old age does not prevent stupid

[Larry Craft]

No safety devices available would have prevented this. I was sawing a 2' x 4' piece of 1/4" plywood in half, and used the fence as a guide, as i have a thousand times. BAD MOVE! When the piece parted the cutoff moved and turned the trapped part into the back of the blade. It came back over the blade at 125mph and hit me in the lower abdominal area, made a gigantic bruise but nothing permanent. No emergency room trip, but by far the hardest lick i have ever had. Lesson learned.

[Jim Foster]

Do you have a riving knife? By the way, glad your OK :)

[Steve Rost]

Glad your OK. Similar thing happened to me years ago, knocked my breath out, will always remember it. It changed the way I do things for sure.

[glenn bradley]

Glad your OK too. Kickback is never a good thing. Curious to the wording though; your post makes it sound like your saying you should have done this without the fence(?).

[John Lanciani]

No safety devices available would have prevented this...

A riving knife or splitter and an overhead guard will 100% prevent this type of accident. Glad you're OK but please don't think accidents like this have to happen because they are very easily prevented.

[Rod Sheridan]

Nope, but splitters/riving knives and guards do.

Glad your sort of OK.............It could have been much worse.

[Peter Quinn]

Glad you are ok, sorry for the harsh reminder that TS's can be dangerous if used improperly. I've been there. Good opportunity to rethink work practices at a relatively low cost, meaning no surgeries.

[Steve Juhasz]

I had the exact same thing happen to me as well when I was very new to table saws. Also the worst hit I ever felt, and to this day I am really really glad that table saws are not 2 inches lower or that I am not a few inches taller. That would have been permanent. But it is amazing how such an experience stays with you and makes you careful every time you are on a machine.

[Wade Lippman]

In addition to the splitter and overhead guard, I started using pushblocks. With all three kickback is pretty much impossible. (note the "pretty much"...)

I had a kickback with an overhead guard; it kinda rattled up and down and came out very weakly. It works!

[John Piwaron]

Congratulations on woodworking into your 90s. Clearly you're not letting your old age keep you in front of a TV.

I agree with the others - safety devices would prevent what happened to you. But sometimes they can't be used. When they can't, stand out of the way of the trajectory of the "missile". I was cutting tenons with my saw the other day and one of the little off cuts got launched. It's a good thing to be standing on the far side of the fence pushing the tenon jig. Very good. No perforations in me. :)

[Craig Behnke]

had a similar thing happen with a much smaller piece of baltic birch ply, about a 4"x4" piece kicked back, hit my thumb and careened off to hit my thick leather belt...just missing my 'nads by a few inches. within 10 seconds, my thumb looked like there was an entire golf ball under the skin....that's how quick and how severe the swelling was.

I could move it around no problem, no pain. I iced it for a good 30 minutes. 2-3 hours later the swelling was gone. Had a nice bruise, but no other damage.

Scared the living heck out of me. I forgot to lock down the fence...it moved, the piece twisted...the kickback ensued.

[Mike Goetzke]

Might be time to "re-think" how you cut sheet goods. I have a track saw system and actually sold my Uni once I was familiar with it. I use both a clamped rail and Universal Edge Guide for all my cuts.


Mike

[Steve Peterson]

I was cutting tenons with my saw the other day and one of the little off cuts got launched. It's a good thing to be standing on the far side of the fence pushing the tenon jig. Very good. No perforations in me. :)

I usually put in the dado insert on my saw when I use the tenoning jig. This opens up a big hole for the cutoff to fall into. Otherwise, they become loose trapped pieces and sometimes can go flying. My garage door has a few dings from before using the dado insert.

Steve

[Joe Scharle]

Both of my kickbacks have been with 1/4" plywood. Wonder if this is universal?

[Ole Anderson]

If the piece is not too big, almost impossible to get a kickback when using a sled with a rear fence. And as mentioned, a splitter greatly reduces the chances of a kickback. I am real careful when using the fence on anything almost square, and then NEVER small square pieces. With larger square pieces of ply, make sure you keep pressure toward the fence until you completely clear the blade, and then stand clear. I learned my lesson:

[Rick Potter]

I remember the day that happened to me. Later that day I bought me a Beis splitter. Up untill that time, I didn't think it was worth the money.

