Tablesaw Injuries

[Lon Crosby]

A link to the first study on non-occupational table saw injuries (i.e. hobbiest) in the US http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100113172150.htm

31,500 per year and, of these, 10% resulted in amputation.

[Wade Lippman]

"Most of the table saw-related injuries resulted from contact with the blade of the saw. In cases when the mechanism of injury was documented, kickback was the most common mechanism (72 percent)"

I believe that kickback is the most common, but doesn't that contradict contact with the blade?

Still pretty bleak; glad I got my Brett Guard up. I have had one kickback with it, and it just swallowed it.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

The issue is when a kickback happens and throws your hand into the blade. My FIL lost a few fingers to that one.

[Van Huskey]

The issue is when a kickback happens and throws your hand into the blade. My FIL lost a few fingers to that one.


That is exactly what I think they are saying. So my take would be if you eliminate kickback totally you will reduce TS injuries by aorund 70%. The silver lining for me is that kickback is a really approachable issue for anyone with a TS, there are lots of things you can do for free or a lttle cash!

[gary butcher]

My biggest kickback incident happened when the wood shot back right past me (I was keeping off to one side) and put a nice dent in my car door. It kinda wedged itself between the blade and guide, the blade caught it and tossed it.

I keep TS operations to a minimum on the big saw. I'm much happier with either band saw or my mini table saw (proxxon) That little thing is a peach!

[Jon Kasmire]

While I've, so far, managed to escape serious kickback, and injury, I feel I've only done so in part by knowing well how others have not fared so well. So I find this kind of research a very valuable read.

As I happen to have the full text of the original article and statistics, feel free to PM me if you are really interested in the full text or have any questions. (clearly, I won't just post the journal here for copyright reasons)

The best advice anyone ever gave me about kickback was to hang onto that board for dear life as soon as it all starts to go wrong (being mindful of course of where it would suck your hands if it actually went) As a result, I have a few boards with the tell-tale rotate saw grooves, but I've yet to loose control of one.

[Rod Sheridan]

Jon, thanks for the info.

Gary, I have a question regarding the kickbacks you've experienced.

Were you using a splitter or riving knife at the time?

In over 30 years, I've never experienced a single kick back on a table saw, however I use a splitter whenever possible.

Maybe I've been fortunate.

Regards, Rod.

[Chad Easterling]

I've never had a true kickback on a tablesaw, but I did have a piece get wedged between the blade and the insert once. It slung it down into my dust collection bin once it grabbed. Sent the piece through a 1/2" thick piece of plywood used to "funnel" sawdust to the collection port.... I can just imagine the damage that could have happened had it hit me.

[Mike Henderson]

Just for additional info, here's (http://www.sun-sentinel2.com/features/ftlaudNEISS/ftlaudNEISS08_list.php?orderby=anarrative)another data base - this one of ER visits. Put "table saw" in the search field to find TS related accidents. But it's just raw data, no analysis like the study referenced earlier.

There are some interesting entries, other than TS related. ER docs must see all kind of things - probably shake their heads sometimes.

Mike

[Cliff Holmes]

Interesting. Also, "tablesaw" and "table saw" yield different results.

[scott vroom]

I've been running table saws for over 25 years without a single kickback or injury. I've used a splitter or riving knife as far back as I can remember. I've never used an over blade guard because it blocks my view of the blade. I agree with the poster that said kickbacks actually pull the hand into the blade; if folks understood this concept there wouk be fewer accidents IMO. BTW, the closest I've come to serious injury was on my CMS: I was foolishly holding a small piece of cornice trim close to the blade. Before I had time to realize what happened, the blade caught the wood and pulled it into the fence gap along with my hand. To this day I don't know how I avoided losing fingers...not even a cut. I was lucky.

If you follow some basic rules of common sense, your chances of injury are minimal:

1) never place your body directly behind the stock you are cutting; always assume the wood will be kicked back and stand off to the side.

2) always check to make sure your saw fence is tuned properly and not biased in toward the blade at the rear of the cut

3) always take the time to set up featherboards. I use the earth magnet type which are quick and easy to set up

4) always use push sticks/paddles when working close to the blade

5) use a splitter or riving knife

6) never run small stock with the throat plate removed

7) always maintain a clean floor that is clear of debris

8) never lean over the blade

9) always pause and ask yourself if the cut you are about to make is safe BEFORE you turn on the power. If it doesn't feel right, it isn't. stop and take the time to come up with a better/safer method.

