Show some respect!

[Jerry Lawrence]

When a long-time friend tells you that you are not paying them enough attention, or giving them the respect they deserve, you should listen. Especially if that friend has 60 sharp teeth spinning at 3450 RPM, with a penchant for throwing small bits of wood at you! Yes, my friend of 20 years, Powermatic 66, was fed up with my lack of respect and took the opportunity to throw a piece of wood at me to get my attention...hitting me squarely in the arm. This WILL get your attention very quickly! Luckily, PM wasn't THAT mad at me, and the wood didn't do too much damage, but it was a very clear wake-up call, and definitely reminded me to show some respect to my loyal friends! (BTW..this is also great advice for human friends too...just don't make them throw something at you to make you pay attention!)
Also...here's a question posed by a friend. Just how fast do you suppose that piece of wood was moving? The motor on my saw spins at 3450 RPM, the blade is 10", the wood was 5" X 1 1/2" X 7/8", and weighed 2.75 ounces (funny, when it hit my arm, it felt wayyyyy bigger and heavier than that!) and I figure my arm was about 2 feet away from the blade at launch. Any genius engineer types out there that can convert that info to an approximate MPH on the projectile?
Here's a pic after it'd had a couple days to settle in:
238845

[Andrew Hughes]

I know how you feel Jerry I had a bruise and cut on my side about six months ago form a delta table saw.I now have a scar not far from the first one I got from the saw when I first bought it.Both were from small cut offs.I did not even see how the blade picked them up .Only can feel it and hear it at the same time.Isold my saw two month ago. Andrew

[Bruce Page]

Ouch! That is a serious smack but it could've been so much worse.
I got whacked in the shoulder once and yeah, I was doing something stupid - but I never did it again!

[John Coloccia]

Any genius engineer types out there that can convert that info to an approximate MPH on the projectile?

I did a back of the envelope calculation one day for a completely different reason, and estimated that pieces come off somewhere between a zippy knuckle ball and a good fast ball. Figure around 70MPH or more. A baseball weighs 5oz...twice as much as the piece you got nailed with. The blades themselves move about 100mph if I remember correctly.

[Shawn Pixley]

My quick calculation has the perimeter of the saw blade travelling at 102.6 mph. So I think that john's number of seventy MPH is close. Resiliency, mass, and air resistance take their toll.

Be safe and feel better.

[Rick Fisher]

I am sure 102 is right but let me do it long hand.. Its been a few years ... lol

10" Blade x 3.14 = 31.4" around ? = 2.616 feet long ..

3450 RPM ? I wonder if the motor actually spins that fast with a blade attached ?

3450 x 2.616 feet = 9025 Feet per minute ?

9025 feet / 5280 feet per mile = 1.709 miles per minute

1.709 miles x 60 minutes = 102.54 mph..

So with a 12" blade .. The tips would be moving 123.1 mph ..

An 8" Blade would have a rim speed of 82.06 mph..


Really sorry about your arm .. it may be a blessing. It will make me super careful. It could have been so much worse. Scary stuff ..

[Jacob Reverb]

Imagine if that was your haid ... good reason not to stand behind the blade.

Glad it wasn't worse.

[Mike Heidrick]

Did you install your guard?

On my old Delta Right tilt arbor saw I got a lesson to use the guard and stand out of teh path - Direct to the gut. Mark is gone but I still remember my lesson!

[Larry Edgerton]

I am sure 102 is right but let me do it long hand.. Its been a few years ... lol

10" Blade x 3.14 = 31.4" around ? = 2.616 feet long ..

3450 RPM ? I wonder if the motor actually spins that fast with a blade attached ?

3450 x 2.616 feet = 9025 Feet per minute ?

9025 feet / 5280 feet per mile = 1.709 miles per minute

1.709 miles x 60 minutes = 102.54 mph..

So with a 12" blade .. The tips would be moving 123.1 mph ..

An 8" Blade would have a rim speed of 82.06 mph..
.


Rick, I have calculated the speed of most of the saws in my shop and the tooth speed is usually just over one hundred no matter the size. The rpm goes down as the diameter goes up. There are exceptions, but 100-110 seems to be the optimum speed.

Jerry, the reason I figured this out is what you are feeling right now. Got hit in the belly, was curious. Glad you got a non-perminant warning.

Larry

[Rich Engelhardt]

Interesting..

I wonder how fast things get spit out by a router spinning @ 21,000 RPM?

[Peter Quinn]

Glad you are ok Jerry. Harsh warning from an old friend. I have a bucket next to my PM66 labeled " fire place". Things the size you were cutting always go into that, never through the saw. We're you cutting a piece that small or was that a cut off from a cross cut? Those scare me .

[Joseph Tarantino]

good advice. 2 stitches in my left index finger taught me that lesson 9 years ago. that's when i got this:

http://www.amazon.com/Vermont-American-26778-Push-Assembly/dp/B003O9G42C

one if the best investments i ever made, especially for workpieces that are on the smallish side.

[Prashun Patel]

Jerry-
Can you describe the cut you were making that caused the kickback?

[Gordon Eyre]

My one and only kickback on my PM 66 resulted in 14 stitches between my thumb and first finger. Fortunately no tenons were compromised in the process. I am much more careful now. Sorry about your arm.

[Jerry Lawrence]

Mike, nope the blade guard wasn't on. I know, I know! It was really the 'perfect storm' of circumstances (read 'stupidity'). The guard wasn't on, the piece was small, the dust collector hose was in the wrong spot, I had just moved my shop and the light wasn't set up right. The lack of light and the d/c hose took my mind away for a second, making a mental note of how I would have to deal with those issues, and "just where should that light go anywa..." WHACK! "HEY Remember me? It's your tablesaw here!"

Prashun, it was a "cut I'd made a thousand times"...which is the woodworker's equivalent to the redneck phrase "Hey, y'all...watch this!". When you hear those words, you know it's just a setup for disaster! I was just shaving the edge off the piece, taking off a saw blade's width or so, making the piece from one inch thick down to 7/8" thick.

[John TenEyck]

Really sorry to hear of your bad luck. Your story reinforces why I always use a splitter and guard whenever possible. Not sure those would have prevented your accident, but they might have.

And everyone wears their safety glasses all the time, too, right? If not, tomorrow would be a good time to make the change.

John

[Sid Matheny]

I do feel your pain! Have had a couple to the mid section that brought blood. Yea I know to stand to the side but things happen.


Sid

[Mike Heidrick]

Is the **** made for the 66? That might be a good option. I really like the RK on the SS.

Get well soon!

[marty shultz]

The older I get the more safety conscience I am but I still take too many short cuts. It starts with "I'll just quickly ..."

Glad you're not seriously hurt.

[Jim Neeley]

Router bit tip speeds? This got me curious, so I did a few quick calcs based on Freud's bit diameter / max speed tables. Here's what I found:

1" 24,000 rpms 71mph
1.25" 18,000 rpms 67 mph
2.25" 16,000 rpms 107 mph
3.5" 12,000 rpms 125 mph

Similar numbers for the medium to large diameters. I *suspect* the lower speeds for smaller bits may include a factor for burning since each cutter cuts so often at those speeds.

Jim

[Matt Day]

My one and only kickback on my PM 66 resulted in 14 stitches between my thumb and first finger. Fortunately no tenons were compromised in the process. I am much more careful now. Sorry about your arm.
Ha! Do you mean the wood's tenons or your hand's tendons?! In either case, I agree it's a good thing neither were compromised!