OMG!!! I can't believe he did this!

[Julie Moriarty]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7sRrC2Jpp4

[Phil Thien]

It is a good lesson. Thankfully he wasn't hurt!

[Ron Kellison]

Human beings seem to need a baseline reference for "stupid" and this guy has earned a place of honor. I've made some stupid mistakes in the shop and given my share of blood but I take some comfort from the fact that I've never repeated the same error. And I'm sure that I wouldn't 1) attempt to replicate it, 2) video it and 3) publish the video!

[Harold Burrell]

Yeah...I've seen this before. But I could watch it a hundred times and it would still freak me out! :eek:

[HANK METZ]

It is clear the demonstrator is no safety expert, just a guy trying to replicate a past incident and analyze what went wrong and to exhibit what not to do and sharing that with the woodworking community. He very well could have sustained grievous and permanent hand injury or digital amputation, but his motive was pure so I’ll give him an “A” for effort, but an “F” for execution.

- Beachside Hank
Improvise, adapt, overcome; the essence of true craftsmanship.

[Jim Matthews]

The originating poster has admitted that this was a bad idea, in hindsight.

The table saw, and it's bastard step-child (the Radial arm saw) were two implements I never considered in my shop.
I'm still on the fence about my jointer...

[Dick Mahany]

I've seen intentional kickbacks demonstrated with styrofoam sheet. Totally gets the point across and MUCH safer.

[Bill Edwards(2)]

I'm glad he wasn't hurt and it would not make me feel any better calling him names

that he's already called himself.

I had an 8th grade shop teacher that taught every new class (4 a year)

how the table saw kicked back and demolished a french door, that he rebuilt 4 times

a year. Don't remember the specifics, but it was scary.

[ray hampton]

I'm glad he wasn't hurt and it would not make me feel any better calling him names

that he's already called himself.

I had an 8th grade shop teacher that taught every new class (4 a year)

how the table saw kicked back and demolished a french door, that he rebuilt 4 times

a year. Don't remember the specifics, but it was scary.


are this french door in France ?

[michael flay]

He should look into a sawstop if he is going to continue these kind of demo's!!!!!!

[Joe Adams]

I have a confession to make. I use the blade guard on my table saw. There I said it. I'm a woodworker and I use the blade guard on my table saw.

It only takes a minute to remove it for special situations and a minute to re-install it for everything else.

The way I see it my table saw can remove fingers in quite a bit less time but it's going to take a lot longer to get used to not having them.

[HANK METZ]

The originating poster has admitted that this was a bad idea, in hindsight.

The table saw, and it's bastard step-child (the Radial arm saw) were two implements I never considered in my shop.
I'm still on the fence about my jointer...

Current deprecated description of the radial saw is:
The table saw, and it's "al-Qaeda-linked" step-child (the Radial arm saw)...

- Beachside Hank
Improvise, adapt, overcome; the essence of true craftsmanship.

[Peter Quinn]

I love this guy. He puts his pants on one leg at a time. He's got some good reviews and other info out there on the web, real straight forward. This isn't one of those. But he sure gets the point across. That last slow motion shot makes it look like he missed amputation by millimeters. Its difficult to convey complex information, like how a kick back evolves, the feeling and sound of a board getting loose, coming back, the anxiety it causes. Thats the only video I've seen that comes close to examining the real thing, because it is unfortunately the real thing. So kudos to him for getting the point across real quick and clear. And at great personal risk. I just hope he never does a video on gun safety.

[Keith Bohn]

I've seen intentional kickbacks demonstrated with styrofoam sheet.

It's funny, cutting Styrofoam on a table saw would seem to be something rather benign, it isn't. You really have to keep your wits about you.

[Dave Cav]

I downloaded this video to a thumb drive and it's part of my table saw safety presentation at school. It really gets their attention.

[Ryan Lee]

A buddy of mine lowered a board onto a dado blade recently and the board kicked out and his palm went flat into the dado blade. The docs are saying that he won't have use of his hand for at least two years and that will only be about 40%. Table saws can be very scary. I know it makes me think twice when I'm using mine.

[Lee Schierer]

I'm not impressed. Intentionally creating dangerous situations without regard as to what could potentially go wrong is just wrong. As noted by others he came with in millimeters of losing a finger or two. His router set up even for the first pass was basically wrong. If he is going to remove 1/4" of material from the side of a board as if jointing the board then he needs a stepped fence to support the piece on the out feed side as he nears the end of the cut. His climb cutting was at least partially produced by him pushing the piece off the table and throwing the push blocks. Climb cutting can self feed and should never be done attempting to remove 1/4" of material.

[sean meltvedt]

No where in his vid did he ever say that this was a smart thing to do, I'm with the "A" for effort. He has learned a valuable lesson and has the integrity and HUMILITY to share it in a very public forum of his peers. Kudos to that, and reminder to all to think about what could go wrong before we experiment.


keep it warm!

[Bill Edwards(2)]

are this french door in France ?

Yes Ray, it are in France.:confused:

[David Weaver]

Yes Ray, it are in France.:confused:

All your base, are belong to us!!

oom zig oom zig...