10) never be in a hurry

11) never work when stressed or fatigued.

12) don't ever forget that power saws are mean, nasty meat eaters. they don't have feelings and don't give a darn about your fingers. keep this in mind everytime you flip on the power.

I'm sure you can add other safety tips of your own.

[Jeff Bratt]

A link to the first study on non-occupational table saw injuries (i.e. hobbiest) in the US http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100113172150.htm

31,500 per year and, of these, 10% resulted in amputation.

A study, but not the first - there's publicly available information on this subject here (http://www.cpsc.gov/volstd/tablesaws/tablesaws.html), with a detailed tablesaw injury survey in Appendix A of this (http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia06/brief/tablesaw.pdf) report.

[Cliff Holmes]

1) never place your body directly behind the stock you are cutting; always assume the wood will be kicked back and stand off to the side.

I've only had one kickback in 40 years, but it was an unforgettable event :eek:

As I recall, though, the board flew up and back to the left. If I had been standing off to that side, it would have nailed me square in the chest.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

A link to the first study on non-occupational table saw injuries (i.e. hobbiest) in the US http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100113172150.htm

31,500 per year and, of these, 10% resulted in amputation.

"children as young as 6 years were found to be injured while operating a table saw"

6???!?!?!? holy smokes.


Agreed that kickbacks are a BIG issue with table saws. I had one kickback - it flipped a small piece of plywood up past my ear and across the basement. Scared the daylights out of me.

[Victor Robinson]

I see a lot of folks advise that one should not stand directly behind the workpiece being cut.

But in every demonstration I've seen of kickback, the wood is flung slightly to the left. Of course, it can still nail you, especially if it's a longer piece and it's spinning as it flies by. Actually to be honest I'm not sure if it would be better to be hit squarely or by the end - probably doesn't make much of a difference anyways. :confused:

[Igor Petrenko]

Yet another SawStop thread in disguise? :)
I'd like them to do their sousage test but to have that sousage launched into the blade with kickback.

[Josh Reet]

Yet another SawStop thread in disguise? :)
I'd like them to do their sousage test but to have that sousage launched into the blade with kickback.

Thank goodness someone mentioned it. I was worried we'd have a tablesaw injury thread without someone claiming "Sawstop Advertising!".

Still, I would like to see the hot-dog test done to simulate a hand being pulled into the blade with some force. Though if the system works as advertised, I would think the injury would be worse than the standard video that they show, but not terrible.

[Blake-Kagen]

I've got $25,000.00 invested in a table saw injury, one stiff finger less a knuckle with a steal plate in it and about 1/4 inch shorter. My advise is to get a BIG insurance policy, ( and maybe that other saw too) ...accidents WILL happen. I've been pushing boards through saws for 40 years as a profession and it got me a year ago. The plastic surgeon that did the surgery and saved the finger for me said table saws and chain saws were about 40% of the serious injuries he has to try and repair. When I was in the emergency room there was also a chainsaw injury near me...and a guy that had just had his wife beat the slop outa him with a beer bottle. lol

[glenn bradley]

Yet another SawStop thread in disguise? :)

You mean EZ Smart, don't you:D. Seriously though, the improper use of most dangerous items will yield injury. I am sure, just like car wrecks, that if you remove the numbers of problems that resulted from improper activity, the numbers would drop severely.

I always get a kick out of the guys who say things like "I've been runnin a saw for 40 years without a splitter and never had a problem". Its right up there with "Seat belts are dangerous" :D:D:D.

[Dino Makropoulos]

I've been running table saws for over 25 years without a single kickback or injury. I've used a splitter or riving knife as far back as I can remember. I've never used an over blade guard because it blocks my view of the blade. I agree with the poster that said kickbacks actually pull the hand into the blade; if folks understood this concept there wouk be fewer accidents IMO. BTW, the closest I've come to serious injury was on my CMS: I was foolishly holding a small piece of cornice trim close to the blade. Before I had time to realize what happened, the blade caught the wood and pulled it into the fence gap along with my hand. To this day I don't know how I avoided losing fingers...not even a cut. I was lucky.

If you follow some basic rules of common sense, your chances of injury are minimal:

1) never place your body directly behind the stock you are cutting; always assume the wood will be kicked back and stand off to the side.

