Kickback on Camera

[Tom Hintz]

I posted a story and video yesterday in which I tried to recreate a kickback on a table saw. I did get the kickback but even with all of the planning and knowing what was about to happen I very nearly got hurt. the video shows very clearly the speed and power of this type of event and if I had not seen it myself (later) I would have never believed how my hand was sucked toward the blade. In the last 13 hours or so I have gotten over 200 emails from people going to their shops to reinstall their splitters or blade guards because of how scary this footage is. No blood or anything (thankfully) but scary nonetheless.

See the story and video (http://www.newwoodworker.com/basic/kickback2012.html)

[Scott T Smith]

Tom, thanks for posting. Your video should be mandatory watching for any woodworker that operates a tablesaw or a router.

[Andrew Kertesz]

That's scary!! You are truly lucky you still have ten digits after that fiasco. Seems like the industry could do something like that without anybody risking any body parts. I won't chime in with everybody else as you already know the foolishness of your actions. Thanks for having a set big enough to show what we all knew in the back of our mind even if we don't pay attention to it.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

+1 on this being mandatory viewing.

Tom - thanks for the video and writeup. And yes - you are an idiot. Be thankful you can still count to 10.

I had one kickback a few years ago. I was not using the splitter/blade guard on an older Delta hybrid because....well, I'd like to say because it was so hard to install and align (true) but realistically, I just did not know any better. The piece flew right past my ear and across the basement. No injuries to me, and I keep the piece in my shop as a reminder.

EDIT: I looked at the video more closely this time (I was in a rush when I first watched it). It clearly dispels any notion that your hand will move towards the blade because of any force or pressure from trying to push the board forward or down. It looks like Tom's hand was pulled into the blade by the pushblock, and there is no way anyone is strong enough or quick enough to stop that from happening IMO.

[shane lyall]

Wow Tom! You're not an idiot you're a dumb a$$! LOL! I mean that with respect! LOL! What you did here is nuts but I bet you saved several users fingers. I use the riving knife every time I can but, after watching this, I will find a way to use it EVERY time. Thank you for this. This video should be included with every tablesaw sold.

I have been ripping without a knife/splitter and seen the wood closing up at the end after the cut. Thinking I could hold it I pushed on trying to hold it a little tighter. I've been blessed with not having a hard kickback. I hear God watches over fools so I guess thats why I still have my digits. I guess I should be a charter member of the afore mentioned "dumb a%# club" myself. Never again. Thank you my friend. You have most likely helped save my hands as well.

MODS....If this isn't a STICKY I don't know what is.

[Mike Archambeau]

Wow that video is scary. Boy are you lucky that the pushblock touched the blade and not your hand. I think I am going to get my hand planes tuned up, so the next time I have to trim a board like you were, I can do it with a tool other than the table saw.

[Mark Patoka]

I've been meaning to install an MJ Splitter that I received a few years ago for my Craftsman contractor saw. After watching this video, I'm not wasting anymore time. That last shot made me cringe. Thanks for actually putting this together.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Tom,
Thanks for making this video. Sure makes you wonder why manufacturers can't offer a video like this with every saw. The 3 pages of printed do's and don'ts which aren't usually even specific for machine you are buying are clearly there to cover their legal butts.. and will never be as vivid or effective as this one little video.

[Russ Ambrose]

Tom,

i think you're an idiot for doing what you did (and i mean that in the best way possible), but i think it took guts to post that video and open yourself up to criticism. i'm glad you didn't get hurt. splitters/riving knives and blade guards are a must. i also really, REALLY recommend the Grrr-Ripper device. i have a pair of those and they are fantastic, much better than any push stick or regular push block. thanks, again, for sharing this.

[Steve Friedman]

Tom,

Excellent video. I am a hand tool person, but had just posted a question on another forum about how to get some tablesaw safety training for my adult son. Not sure it can ever get any more powerful than your video without filming someone actually losing some digits. Has anyone done anything similar using graphics (instead of risking body parts) to illustrate the kinds of forces that can cause that to happen. Based on the different results you got, it seems that kickback does not always happen the same way and I'm guessing that there are lots of factors affecting the way in which the wood reacts (the tool itself, the shape of the blade, the actual physical properties of the wood, and the operator).

