New table saw, some questions

[Saul Levinson]

I just set up my new Porter-Cable table saw, and got everything adjusted to specification. Maybe 'cause I'm still a novice, but it seems to me that the saw would be safer to use without the blade guard. I'd still want to use the riving knife, as that seems to be a good thing. But, the blade guard covers the spinning blade to your eyesight throughout all of a cutting.... and that just doesn't seem safe to me. I want to have the blade in constant vision and be able to see where my hands/fingers are in relation to the blade at all times during use.

Do any of you experts see a problem with using just the riving knife, but not the plastic blade guard?

[glenn bradley]

You fence or miter gauge should guide your material through the blade. You don't really need to see the blade cutting the wood. It is not as if you are going to change the feed path during the cut; that way lies kickback (or is it madness?). When ripping I keep my eye on the material to fence contact area to make sure I am following the fence. As long as I am against the fence, I know where the blade is cutting without seeing it.

That being said, I use a guard for any cut I can but it is in the form of an overarm hood. I always use a riving knife for through-cuts but, the guard is swung out of the way for many operations.

BTW - Welcome aboard!

[Mickey Elam]

I would also mention that you should really be concerned with where your hands and fingers are in relation to the guard, rather than the blade. I think it was Kelly Mehler who did a series of articles on shop safety some time back in, I believe, Popular Woodworking, wherein he stated what I think was a pretty good table saw safety rule. His thought was that any time any part of your body would get within about four inches of the guard that you should use a push stick rather than your hand for pushing the material.

Basically, knowing where your hands and fingers are in relation to the guard provides and added margin of safety (as long as the guard is used properly) as opposed to knowing where those same body parts are in relation to the blade. If you keep a safe distance from the guard, the effective distance from the blade is greater.

[scott spencer]

I use only a riving knife on my saw with no guard for the reasons you stated. I hesitate to suggest to anyone that it's ok or is safe, but it's the way I'm most comfortable doing it. I use a Gripper or push sticks, and a featherboard whenever possible, and am very conscious of where my hands are.

[Rod Sheridan]

I just set up my new Porter-Cable table saw, and got everything adjusted to specification. Maybe 'cause I'm still a novice, but it seems to me that the saw would be safer to use without the blade guard. I'd still want to use the riving knife, as that seems to be a good thing. But, the blade guard covers the spinning blade to your eyesight throughout all of a cutting.... and that just doesn't seem safe to me. I want to have the blade in constant vision and be able to see where my hands/fingers are in relation to the blade at all times during use.

Do any of you experts see a problem with using just the riving knife, but not the plastic blade guard?

Saul, I never run the table saw without the guard.

What are you wanting to see? Believe me the blade's cutting whether you're watching it or not.

Many saws have guards that you can't see through at all, my General 650 for example had an all metal guard.

When you're ripping your eye should be on the end of the board/fence intersection, not on the blade.

When crosscutting, you presumably are using a sled with a length stop, or a mitre gauge with something similar. (Stock mitre gauges are generally used as door stops).

If you have a plastic guard on your saw, you can see the cutting taking place, however what's the need for that?

It's extremely dangerous to have an unguarded blade, a split second of inattention and we'll be calling you stumpy. Forget about watching where the blade is, people don't multi-task worth a darn. Let the guard do the finger saving, use push sticks, blocks etc to keep your fingers far away from the blade and guard.

If you tried to use a saw at work like that, you would be fired after a couple of written reprimands. Why? Because in industry they need production and their people in one piece at the end of the day.

If you do have to remove a conventional guard for a non through cut such as a rebate or dado, install an overarm or bridge guard.

Enjoy your new saw safely..........Regards, Rod.

[David Christopher]

Saul, first off, welcome to the creek...most of the time, if youre not comfortable youre not safe..I feel the same way that you do, I want to see everything thats going on with the cut..my old unisaw hasnt had a blade gaurd on it since ive owned it.

[Richard Dragin]

People think that the danger is from running your fingers through the saw blade. That is the least likely of accidents compared to all the other accidents that can happen on the table saw.

If you are looking at the cut you are not safe, you should be looking at the fence to make sure the wood is up against it.

The guard is not just to keep you from running your hand through the blade, it is there to keep you from sticking your hand or any other body part as well as any foreign object from contacting the top of the blade as well.

There are some cuts that require you to remove the guard (thin strips for example) but the vast majority can and should be done with the guard on.

[Neil Brooks]

Shop safety, and how to achieve it, is likely among the most controversial issues in woodworking.