2) always check to make sure your saw fence is tuned properly and not biased in toward the blade at the rear of the cut

3) always take the time to set up featherboards. I use the earth magnet type which are quick and easy to set up

4) always use push sticks/paddles when working close to the blade

5) use a splitter or riving knife

6) never run small stock with the throat plate removed

7) always maintain a clean floor that is clear of debris

8) never lean over the blade

9) always pause and ask yourself if the cut you are about to make is safe BEFORE you turn on the power. If it doesn't feel right, it isn't. stop and take the time to come up with a better/safer method.

10) never be in a hurry

11) never work when stressed or fatigued.

12) don't ever forget that power saws are mean, nasty meat eaters. they don't have feelings and don't give a darn about your fingers. keep this in mind everytime you flip on the power.

I'm sure you can add other safety tips of your own.

A tool that requires perfect coordination and the above "partial" list to avoid an accident....is a faulty designed tool.
A smart guard can eliminate 100% of all the accidents, BUT
the lawyers of the power tool companies are against the idea
of safe and smart tablesaws.

[Michael MacDonald]

I would like to see the hot-dog test done to simulate a hand being pulled into the blade with some force

I think the sawstop folks say that there will be 1/16 depth of a cut for every 1 mph that the finger is moving toward the blade... (or maybe numbers not quite right...?) so assuming the kickback pulls the hand quickly, some depth of cut can't be avoided... but hey, if you move fast enough from back to front, you can just ride the gullet...

[Dino Makropoulos]

You mean EZ Smart, don't you:D. Seriously though, the improper use of most dangerous items will yield injury. I am sure, just like car wrecks, that if you remove the numbers of problems that resulted from improper activity, the numbers would drop severely.

I always get a kick out of the guys who say things like "I've been runnin a saw for 40 years without a splitter and never had a problem". Its right up there with "Seat belts are dangerous" :D:D:D.

Glen,
I just saw your post after posting mine. ( look at the timing)
Why ez smart? This thread is all about tablesaw accidents.
thanks

[Rob Wright]

Like everyone - or most of us here - one of the first things I did when I setup my Grizzly 1023S Table saw (10 years ago) was to remove/ not install the factory guard. It was junk in my mind and I was safe and cautious all the time/ verytime. About 4 years ago I had a kickback accident, hit me just above the groin, I quickly yanked my hand back, somehow not dragging it over the blade and twisted my body counter clockwise, then 2 seconds later the off-cut on the left side caught the edge of the blade and came and hit me in the hip. I literally open my pants in my garage to make sure everything was there. It was turning black and blue immediately, abdomen hurt but no puncture thank goodness. I found my religion that day. It happened so fast

When I got enough nerve to actually go out and turn on the saw again -the guard went on the machine for the first time and hasn't come off since. I decided right there and then that if I can't make the cut with the guard on - it doesn't get made on the saw. This includes dado and non through cuts. I have a router that I can do them on. Just my experience and I am glad it turned out OK. I don't know what I would have done if I would have lost some fingers off of my right hand.

[Igor Petrenko]

I think the sawstop folks say that there will be 1/16 depth of a cut for every 1 mph that the finger is moving toward the blade... (or maybe numbers not quite right...?) so assuming the kickback pulls the hand quickly, some depth of cut can't be avoided... but hey, if you move fast enough from back to front, you can just ride the gullet...
1 mph is about 0.6 feet per second. So to cut average finger off it has to be moved about 8-10 ft per second which is not that fast, it's just like waving your hand.

[David Helm]

I just want to add 1 item to Scott's list of safety techniques. It has helped me stay safe over a 30 year building career. Always! Always engage brain prior to engaging motor switch!

[Tom Godley]

One thing to note when reading over these reports is that many come from emergency room reporting and the accuracy of the particular type of tool doing the injury is often rather low.


Table saw - chain saw -- circular saw -- to a lot of people - like a hospital nurse they are the same thing. It has always been my understanding that the hand held circular saw is responsible for the most injuries -- children are very often victims as a very young child can quickly injure themselves. While it is certainly possible for a six your old to hurt themselves on a table saw -- more than likely it was a circular saw doing the injury.

[Van Huskey]

Glen,
I just saw your post after posting mine. ( look at the timing)
Why ez smart? This thread is all about tablesaw accidents.
thanks


I assume the point was EZ Smart lets you replace to table saw pretty much completly if you fully embrace it and further tracksaws are probably much safer than a SS, especially if you use a plunge saw like the Festool or Dewalt et al.

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Still, I would like to see the hot-dog test done to simulate a hand being pulled into the blade with some force.