Thanks again Tom. Just don't try that again.

Steve

[Aaron Ledbetter]

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

The slow motions shots had my anxiety level at about a 9. It's good to see that you came out of this without any injuries...

This video is going to be a wake-up call for a lot of WWs out there (myself included). Without that push block? Much different ending... You would have had to give the video a 'How-to' title: "How To Quickly Detach Your Fingers"

[Gary Pennington]

Tom,
Thank you for the wake up. SMC and other forums are a treasured vault of information, this is one of the gems.

[glenn bradley]

I am a splitter-nazi; any and all cuts that can be made with splitters, guards, etc. should be. No excuses. You are never in enough of a hurry to hack off a finger. Constant diligence and care will yield you years of enjoyment in the shop. Play carefully ;-)

[John Shuk]

What a powerful video! I witnessed a kickback at a college shop I was taking a woodworking class at. The 10"x7" piece of 5/4 maple flew like a hypersonic frisbee about 20 feet before it hit the Instructor's Assistant in the forehead. The wood had exactly the same groove as your piece.
Your video made me wince.

[Robert McGowen]

This was really an eye opener. Thank you for posting it. I accidently touched a blade several years back and it instantly took off the end of my index finger right through the bone. It has been pretty easy to justify a splitter and an overhead guard since then.

[frank shic]

i cringed as i saw your hand getting pulled toward the blade! please don't do that again... we need those product reviews ;)

[Bill Edwards(2)]

My 8th grade woodshop teacher used to take the guard off the table saw and gather a new class around the safe(?) sides of the saw and cause a kick back about 8 feet into a old french door(rather dramatic effect). Even for stupid 8th graders it made a point.
Couple days later you'd notice he fixed the door for the next bunch.

[Paul Saffold]

Thanks Tom. It's so easy to get complacent and skip the safety gear. It's time for me to make some ZCIs with splitters and 1 without for the times I use a sled. Paul

[Jerome Hanby]

Thanks Tom. It's so easy to get complacent and skip the safety gear. It's time for me to make some ZCIs with splitters and 1 without for the times I use a sled. Paul

Couldn't the sled also work with a splitter mounted on the insert?

[John Coloccia]

LOL....Yeah, that WAS pretty dumb, Tom! :)

I did a rough calculation one time of the potential force of a kickback. I can't find it anymore but I think I remember it being on the order of hundreds of lbs....Arnold himself couldn't hold that back. Great demonstration and glad you're safe.

[Ole Anderson]

Tom, thanks for risking life and limb to remind everyone just how dangerous a 3 hp cutting machine really is. But, what am I missing? Where in the link do you click to view the video? I guess I am the idiot as everyone else has it figured out. Edit: my wife found it: hover over the camera at the bottom and you will see the start/pause button.

I also had an epiphany when I got hit in the gut by a square block I was ripping years ago. Now I always use a guard unless the strip is too narrow for my SharkGuard. But just hearing of your near disaster, I am going into my shop and resurrect an old splitter for my ZC insert for those situations. My old Grizz doesn't have a riving knife, wish it did.

And on my router, I am beginning to use more frequently a standard miter gauge to push shorter material thru the router. Makes it almost impossible for the material to twist and get pulled into the bit.

I would never use a rubber hold down block on my TS for pushing, it puts your fingers way to close to the table top and the blade as you found out, and you depend on friction to push the wood instead of a positive push you get with a notched push block. Not that it would have prevented the kickback, but your fingers would have been further from the blade with a different push block. Rubber hold down is ok for holding it down, but not pushing your stock, on a TS or router. I don't even like using them on my jointer, I may use one to hold it down but definitely a notched push block to push the stock for face jointing.

[Joe Hillmann]

I bookmarked the site to show everyone I know and am looking online to find a splitter for my saw.

[Troy Turner]

Tom - WOW! Not sure what to say about you making the video without getting my post deleted :D Unfortuantely though, some have to see something like that to get the point across...so my hat's off to ya' for making it.

Just outta curiosity though, how long did it take you to get the nerve up to do it?

I have an older '80's model Craftsman. Been running it for years without the blade guard/splitter. Over the past few months, I've seen alot of folks post pics of the accidents because they DIDN'T have one on. Ordered myself one and been running with it now for a few months.