Rick Potter

[Gerry S. Wojtowicz]

I'm not too sure I understand. Are these projectiles launching directly behind the blade or on one side or other of the blade. I've not yet had an accident of that nature. I always use a splitter and always stand to the side of the blade and always use push blocks. Did these accidents happen even with those various safety precautions in place?

[Todd Brewer]

I'm not comfortable using push blocks. I've bought some various types in the last couple of months after reading these kinds of stories. Tried them, they're just OK in my book. To tell you the truth, they make me nervous. I don't feel I have good control of the work piece. And lack of confidence leads to accidents. I feel like I have a lot more control using my hands to move the wood through the saw and can keep the wood pushed against the fence better than with a push block. Of course for small pieces I use a push stick. I have added a magswitch feather board which I really like.

Should I be re-educated?

I did have one kick back about 10 years ago. My fault, trying to cut a small square piece of wood. It twisted, launched, hit my thumb, hurt like heck for weeks! I have a split thumbnail to this day. I am always mindful of that day, and always push the work piece against the fence.

Ole, that picture should be framed and hung over your table saw!

[Jimmy Horrocks]

Everyone thinks because its 1/4" ply thats its an easy cut. I've seen more accidents with this than anything else. Flip the piece over and you'll see the telltale "half moon" left behind by the saw blade. The stock is light and a bit flimsy. The blade lifts it a bit, and Wham! Be careful, gents.

[Roger Feeley]

The Kansas City Woodworkers Guild offers a Table Saw safety class in which they deliberately cause such accidents. They use that pink foam insulation. I've never seen it but I guess they make a heck of a mess but it's hard to get hurt by a piece of flying foam.

[Gordon Eyre]

Same thing happened to me about three months ago. Bad cut on my thumb and a huge bruise on my abdomen. In my years of woodworking this is the second time this has happened with the first requiring 14 stitches in the palm side of my hand. I think I have finally learned my lesson.

[Lee Ludden]

Here is a scary kickback video. http://youtu.be/u7sRrC2Jpp4

I had a similar thing that happened to you happen to me soon after I got my Unisaw. Before I used my saw again, I purchased an MJ Splitter ( http://www.microjig.com/products/mj-splitter/index.shtml ) and a GRripper push block. I feel much more confident with these when I make my cuts.

[johnny means]

Crossing cutting against the fence is a dangerous practice. Some sort of crosscut sled is in order.

[Keith Weber]

Larry (the OP) said that he was trying to cut a 2' x 4' sheet of plywood in half using the fence as a guide. I'm pretty sure I know what he meant because I'm familiar with the usual kickback scenarios, but for clarification to newbies... I believe that he was crosscutting the piece into two 2' x 2' pieces, and not ripping it into two 1' x 4' pieces. As mentioned, crosscutting with the right edge riding along the fence is a bad idea.

I have to agree with Todd, in that I am not a fan of push sticks for larger pieces where you have sufficient room for your hands to be away from the blade. I feel my hands give me more control of the piece. Having said that, however, I love my Gripper for this purpose. It gives me lots of, well... Grip, and I don't have to lick my fingertips to keep my dry hands from sliding across the plywood!

[Ole Anderson]

Skinny push sticks should be banned from your shop. You need something that will not just keep your fingers clear of the blade, but that will hold the workpiece down and prevent lifting. I have a third one made from 1/8" masonite for thin rips.

[James Nugnes]

Not to pick one item out of this thread but the very idea of my dry hand sliding across the piece sends shivers up my spine.

[Keith Weber]

James, my comment about my hands sliding was just my feeble attempt at light humor. I assure you -- this isn't something that I'd let happen.

Keith

[Steve Rost]

If you haven't already make yourself a wooden insert for your dado blade. In an hour or so you can make a half dozen. This makes for a Zero Clearance for your blades. Much safer.

[James Nugnes]

Although I have seen people pushing material toward a spinning blade in ways that make you cringe. I am often reluctant to say anything but it does bother the heck out of me.

[Chris Fournier]

I personally would have no qualms about doing what the OP stated that he did and I have done so for over 20 years. 2' is plenty of reference surface against the fence given the material and the size of the original piece for this operation. I would not however undertake this task without a splitter or riving knife in place. It goes without saying that a cross cut sled would be a better choice but it is by no means necessary in this scenario to ensure safety in my experieince and opinion.