Good idea... Someone with a SawStop go take a rack of ribs and slam it into the blade as hard as you can along the bone line.. I wanna see what will happen.. :)

Not a snide comment at all.. Really, what would happen?

At any rate, like has been said, if you take precautions to minimize the chance kickbacks the bulk of any issue on a table saw is taken care of.

[Jeff Bratt]

One thing to note when reading over these reports is that many come from emergency room reporting and the accuracy of the particular type of tool doing the injury is often rather low.

Table saw - chain saw -- circular saw -- to a lot of people - like a hospital nurse they are the same thing. It has always been my understanding that the hand held circular saw is responsible for the most injuries -- children are very often victims as a very young child can quickly injure themselves. While it is certainly possible for a six your old to hurt themselves on a table saw -- more than likely it was a circular saw doing the injury.

This is a common argument - the numbers are inaccurate because of...
The report I referenced (http://www.cpsc.gov/library/foia/foia06/brief/tablesaw.pdf) earlier did a lot of follow-up of these injury reports for a period during 2001. Sure, there is some misreporting, as in any system involving people. But overall, the numbers are pretty accurate. A NEISS (http://www.cpsc.gov/LIBRARY/neiss.html) query (for 2008) shows that the number of injuries from table saws is more than twice the number from handheld circular saws.

I think that people sometimes do not really consider an inherent danger with table saws - normal operation requires the operator to push the workpiece towards that spinning blade. Most other kinds of power saws, including handheld circular saws, do not have this particular design characteristic. When using the tablesaw, remember to think, if that workpiece suddenly disappears, "Where will my hand(s) go?"

[Mike Henderson]

Good idea... Someone with a SawStop go take a rack of ribs and slam it into the blade as hard as you can along the bone line.. I wanna see what will happen.. :)

Not a snide comment at all.. Really, what would happen?

At any rate, like has been said, if you take precautions to minimize the chance kickbacks the bulk of any issue on a table saw is taken care of.
I've not heard of any serious injury with a SawStop and there's a bunch of them installed. If you could cut your finger off on a SS by moving your hand quickly, someone would have done it by now and you can be sure we'd all hear about it.

But in any case, this thread is not about the SawStop but about injuries related to a table saw.

Mike

[Scott Hildenbrand]

Last I heard, the SS was indeed a table saw.

But, I digress.

And now, I wonder off to more informative threads.. :)

[John Sanford]

The plastic surgeon that did the surgery and saved the finger for me said table saws and chain saws were about 40% of the serious injuries he has to try and repair. When I was in the emergency room there was also a chainsaw injury near me...and a guy that had just had his wife beat the slop outa him with a beer bottle. lol

:mad:

What, exactly, is funny about domestic violence? Is it funny to you because the victim is a guy? One who's been injured badly enough to need a plastic surgeon?

Yuk it up, -----.

:mad:

[Chris Tsutsui]

Even with a splitter I almost had a kickback incident where my shirt had gotten in the way.

While sawing my un-tucked shirt, the bottom of the shirt got snagged between the board and TS fence. Without me knowing, this pulled my shirt more and more between the board and fence thus causing the board to move into the blade at an increasing angle.

The cutting got loud and noticed the cutting began to bind and burn the wood slightly so I stopped cutting just in time.

Now I make sure my shirt is always tucked in. :D

[Mike Heidrick]

Wood magazine that did the video tests of slamming a hot dog from above and at angles into the spinning blade of a sawstop. Every time the brake fired all but instantaneously and the blade disappeared below the saw in the blink of an eye. They got some damage to the hotdog was when they did it so fast they overshot and sammed the dog into the riving knife and blade at the same time and even then it was minor compared to a cut without the brake.

So if you have hotdogs involved in your kickback you are good.

http://www.woodmagazine.com/bettertv/?bclid=1339078448&bctid=1078589386

[Bill ThompsonNM]

If my math is correct.. the article cites about 10,000,000 tablesaw users in the US. 31000 visits annually to the ER, 10% resulting in amputation.

SMC has over 12000 active users -- so if as a group we were as unsafe as the general tablesaw user we should be reporting 3-4 amputations a year.
Assuming no one is holding out on us.. we must be significantly safer than average! I think the take home message is be safe... and teach safety!
:)

[Kevin Groenke]

Interesting, but not surprising article. While most participants in this discussion ALWAYS employ PERFECT technique and ALWAYS use available safety devices (unless you don't believe in them) there are many tablesaw users (the majority?) who really don't have a clue how to use the equipment safely. Freehand cutting, cross-cutting against rip fence, trapped off-cuts: all potentially injurious operations that are probably being attempted 1000's and 1000's of times a day. 85 times a day, somebody DOESN'T get lucky.