Thanks again for the video!

[carl zietz]

OK, Now I AM A BELIEVER, just one dumb question. Could anyone reccomend a suitable splitter for a jet left tilt xacta ??

Thanks

[Tom Walz]

An absolutely incredible video in many ways.

Incredibly scarey. Really glad you were not hurt.

Tom

[ian maybury]

Hi Tom, well done on a highly educational video. No need to my mind for the ceremonial self flagellation :) - you set out to do something helpful to others, and as luck would have it it worked out. The fact that a wild card got in the mix actually makes it all the more powerful and genuine - it's precisely the sort of thing that seems to happen in most accidents.

It's typically not usually idiots that have accidents either - just ordinary dudes who let their guard down or get distracted, or who get caught by an unforeseen set of circumstances...

ian

[Kevin Groenke]

Jeez Tom,

Talk about learning the hard way. I'm sure you've watched the video frame-by-frame.

Here is a snip from the vid for those who didn't stop it.

224018

I will think about your experience before I consider demonstrating kickback to students here.

It also got me looking for more stupid demo videos.



http://youtu.be/0PzPfzLeDa0

I think that's enough for one day.

-kg

[Victor Robinson]

Really really really really really stupid. I'm glad you were not hurt.

But I'm glad someone had enough of a lapse in judgment to make this video because the video demos of styrofoam kicking back and gruesome photos of injuries aren't effective enough to drive the point home. I'm glad you had the filming capabilities available to take maximum advantage of the [really big and dumb] risk you took. I hope that every single woodworker that ever visits an internet woodworking forum, currently or in the future, will see it. I have no doubts that hundreds, maybe even thousands, of woodworkers are already making adjustments to their saws based on this video.

A groundbreaking moment in woodworking history? I won't go quite that far, but with the power of the internet, this is a really nice contribution to the woodworking community and one I will remember.

[Paul DeCarlo]

Thank you for having a huge set of ....(courage?).....to make that video. NOW DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!

[Van Huskey]

Thank you for having a huge set of ....(courage?).....to make that video. NOW DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!!

In my eyes it takes a bigger set to put the video up!

Thanks for posting, I am certainly glad you didn't get hurt. It does make me wonder how many close calls I have had over the years in the shop that I didn't realize were even remotely close.

I for one will not use a TS without an installed riving knife that is the one reason a TS is the only machine I won't consider old iron.

[Sam Murdoch]

HOLY SMOKES :eek:. You are one crazy dude! Thanks for a great and dramatic/never to forget lesson, but PLEASE DON'T DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN :eek: Riving knife good - push pad bad!

And now to promote a great controversy: My only push stick for the past 20 years has been this or something like it

224024

It is a 9" long soft metal "spike", this one made from an old paint roller frame. You could do it in such a way so that the paint roller handle is still attached but over the years I have come to prefer this. The metal is soft enough that if you do run into your blade the tip will snip off easily BUT DON'T DO THAT!

IMPORTANT NOTE I keep the tip pointed but not so sharp that it sticks so well in my wood that it doesn't release. I like it to hold the wood but not to stick in. The push stick has allowed me great control over my work. I can completely control the end of any piece passing through the saw (or jointer). No other push stick design has ever given me the complete sense of security (and real control) that this design allows. Yes, it leaves a tiny pin prick in all my work. 98% of the time that is eliminated by the next cross cut, but when the hole needs to show I call it a trade mark of safe work. The idea of a pointed stick like this freaks people out until they try it, so you too, please don't be freaked out - this thing really does an important job very well. Yes, I have all my fingers, eyes etc. after nearly 35 years behind a table saw. But, like all of us, I have some stories... Take care out there - keep your wits.

[Steve Ryan]

Quick rule of thumb (or lost thumb as the case may be). 10" blade running at 4000 rpm is about 120 mph. By the time you see it happening and send the impulse to move your hand it is over. I rip with thumb and index finger and ALWAYS hook the other three around or over the fence. Not really a fan of those push pads for everything. You have all of your fingers wrapped around the thing and if something really bad kicks back it will be your fist that goes into the blender. Prob stop halfway to your elbow. You cannot depend on the pad staying in your had, vid shows that. Pad also prevents spare fingers from hooking onto the fence.
Still got ten.

