts and don't need to see the cut line and I occasionally rip rough for hire in thousand linear quantities. You raise the gaurd to set up the cut distance from the fence.. a feather-board left to keep it pinned to the fence.. a hold down clamped to the fence to resist the stock moviing up.. lower the guard for the cut and rip until the trailing 8" where a push-stick picks it up. There is no real to see the cut.

I do flip the plastic shield back when cross-cutting but my hands are never closer than 8" from the blade as they are firmly planted on the miter guage to hold the stock firmly to it. On a non through cut I clamp a home-made bridge guard over the blade the stock rides under.

It only takes a matter of minutes to set up safely once you get accustomed to it really.

Again.. glad you are not hurt seriously and I probably don't need to remind you to use safer methods as many already have after the fact.

Regards...

Sarge..

[Bill Keehn]

not to be gross or anything, but I thought I would post a pic.

I'm glad your injury wasn't more serious.

Depending on how fast your hand entered the blade, you might have gotten the same injury even with the Sawstop. If I recall, the specification for the Sawstop braking action is something like "the injury will be no more than 1/16 inch deep for every foot per second of motion into the blade".

Something like this definitely makes you stop and think about your safety habits. Thank's for sharing this. We all need a reminder like this now and then.

[Bill Keehn]

Tim, I'm glad it wasn't more serious.

I think a lot of woodworkers have just had to figure out how to use their tablesaw and never had any real instruction. Two key rules that I was taught are: (1) to never stand directly behind the stock situated between the blade and the fence; (2) NEVER REACH ACROSS THE BLADE... NEVER!

A friend sent me a Youtube link some time ago showing a demo of the SawStop inventor demoing the SawStop. My first impression was that his tablesaw technique was awful, no wonder he had to invent a saw that would protect him from himself.

A couple more I was taught in addition to those..

3) Never use the rip fence when cross-cutting with the the miter gage.

4) Always tilt the blade away from the rip fence when doing a bevel rip.

[Frank Hagan]

I will be more cautious in the future, even if i have to plan the cut for an hour before i do it. all safety guards have been re-installed also. nothing like closing the barn doors after the horses run away.:(

The injury wasn't as bad as it could have been, so maybe you'll look back on it as one of those "learning lessons". I go to the same school most of the time ("that really hurt; guess I won't do it that way again.")

[Alfred J Sevitski]

It has been my experiance that saw blades do not cut your fingers they tear them. :(

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

good thing you weren't wearing gloves.

As I recall a surgeon was protecting his delicate skin with a pair of leather work gloves and got one caught in his contractor saw.
He lost fingers when the leather got caught and sucked him in.

Gloves on machinery~!!
Ahh well he polly had special insurance and is now living it up on his yacht on permanent retirement.

[Tim Wagner]

it was the weirdest thing to feel your finger hit the blade. imediatly i was like how bad is it? I looked to see and couldn't tell because my hand was already full of blood. i thought to my self, that didn't hurt much, i better clean it off and see if i need stiches. i cleaned it off and to my surprize it was just a minor abbrasion in comparison to what could have happend. I still can't believe how little it hurts, even now.

I went back to working with the saw today without a second thought, although i am using the gaurd, riving knife and push stick. :o

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Good to hear you're back on the horse again. It took me a couple days to start back up after cutting my finger on my band saw. Yeah same excuses. Not using a push stick. My finger is not THAT close to the blade exit yet. We all know all of the excuses..... My band saw cut hurt quite a bit though.