Wood magazine that did the video tests of slamming a hot dog from above and at angles into the spinning blade of a sawstop. Every time the brake fired all but instantaneously and the blade disappeared below the saw in the blink of an eye. They got some damage to the hotdog was when they did it so fast they overshot and sammed the dog into the riving knife and blade at the same time and even then it was minor compared to a cut without the brake.

http://www.woodmagazine.com/bettertv/?bclid=1339078448&bctid=1078589386


Thanks for posting the link Mike, that video dispels a lot of misinformation about SS.

-kg

[Chad Easterling]

A little off topic, but funny now that I think about it....

When I first started woodworking I was making some wooden pulls for a gun cabinet I was building. I was using a 3/4" cove bit. It was a real cheap POS my father had- two "fins" made of HSS and a bushing, no bearing. Being young and ignorant at the time, I decided to cut the full 3/4" in one pass. As soon as the wood touched the bit it jerked it out of my hands, slung it 20+ feet across the basement and knocked a chunk out of the block wall. Scared the S#$% out of me :)

Thankfully noone was hurt!

[Michael MacDonald]

1 mph is about 0.6 feet per second. So to cut average finger off it has to be moved about 8-10 ft per second which is not that fast, it's just like waving your hand.

Your math is correct. Just to confirm, I looked it up on the internet... page 10 of the users manual for the contractor's saw... point 5 on that page. It actually says 1 foot/second can result in 1/16 of a cut. And also adds "At faster speeds, the cut will be proportionally deeper. Therefore, it is possible to be seriously injured even with the SawStop safety system." What is the speed of a hand pushed or pulled by kickback, do you think?

I am surprised there hasn't been a SS accident where the operator gets a catastrophic injury and the news becomes a PR and legal challenge for the company. Still happy to have mine, regardless.

[Rod Sheridan]

Your math is correct. Just to confirm, I looked it up on the internet... page 10 of the users manual for the contractor's saw... point 5 on that page. It actually says 1 foot/second can result in 1/16 of a cut. And also adds "At faster speeds, the cut will be proportionally deeper. Therefore, it is possible to be seriously injured even with the SawStop safety system." What is the speed of a hand pushed or pulled by kickback, do you think?

I am surprised there hasn't been a SS accident where the operator gets a catastrophic injury and the news becomes a PR and legal challenge for the company. Still happy to have mine, regardless.

Hi Michael, I think what's missing from the SS discussion is that the SS technology is the secondary safety device.

The primary safety devices are splitters/riving knives, and guards, followed by push sticks, pads, power feeders and other jigs.

The SS isn't designed to replace them, it's a supplementary protection for when the primary protection has failed.

I'm sure it can happen, however I've never heard of an accident where a person was using the required primary protective devices and had a hand drawn into the blade by a kickback.

What have your experiences been, do you know of anyone who was using the proper protective devices and had a kickback injury where the hand contacted the blade?

Regards, Rod.

[Glen Butler]

A tool that requires perfect coordination and the above "partial" list to avoid an accident....is a faulty designed tool.
A smart guard can eliminate 100% of all the accidents, BUT
the lawyers of the power tool companies are against the idea
of safe and smart tablesaws.

Then most tools are designed faulty. A lot of that list applies to all the tools in your shop. Including the jointer, drill press, shaper, router, bandsaw. Anything with an exposed cutting surface. I have seen accidents from all of them. I have hearde some really nasty stuff about straight line rip saws and they don't require you be anywhere near the blade.

I would like to see a sawstop video of something moving into the blade quickly, like a kickback could cause.

[Dino Makropoulos]

Then most tools are designed faulty. A lot of that list applies to all the tools in your shop. Including the jointer, drill press, shaper, router, bandsaw. Anything with an exposed cutting surface. I have seen accidents from all of them. I have hearde some really nasty stuff about straight line rip saws and they don't require you be anywhere near the blade.

I would like to see a sawstop video of something moving into the blade quickly, like a kickback could cause.

The sawstop solves on major problem.
Better to have few stitches than having no fingers at all.