[Peter Quinn]

My word, that is just nuts. I've been on the receiving end of a kick back that missed my face by so little I could feel the breeze going past my ear. Don't think I'd try to recreate that without wearing depends. You sir are motivated in a manner unencumbered by logical thought. Now I've seen crazy TS tricks, idiots trying to wrestle a metal lathe, and I work with a guy that lost most of his hand to a shaper kick back, so I know how that looks. Its like watching one of those police chase shows, what will come next, a man trying to stop a BS with his teeth?

I've never used one of those rubber lined teeter totters they call push blocks any where near a TS and your excellent video shows why. No control, no feedback, nearly lost a finger there. I don't think you can possibly hold back a kick back once its started, that may have been a large part of the danger there. Oh, and where the heck is your splitter?

[Pat Barry]

I appreciate you posting this video. It was very enlightening. Not the kind of kickback I have been concerned with and I hope I never have that happen to me. Now, where can I get a riving knife for my Ridgid tablesaw or do you make them?

[Tom Hintz]

Tom - WOW! Not sure what to say about you making the video without getting my post deleted :D Unfortuantely though, some have to see something like that to get the point across...so my hat's off to ya' for making it.

Just outta curiosity though, how long did it take you to get the nerve up to do it?

I have an older '80's model Craftsman. Been running it for years without the blade guard/splitter. Over the past few months, I've seen alot of folks post pics of the accidents because they DIDN'T have one on. Ordered myself one and been running with it now for a few months.

Thanks again for the video!

I had been thinking about this video for over a year and have been talking to people about how to do it as safely as possible but yet show a full--on kickback. the reason we went with the push block was the rubber bottom that gave me the grip I needed to get the piece turned intot he blade WHEN I WANTED IT AND EXPECTED IT, the push handles just did not have a good enough grip. And with the push block I was able to be pulling on the handle back into the fence while I rotated the front of the piece. That muscle tension rather than pushing jsut may have saved the fingers. As we can see, no matter how much planning and thinking, this was still dumber than I anticipated....

[Van Huskey]

I had been thinking about this video for over a year and have been talking to people about how to do it as safely as possible but yet show a full--on kickback. the reason we went with the push block was the rubber bottom that gave me the grip I needed to get the piece turned intot he blade WHEN I WANTED IT AND EXPECTED IT, the push handles just did not have a good enough grip. And with the push block I was able to be pulling on the handle back into the fence while I rotated the front of the piece. That muscle tension rather than pushing jsut may have saved the fingers. As we can see, no matter how much planning and thinking, this was still dumber than I anticipated....

I bet in hindsight you can think of a lot of ways to do it safer...even though you would NEVER do it again!

[Peter Aeschliman]

Wow. WOW. I just said every expletive in the book. Major goosebumps.

It made me relive my forehead kickback injury... Kickback is no joke- my permanently disfigured forehead is living proof... Be glad that you don't have such "proof" yourself my friend!

Here's my thread in case anybody is curious, but as the title warns, the pictures are bloody!

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?170208-Kickback-Hurts!-(WARNING!-GORY-PICTURES!!)

[Don Morris]

Ten minutes AFTER I put my first TS together and had my first and only major kickback, I watched Kelly Meher's introduction to the Table Saw video. Should have been the other way. That kick back put a black and blue mark on my groin, left an indelible mark on my brain, gave me a great fear of my equipment and led to the purchase of a lot of safety equipment. This video recommends the use use of a riving knife. That probably would have done it, but a splitter that has anti-kickback pawls might have even worked better, or The Grrr-Ripper System (2 for long pieces). Even then, analyze the procedure and if it looks shakey, STOP and figure out a better way.

[Ole Anderson]

There is a reason new tablesaws require a riving knife, they work, and they work better than a splitter. The knife is right behind the blade, whereas a splitter is inches behind the blade, and sometimes disaster is but a fraction of an inch away. Even my Skil flooring saw with a tiny 4 3/8" blade so hidden you can hardly see it has a riving knife.

[Fred Belknap]

Tom don't do that no more!!

[Stan Mitchell]

No version 2.0 please.

I really enjoy your website - but that convinces me that you should stick mainly to tool reviews.