Unless I'm cutting dadoes, my riving knife AND guard are in place.

But ... I never ride my motorcycle without my helmet AND motorcycle jacket (occasionally, I eschew the kevlar pants. Wild child, I am), so ... that puts ME in perspective.

Different strokes for different folks, though ... as they say.

[Stephen Cherry]

One thing that I have done is to put a piece of masking tape on the table, in front of the blade. I then make a crosscut with the miter gauge, and carefully slide the piece back over top of the tape, without the wood moving. I then cut the tape with an exacto knife at the place the saw had just cut. I repeat for the other side of the blade. Then I peel off the tape on both sides, leaving a narrow strip representing where the saw kerf removes material.

This narrow strip tells you all you need to know about the blade. Line up your mark on the wood with the appropriate side of the little strip, and make your cut. Nothing to think about, except where your hands are, and no reason to remove the blade guard.

[Rye Crane]

Saul,

I agree with most of the folks that have chimed in on always using the guard. One thing I did since I have an overhead guard that can be moved
away when necessary. I took a straight edge and lined it up against the
carbide teeth of the blade and ran a straight line in pencil towards the front of the saw on both sides so I could see where the blade would cut,
regardless of my measurements, etc.

Then clamp it down, push the sliding table along through the cut and everything is complete, including your hands.

Good luck,
Rye Crane
Pittsburg, CA.

[Saul Levinson]

It seems to me that if you fix your attention on the blade guard, rather than the blade itself bad things could happen. What if the blade guard slips out of alignment as you start a cut? My blade guard is clear plastic, and it has lots of distortion, so you really can't see where the blade is until it begins to emerge from the underside of the guard toward the end of the cut. It would be really bad if the guard got caught on the blade during a cut. It still seems to me that the safest practice is to constantly keep the blade in your line of vision with the guard removed, and, as suggested, keep the workpiece against the fence. The riving knife will always be used.
Maybe it's just the Porter-Cable blade guard... to me it's "clunky" and poorly designed. It also mounts with a good deal of play in it.

I like the idea of a top mounted guard... I'll look into it. Any suggestions as to a seller?

The saw itself is great. With very little adjustment from the shipping crate, I can reproduce a perfect 90 deg and 45 deg. The machine runs on my 110 house current without bogging down, and the machine is solidly built, heavy, and comes with casters that can be dropped down when one needs to move the machine.

Thanks for the advice... I really do appreciate it!

I hope I'm not being overly confident on my ability to determine safe practices....after all I am a novice at these things.

Saul

[Rod Sheridan]

It seems to me that if you fix your attention on the blade guard, rather than the blade itself bad things could happen. What if the blade guard slips out of alignment as you start a cut? My blade guard is clear plastic, and it has lots of distortion, so you really can't see where the blade is until it begins to emerge from the underside of the guard toward the end of the cut. It would be really bad if the guard got caught on the blade during a cut. It still seems to me that the safest practice is to constantly keep the blade in your line of vision with the guard removed, and, as suggested, keep the workpiece against the fence. The riving knife will always be used.
Maybe it's just the Porter-Cable blade guard... to me it's "clunky" and poorly designed. It also mounts with a good deal of play in it.

I like the idea of a top mounted guard... I'll look into it. Any suggestions as to a seller?

The saw itself is great. With very little adjustment from the shipping crate, I can reproduce a perfect 90 deg and 45 deg. The machine runs on my 110 house current without bogging down, and the machine is solidly built, heavy, and comes with casters that can be dropped down when one needs to move the machine.

Thanks for the advice... I really do appreciate it!

I hope I'm not being overly confident on my ability to determine safe practices....after all I am a novice at these things.

Saul

Saul, once again you're fixated on looking at the blade. That's not where you look when ripping, you look at the wood/fence intersection.

The blade doesn't need any watching, it's still there.

When cross cutting as others have said, mark a line on the table that lines up with the side of the blade. That's where you line up your cut if you're cutting to length marked by a pencil.

Than you push the mitre gauge forward, you don't need to see the blade again.

You are being overly confident in your abilities to determine safe working practices.

RULE #1, use the guard at all times. Period.

RULE#2, if you can't use the guard for a particular operation, purchase or make and use a suitable guard.

RULE#3, if the above 2 rules cannot be followed, you're using the wrong machine for the operation.

For example you want to make rebates and the table saw guard cannot be used, and you don't want to make or purchase a guard. Then use a machine that's built for that sort of operation and has suitable guards such as a shaper or router table.

That's the professional, safe approach to wood working.

Regards, Rod.