The other major problem is the kickback.
This is the easiest problem to solve using the Dead Wood Concept.
Imagine a machinist pushing a metal bar into a milling machine?:confused:

The fact is that woodworking is dangerous because some people are lucky
enough to bragg about it.

[Kevin Groenke]

I would like to see a sawstop video of something moving into the blade quickly, like a kickback could cause.


Glen,

Though it may not be as fast as may occur in a kickback situation, the video that Mike H. posted the link to includes some pretty fast action. The result: a kerf in the hot dog of ~1/8"wide x 3/4"long x 1/4"deep. The result would likely be an amputation on any other tablesaw.

http://www.woodmagazine.com/bettertv...tid=1078589386 (http://www.woodmagazine.com/bettertv/?bclid=1339078448&bctid=1078589386)

-kg

[Michael MacDonald]

Hi Michael, I think what's missing from the SS discussion is that the SS technology is the secondary safety device.

....

What have your experiences been, do you know of anyone who was using the proper protective devices and had a kickback injury where the hand contacted the blade?

Regards, Rod.

Agreed... wasn't trying to emphasize the brake at the expense of the guard, pawls or the riving knife. I have not yet experienced kickback. I did have some thin ply ride up once or twice, and I pushed it down and it made a nasty slap against the table when the blade caught it better. I guess I was holding on so tight that it did not become a projectile.... I had the knife installed but the pawls off because the cutoff was so thin and it was getting stuck. That is my experience so far.

[Jeff Bratt]

What have your experiences been, do you know of anyone who was using the proper protective devices and had a kickback injury where the hand contacted the blade?

According to the study on tablesaw injuries - approximately 22% of the blade contact accidents occurred with a "blade guard" in place. Exactly what a blade guard is, and whether it included a splitter or riving knife was not determined. However, most blade guards do incorporate a splitter.

There is lots of information available if one looks for it - one other little tidbit was that feeding the board freehand through a tablesaw accounted for around 1/3 of the blade contact injuries.

Overall, of the estimated 55,300 stationary saw (tablesaw, RAS, miter/chopsaw, and bandsaw) injuries in 2001, 28,300 were serious enough to require emergency treatment, and 2,760 required hospitalization. While kickback contributed to 17,900 injuries, 32,300 did not involve kickback.

[Jack Mincey]

There are a lot of injuries that never get reported on the table saw. I've taught High school shop for 27 years and seen kickback on the tablesaw at least a dozen times during that time. luckly only two times did it cause any injury to the student. One time the board hit the students right index finger as it went on its path. He lost the finger nail some what like you would if you had hit it with a hammer. The other injury was when a board turned side ways on its kickback path and hit the student in the stomach hard enough to cause some blood to come through his skin.Neither student went to the doctor so they where most likely never counted. I did fill out an injury report both times which is required when a student gets more than a splinter anymore. My old saws motor burned out around the time saw stop started making their saws so the school system had no choice but to buy one to replace the old saw we had. In the four years we've had the SS in our school shop, no kick backs have occured. the guard stay's on unless we have to do a dado or cut a thin strip and I know with out a doubt that this has made my shop a safer place. The funny thing about all the post here is that the band saw is safer. I have had two students have to go to the doc and have their finger bandaged up as a result of the bandsaw. A few more received smaller cuts while using the band saw. In my years as a shop teacher the bandsaw has been saw that caused most of the problems in the shop. If there is a funny end to my story it is that the two worst injury's I've had in my class over the many years where not related to the use of a power tool. One student thought it would be cool to act like he was going to hit another sudents with a wooden mallet. The other student put his arm up as a reaction which knocked the mallet back into the sudents head who held the mallet. He had to have four stables in his eye brough to close up the cut it caused. LOTS AND LOTS of blood from this injury. The other injury was when a drafting student thought it a good thing to bend and rip an eraser shield in half. He had to have around 8 stiches to close up the cut in his hand.
Jack

[Glen Butler]

Glen,

Though it may not be as fast as may occur in a kickback situation, the video that Mike H. posted the link to includes some pretty fast action. The result: a kerf in the hot dog of ~1/8"wide x 3/4"long x 1/4"deep. The result would likely be an amputation on any other tablesaw.

http://www.woodmagazine.com/bettertv...tid=1078589386 (http://www.woodmagazine.com/bettertv/?bclid=1339078448&bctid=1078589386)

-kg

That is what I was looking for. That's amazing it stops that fast. I am going to start pinching my pennies for a SS.