I still admire your intentions for the test though.

[Henry Ambrose]

Tom, I'm glad you were not hurt.

As a caution to all who read this, please be aware that a splitter or riving knife will NOT prevent kickbacks. While either may help mitigate the severity of such events, they are not a guarantee of safety - not even close. For maximum safety, develop methods of working that guide the wood into the saw as straight as possible and that allow for no divergence from a straight path that is parallel to the blade. Your method should be so convenient and so workable that you can and will use it every time you operate the saw, without fail.

Short handled push blocks like the sanding pad used in the video leave your hands too close to the blade - we all saw how that worked. Any kind of metal stick is to be avoided - the last thing you want is metal shrapnel spit back at you, or a metal arrow to pierce your body. For push sticks, wood or plastic are good choices. I use an 18" long piece of wood about 3/8" by 1 1/2" with a small notch in the end. This pusher is placed on the piece to be cut such that it is to the blade side of the center of the wood. This directs the forces applied to push the wood toward the fence, keeping it there and not swiveling back into the path of the blade while additionally holding the wood down on the table surface.

I don't hold the pusher with the end in my palm, I let the end extend back out of my grip so that a kickback does not ram the stick into my palm. The pusher is purposely selected so that its not very stout and it has the edges eased to prevent cuts. My hand is far away from the blade and if something bad happens, the pusher will escape my grip without injury. Should all that fail, the stick will break before transmitting damaging force to my hand.

The main idea I'd like to share here is that anyone using a table saw or other such tool needs to spend some time thinking about how to use the tool safely. Your safe operating technique, used every time you run the tool is what will save you.

[Ole Anderson]

Henry, I agree, there are no guarantees, but let me be the first to pile on about the use of small notch push sticks. In my book they are a no-no. I had one my son made in JH wood shop twenty some years ago. It helped start a nice fire in the fireplace several years ago after it finally broke. They do absolutely nothing to hold down the FRONT of a short board. And if (when) the blade starts to lift up the front of the board, it is usually not a good thing, therefore the migration to other methods which not only push, but hold down the board such as the Gripper (which I have not used but comes highly recommended) or the type of push block shown in the first 2 pics on post #21. Or you can simply make a long notch push stick with a notch at least 5 inches long. On short boards I will use a push block in conjunction with a feather board or a scrap of wood to hold the material against the fence until it passes the splitter. And once the board passes the riving knife or splitter, a violent kickback is unlikely as the board cannot rotate into the blade uncontrolled as in the video.

I understand the theory behind it, but I find Sam's push prick downright scary. Just my opinion.

[johnny means]

As a caution to all who read this, please be aware that a splitter or riving knife will NOT prevent kickbacks.

Actually, a properly installed riving knife should make a kick back impossible.

[Peter Aeschliman]

Actually, a properly installed riving knife should make a kick back impossible.


I agree, with the caveat that you have to be cutting a piece long enough to span the length of the exposed blade and reach the riving knife before the cut is complete. My kickback injury (posted earlier in this thread) happened while my riving knife was installed, but it was because I was cutting a very short piece of wood (really really stupid!!). It kicked back before it reached the riving knife.

[Tom Hintz]

Note: The requests for the kickback video have far exceeded our ability to deal with individually. I am working around the clock to get a DVD (Blu-Ray also I think) put together and into production that we are going to sell through our store at the lowest price we can and still cover the cost. As soon as this is done we will have it listed in my on line store. We simply cannot handle this on a one-on-one basis anymore.

[Dave Wagner]

Yes, that is awesome video. I have had the kickback happen 2 times, once almost took off a finger (small chuck of skin) and the second left a good bruise on my chest from the piece of wood flying, it ended up in the back yard about 50 feet AFTER hitting me...never again!

[Alan Lightstone]

I've become a huge fan of the Gripper, and use it constantly. I still have a similar scar on my abdomen from a kickback incident last year. Outfeed table slightly too high caused it. I'll never forget it.

I've taken care of many people over the years with severed digits from table saws. Breaks my heart every time I see it. I really wish there was a foolproof safety measure that eliminates kickback. We've gone a long way with the riving knife, and the SawStop gets big credit for saving digits it's way, but we still have some way to go.

