Anthony Whitesell
12-13-2011, 8:44 AM
I stopped by the local Rockler while I was nearby this past weekend. Though the sale items I was after were out, I took a few minutes to look over the SawStop on display. I know I should get one from a safety aspect, but the $3k price tag is just out of reach right now. (and the disposable brake mechanism has me skeptical from a supply aspect)
Fastforward to last night's shop time. I began to make the mobile bases for my tools. I dug out the sander and the other tablesaw. I have two tablesaws, a 1954 Craftsman with the standard miter slots and a 2002 Craftsman contractor style saw with their oddball miter slots. Thinking of safety, I reinstalled the blade guard per the instruction manual on the tablesaw. I decided since accuracy was not critical on the mobile base, I would use the newer saw with the blade guard instead of the old saw without.
The first cut was on a piece of plywood on the contractor with guard. After the cut I realized it wasn't straight and needed to use the sled. Back to the saw without the guard. Next was to cut down the sides crosscut them to length, so back to the saw with the guard, then rip them to width. I then find the pieces are too thick and too short for the planer. I decide to resaw them on the tablesaw. I don't have a ZCI for the new saw and the guard will not let me make that kind of cut, so back to the saw without the guard and with the ZCI. Then I find I mismeasured and two of the pieces are just a bit to long. I need to cut off about 1/2" off a 10" long board 3 1/2" wide (ie., not long enough to catch the anti-kickback prawls). Using the contractor saw with the gaurd, I mark the board, align the piece against the miter gauge, turn on the saw and make the cut. The cut off gets stuck under the gaurd. So I turn the saw off, wait for it to spin down lift the guard and remove the cutoff. While I'm at it, I align the next piece. I lower the guard, turn on the saw and make the cut. The end of the piece has a taper from about 3/8" to 5/8" from a previous project. Again the cutoff get stuck under the guard. I reach for the switch when I hear an aweful sound. I hit the switch and looked up. The cutoff is caught between the guard, the blade, and the insert. Luckily I was using a cheap blade for this cheap project, because it now look like a pringles potato chip. It appears the cutoff caught the blade tried to move, only to be caught by the guard, and pushed back into the blade. Which then wedged it between the blade and the insert. A ZCI probably would have prevented the jam at the end, but I wonder what would have happened if the piece had continued to bounce around between the guard and the spinning blade with the ZCI installed.
In the end, I found the night very enlightening. I could not figure out how to make all the cuts with the guard installed. Does anyone have a link to a video on how to resaw 10-12" long boards on a tablesaw with a blade guard installed? I'm also interested in seeing how to rip narrow stock (2-4" wide) with the blade gaurd installed.
Fastforward to last night's shop time. I began to make the mobile bases for my tools. I dug out the sander and the other tablesaw. I have two tablesaws, a 1954 Craftsman with the standard miter slots and a 2002 Craftsman contractor style saw with their oddball miter slots. Thinking of safety, I reinstalled the blade guard per the instruction manual on the tablesaw. I decided since accuracy was not critical on the mobile base, I would use the newer saw with the blade guard instead of the old saw without.
The first cut was on a piece of plywood on the contractor with guard. After the cut I realized it wasn't straight and needed to use the sled. Back to the saw without the guard. Next was to cut down the sides crosscut them to length, so back to the saw with the guard, then rip them to width. I then find the pieces are too thick and too short for the planer. I decide to resaw them on the tablesaw. I don't have a ZCI for the new saw and the guard will not let me make that kind of cut, so back to the saw without the guard and with the ZCI. Then I find I mismeasured and two of the pieces are just a bit to long. I need to cut off about 1/2" off a 10" long board 3 1/2" wide (ie., not long enough to catch the anti-kickback prawls). Using the contractor saw with the gaurd, I mark the board, align the piece against the miter gauge, turn on the saw and make the cut. The cut off gets stuck under the gaurd. So I turn the saw off, wait for it to spin down lift the guard and remove the cutoff. While I'm at it, I align the next piece. I lower the guard, turn on the saw and make the cut. The end of the piece has a taper from about 3/8" to 5/8" from a previous project. Again the cutoff get stuck under the guard. I reach for the switch when I hear an aweful sound. I hit the switch and looked up. The cutoff is caught between the guard, the blade, and the insert. Luckily I was using a cheap blade for this cheap project, because it now look like a pringles potato chip. It appears the cutoff caught the blade tried to move, only to be caught by the guard, and pushed back into the blade. Which then wedged it between the blade and the insert. A ZCI probably would have prevented the jam at the end, but I wonder what would have happened if the piece had continued to bounce around between the guard and the spinning blade with the ZCI installed.
In the end, I found the night very enlightening. I could not figure out how to make all the cuts with the guard installed. Does anyone have a link to a video on how to resaw 10-12" long boards on a tablesaw with a blade guard installed? I'm also interested in seeing how to rip narrow stock (2-4" wide) with the blade gaurd installed.