Momentary loss of concentration > ouch!

[Don Morris]

I have a Geetech 8" jointer with shelix head. I was putting a fresh face on a couple short 7" wide pieces of Poplar before gluing them together. I had a 2" Wide by 6" Tall pushblock on the piece and started it forward, but the blade guard wouldn't swivel out of the way. That's strange? So I took my left hand and moved the blade guard out of the way. Yes...momentary loss of concentration... the machine was still running and I took about a 3/16" X 3/8" quarter moon shaped slice out of the side of my middle finger, just barely down to the bone.

Looking back, I think I must have moved the piece obliqely into the blade guard, that's why it wouldn't swivel. I should have pushed it up against the fence more tightly to follow the fence. (my guess why the blade guard wouldn't swivel out of the way)

I like to think I treat all of my equipment with fear. I wait until the TS blade stops before picking up cut pieces, walk around the TS to get long cut pieces instead of reaching over, bought hundreds of dollars worth of safety equipment: e.g. 2 GRR-Rippers, Biesemeyer splitter, etc..

No matter how much you spend on safety equipment or what safety practices you employ, a momentary loss of concentration and WHAM. Lessons learned: you have to pay attention every second; and I didn't think quick enough about what I was doing (think before acting/engage mind before acting).

[Brent VanFossen]

Ouch indeed. Thanks for the warning. I'm so glad for you it wasn't worse.

[Lee Schierer]

On my jointer, the pork chop shaped blade guard was difficult to push out of the way when jointing wider pieces even if they were tight to the fence. My Dad designed and installed an aluminum strip 1/8" thick and the same height as the thickness of the blade guard that ran diagonally across the indentation of the pork chop. It is attached to the guard with a couple of countersunk screws. The guard now swings easily out of the way even on wide pieces.

[Don Morris]

I can understand why your Dad did that Lee. That's something that will be incorporated to mine VERY SOON! And I'm a contributor, have been for several years.

[Kurt Cady]

Don't take offense, Don, his contributor line is in his signature, not directed at you! :)

[Lee Schierer]

I can understand why your Dad did that Lee. That's something that will be incorporated to mine VERY SOON! And I'm a contributor, have been for several years.


Would a photo be of use?

[Pat Barry]

I think the jointer is the scariest machine in the shop.

[Peter Stahl]

Would a photo be of use?

I'd like to see a picture of it Lee.

[frank shic]

out of all the processes in woodworking, face jointing has got to be the one that i dread the most. heal up soon, brother!

[Rod Sheridan]

Glad to hear that you're OK Don, that's why I like the Euro guard on my jointer much more than the old pork chop style...............Regards, Rod.

[Paul McGaha]

I'm glad the injury wasn't any worse that it was Don.

I'd also like to see a picture of the modification Lee.

PHM

[Dave Lehnert]

I always liked the Jointer blade guard on my Shopsmith Jointer. It is like a feather board that keeps the wood tight against the fence. I miss this on my larger JET jointer. Simple idea.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/images/jointer_mvmounted.jpg

[Mike Cruz]

Don, I thought I heard a noise this afternoon...:eek:

Too bad the rule doesn't really apply here...you know, no pics-didn't happen... Since you didn't post pics, maybe you didn't really do it..........right? :o

[Curt Harms]

Glad to hear that you're OK Don, that's why I like the Euro guard on my jointer much more than the old pork chop style...............Regards, Rod.

I've developed a fondness of the Euro style guard as well for this reason. Of course the downside is the cutterhead is exposed the width or thickness of the stock (1"-2") when edge jointing. My fingers are usually further away from the cutterhead when edge jointing than when face jointing so I guess that's the logic behind it.

[Lee Schierer]

I'd like to see a picture of it Lee.

Since several folks have asked, here's a photo.222828 The aluminum bar is held on at each end with two countersunk screws.

[Don Morris]

Lee Schierer has it right. I couldn't stand it and went back and tried a few things on the jointer (with elec. cord pulled). On a wide piece, the further away from where the pushblock is from where the piece first engages the blade guard, the more difficult it is to make the blade guard swivel out of the way. i.e. If a wide piece hits the blade guard out wide to the side and the pushblock is up against the fence, it's harder to get the blade guard to swivel out of the way. LOML confirmed this. Lee's Dad made a device which forced the blade guard to swivel out of the way, well before the piece got near the blades. I must have been tentative and when the blade guard didn't swivel out of the way easily, like most all the other times it has, it caught me by surprise, and that's when I "lost that moment of concentration" @@##$$$%%^&.

[glenn bradley]

Glad that wasn't worse. Sounds like you are a safety conscious person. All the more reason your friendly reminder is of benefit to us all. We can all have that oops moment. Stay diligent.

[johnny means]

I always thought the pork chop style guard was just plain stupid. It moves out of the way in case of an accident:confused:

[Peter Stahl]

Lee,

Thanks for the picture. Yours really had a deep bend, I could see where surface planing could be a problem. Probably not a problem when you use it as a edge jointer.

[Pat Barry]

The pork chop style as it has been called here, minimizes the time the the blades are uncovered. I am sure this is a safety device. If you defeat it, as described and shown in one of the posted pictures, you could be creating a bigger problem. I would seriously consider the ramifications of this action. Could it be the pork chop needs adjustment?

[Lee Schierer]

The pork chop style as it has been called here, minimizes the time the the blades are uncovered. I am sure this is a safety device. If you defeat it, as described and shown in one of the posted pictures, you could be creating a bigger problem. I would seriously consider the ramifications of this action. Could it be the pork chop needs adjustment?

There is no adjustment for my pork chop, there never has been. The spring is just strong enough to move it back into position when the cut is finished. The pork chop design only works well with 1" or thinner stock. The curved appearance is somewhat misleading as it is almost straight when you try to pus a 3" or wider board into the cutter. As the stock gets wider the pork chop design will actually bind, causing the operator to exert more force to push the board into the cutter. Proper hand placement is essential to good results when jointing therefore your hands should never be near the cutter until your leading hand follows the first 8 inches or so of board over the cutter onto the out feed table. With the altered design the blades are not uncovered any longer when edge jointing narrow stock and on wider boards 2" or greater the force necessary to push them into the cutter is no more than that needed for a narrow board. Again, proper hand location and operator technique is essential when using a jointer just as it is with any other tool.

[Peter Stahl]

The pork chop on yours Lee is a bad design. The one in the ShopSmith picture Dave posted would work much better. I never surface plane on a jointer unless I have push blocks and like you said hand placement is very important.

[Van Huskey]

The pork chop on yours Lee is a bad design. The one in the ShopSmith picture Dave posted would work much better. I never surface plane on a jointer unless I have push blocks and like you said hand placement is very important.

I agree the curve is backwards!

[Don Morris]

The poorly shaped curve of Lee's blade guard is why his Dad came up with the modification. My blade guard isn't so poorly shaped, but there still is more forward pressure needed to make it swivel, if a wide piece hits the blade guard at the outer wide part first (near it's pivot point). A narrow piece would hit the blade guard further forward and away from the pivot point, which increases the mechanical advantage (forces) on the pivot point making it easier to cause the blade guard to swivel out of the way. Regardless, my problem was even though I had a heavy duty pushblock on the work piece, when that somewhat increased force was required, I lost concentration on the process.