Tom, you really do get serious points for posting the video. In medicine, occassionally there are very instructive case reports caused by someone doing something notably bad/dumb. The easiest course in maintaining your ego is to just to never publish the case. The whole world doesn't have to associate your name with a bizarre complication (the classic medical one is the NG tube in the brain). So huge kudos for having the intestinal fortitude to perform the public service and post the video. Hats off to you.

[Henry Ambrose]

Actually, a properly installed riving knife should make a kick back impossible.

"should"

Trust me, its does not.
Rely on a splitter or riving knife at your peril.
They help but are not a cure-all.

[Chris Fournier]

Please don't produce a "hand gun cleaning" video; although your posthumous sales would likely be a record breaker.

FWW covered this topic years ago and enough thought was put into the production of the piece that no one was hurt or looked foolish. The video posted in this thread is not instructional but cautionary.

[Sam Murdoch]

I understand the theory behind it, but I find Sam's push prick downright scary. Just my opinion.

Completely understandable to be scared by a pointed metal push stick. I know that any kind of accident is possible regardless of how "careful" or "prepared " you are. Table saw accidents are explosive and no one can be that prepared, as Tom's video so vividly demonstrates. I don't offer my suggestion as the best of the worst, just a very good one for me and perhaps for someone else. Having said that and having tried every manner of push stick or pads - they all have their deficiencies. The one I use has given me the GREATEST CONTROL of any. The biggest downside of most notched push sticks is that they only hold your stock down at the very end and give you no lateral resistance whatsoever. My push stick allows me to secure the board 4" or 5" away from the end with a secure down force that allows me to push in any direction I need to maintain control. It is a very small contact point that lets me hold down smaller stock or profiled stock without getting anywhere near the blade. I have NEVER nicked off the end of one of these in over 20 years of use.

I do have Table Saw rules that I adhere to very strictly (and insist that everyone who has ever worked with/for me follow as well - though I do not impose the use of "my push stick" on anyone). Safety and comfort with a procedure is too personal. Just a few rules that have guided me trough my professional career behind a table saw: 1st - I don't pass any piece of wood through the saw that is not longer than the exposed blade. I want as much bearing on the fence as possible so I try to keep every piece longer than I need until it is ripped to size and plan my stock use accordingly. I would rather throw away 3" of a board than 3 fingers any day. 2) Never rip a board in such a way that a pointed cut off is facing towards me - thick end to the driver - always. 3) Don't push one piece of stock through with another leaving your cutoffs to fall to the floor or cross cut a bunch of ends leaving the cut offs to lay around the table top until swept away. 4) If I must achieve a narrow rip (less than 3/8") I use all kinds of strategies to avoid that even if I must set the saw fence a few extra times in order to leave the big part of the board at the fence with my less than 3/8" piece being the cutoff. Obviously these are just a few - too many safety precautions that are almost second nature to me to recall as I sit here writing. Safety is the PRIME CONSIDERATION for me - everything else, economy, speed, easy, are all far behind as a priority if they compromise safety. I would never have done Tom's cut even without the "controlled" demonstration - the length of that piece of wood violated my rule # 1.

OK, enough of what you already know. Just adding to an important discussion. Thanks.

Sam

[phil harold]

Note: Demand for this video has gone way beyond what we can handle individually. We are in the process of creating a DVD
so now I have to buy this to see it?

[Roger Feeley]

For what it's worth, they run a class at the Kansas City Woodworkers Guild in table saw safety. Using that pink hard foam insulation, they purposely reproduce all sorts of kickbacks so people can get a feel for what not to do. I've never taken the class but I guess foam flies all over the place and a great time is had by all.

[Kevin Gregoire]

wow, that was a nasty video and amazing how close your fingers came!

that reminded me of my first days in shop class back in high school where our
instructor had a jar of formaldehyde with two fingers inside of it hanging above
the table saw and was a good reminder every time we used the saw to do it
correctly!

[Kevin Groenke]

Hey Tom, why not just put it into the cloud?

IMO some push devices are worse than none at all. The classic "PUSH STICK" and derivatives thereof do not provide adequate stock control since they hold down only the back of the board. As far as I'm concerned, an educator demonstrating with such a device or a manufacturer selling or including one with a saw is toeing the line of negligence. It's simply not the best tool for the job, just looking at pictures of them makes me uncomfortable. A pointed metal rod? Not in my shop.


http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=224323&stc=1 http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=224324&stc=1 http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=224325&stc=1 http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=224326&stc=1

An effective push device provides sufficient surface area and control geometry to hold stock down while pushing it forward. There is physical connection with both the top and the back of the stock being cut (not just friction on top from a rubber pad) and the users's hand is kept a safe distance from the blade. Entrapping the user's hand in the device itself should be avoided (as Tom's video demonstrates, a push device can actually pull a user's hand into a spinning blade in the event of a kickback.) A single design will likely not do all tasks equally well.

There are many good push devices to be bought, they're also easily made. Since these things do get cut up in routine use, they shouldn't be precious. The Gripper seems like an effective design, but at the rate things get damaged in our student shop, making them ourselves is more cost effective. We make the first below and a couple other iterations by the dozens on our cnc and toss them when they get chewed up.

224367 224366 224368224369

-kg

[Henry Ambrose]

The first one pictured above (and re-posted here below) is very nice but in use it needs to be placed on the half of the stock nearest the blade. Pushing in the position as shown in the picture will result in the stock being directed away from the fence and into the blade. I suspect you did not mean to show it this way but only to stand it up for the photo. Without words though, the picture says something else.

The other thing is that most of this thread has revolved around little scraps of wood that ought to be burned or discarded. That's my official position, but I do the same frequently and sometimes worse. Until you can figure out a really fool proof way to saw small scraps you're much better off not doing it at all. By the time a piece of wood gets to the around the size of our palm (and maybe not that small) it is too small to be cut safely on a table saw.



http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=224367&d=1329699315

[Larry Frank]

I can not believe that anyone would be dumb enough to do that. While it is somewhat instructional, it is just dumb. He came so close to cutting his finger.

[Tom Hintz]

I bet in hindsight you can think of a lot of ways to do it safer...even though you would NEVER do it again!

Yup. You don't have to worry about me doing that again! Maybe next we will investigate playing in traffic or something.....

[Tom Hintz]

so now I have to buy this to see it?

Yes. It's a get rich quick scheme. Or, you can just watch the one at the original link for free.

[Phil Thien]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing that.

[phil harold]

Tom, thanks for risking life and limb to remind everyone just how dangerous a 3 hp cutting machine really is. But, what am I missing? Where in the link do you click to view the video? I guess I am the idiot as everyone else has it figured out. Edit: my wife found it: hover over the camera at the bottom and you will see the start/pause button.

Yes. It's a get rich quick scheme. Or, you can just watch the one at the original link for free.

Now i am the dumb one I finally found the link...

[George Gyulatyan]

For those asking where they can get aftermarket splitters or riving knives, I got a set of splitters for my Jet ProShop from http://www.leestyron.com/sharksplitter.php. They're great.

Knowing what I know now, I wish I had purchased a table saw with a riving knife instead of the ProShop. With splitters, unless you make custom ZCIs with glued in splitters at various distances, you are always likely to have the splitter far enough away from the sawblade to render it ineffective. Riving knife OTOH follows the blade very closely.

[Sam Murdoch]

Here is a link that might prove useful for an aftermarket conversion:http://www.garymkatz.com/ToolReviews/riving_knife.html

[Jason Roehl]

Tom, I'm glad you weren't hurt, but let's be realistic about what really happened here.

The reason your hand came close to the blade is because when you twisted your hand to cause the kickback, you moved your hand toward the blade, and you were standing in an off-balance position that didn't limit your reach.

I'm still a firm believer that standing in such a way as to try to stay "out of the line of fire" means that the user has to use unnatural arm motions that could put hands near the blade in the (now likely) event of a kickback. It just doesn't allow for good control of the workpiece. Stand behind the workpiece, just offline of the blade and push straight through. With wider pieces, I'll push through with my right hand, narrower pieces get a push stick.

It's kind of like having a bad accident jumping from a plane without a parachute, then declaring that jumping from the plane is dangerous...

[Keith Christopher]

WOW. Scary ! I had a kick incident 1 time and that was enough scared the crap outta me. Glad you didn't get hurt !!!!