(that will only make sense to anyone who remembers one of the original internet spoof videos...which itself probably only makes sense to folks who played some of the nintendo games that weren't very well translated from their original japanese language)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fvTxv46ano

[David Weaver]

As far as kickback, one of the very earliest power tool lessons I learned was quick receipt of a 1/4" cherry panel courtesy of a 5hp PM 66.

All I remember is "bang" sound, and the saw continuing to turn full speed. The guy who first taught me woodworking had an aversion to safety devices and I wasn't yet exposed to the internet.

One of the goofiest things you'll hear is that people will move out of the way, etc. I never after that fed my hand past the blade, even on wide pieces, and had no clue what was going on until the panel bounced off my beltline and was on the other side of the shop. I was lucky that my panel was wide enough that I didn't get a hand in the blade, but reacting or moving? This video shows extremly well how just fast your hand gets pulled vs. how fast you react to pull it back, even though this guy knew what he was initiating.

I do wish I had my own TS back right now for a month or two, but at the same time, I enjoy not having to think that hard when making a cut. On a BS, all you have to watch out for is voids in the wood.

[michael case]

Ok. I have to be somewhere in about 15 minutes so I could not read all the posts I could only scan them, so forgive me if I missed something. This guy means well. Fine. I don't think he should be called names either. BUT, I am missing something here? He ran a piece of wood through a table saw end grain on the fence. That's what I'm seeing. Please note the directional arrows the poster marked on the original piece. The original piece that kicked back was a cross cut of solid wood using the fence. THAT is why it kicked back. I can't give this guy an A for effort. He is missing a major safety BASIC. You do NOT Do This. The idea that he promotes - that it was the lack of a riving knife is bad info. You can't just get a riving knife set up and start cross cutting solid stock using the fence. This is worse than no information at all - it is bad information. There are plenty of books on the proper use of power equipment available in public libraries nation wide. Before posting this he should have made the effort to read up on the subject. F for effort. This video ought to shut down before some one Does get hurt.

[David Nelson1]

If this is the same video, I do believe the guy demonstrating posted his video, findings, and an announcement that this was a stupid thing to do in this forum a few years back!

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Don't care that somebody filmed and shared a reconstruction of a kickback, but Hank, that current description of a RAS was awesome!

[Bill Wyko]

For anyone to think they can safely demonstrate how a table saw or a router can kick back & injure a person, has got to be the most ignorant train of thought humanly possible. As far as the RAS goes, it's my belief that you put one hand on the handle & the other in your back pocket. It's the only place your other hand is really safe.

[Rick Potter]

I, for one, am thankful he got away with it. By being the real deal, this video is an outstanding aid for shop teachers, and much more effective than a lecture. One interesting thing it proves to me is that you can put way too much faith in push blocks. Seeing that push block torn from his hands, along with how close he came to the blade, were the two things hopefully burned into my memory bank.

I believe he now uses a SawStop in his later videos.

I would like to say to him..........Thank you, but don't do it again.

Rick Potter

[Julie Moriarty]

When you consider the reaction this video gets, the guy did table saw owners a service. I've owned the same table saw for over 20 years and it has gotten a lot of use in that time, mostly without the guard because I found it to be more dangerous on than off. I totally respect the machine and know the damage it can do but to actually see it has renewed and even increased the respect I have for it. My heart was pounding once the video was over and I am now contemplating replacing a perfectly good table saw with one that has a riving knife. I would think that video could be a great sales tool if geared towards those of us who own older machines.

[Bill Wyko]

I had an employee a while back that was trying to cut some 4" round abs pipe on the table saw. It kicked out and pushed him back about 6 feet. It knocked the wind out of him and made a round cut on his stomach. That was about 20 years ago, he still has the scar today.


In 2003 the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that “93,880 saw-related injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency rooms”. Of these 52,000 (55%) involved stationary saws (table saw 38,000 (73%), miter saw 7,640 (15%), band saw 4060 (8%), and radial arm saw 2,300 (4%). (Data summarized from: Injuries Associated with Stationary Power Saws, May 2003, Propit Adler, Directorate for Epidemiology, Division of Hazard Analysis, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)

[Doug Ladendorf]

I'm glad Tom's OK but boy was that close. That he is an experienced woodworker trying to safely demonstrate something dangerous and this happens is all the more scary to me. That slo-mo is an incredible illustration of how the hand can get drawn to the blade despite using a push block and standing to the side. I'll sure as heck keep using my splitter. Glad he had the guts to post his admitted error for the benefit of others.

[Floyd Mah]

I couldn't bear to watch this video again, having seen it posted here once before. What I find truly amazing is the frequency of people posting their stories here of how they've used table saws professionally and never used the blade guard or other safety devices. And of course, they would justify their habits as being correct since they've gotten away without injury and that they were professionals. About the only description that I would have for them is that they are the worst kind of stupid: dangerous stupid.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

... and I am now contemplating replacing a perfectly good table saw with one that has a riving knife.

I traded a firearm for an old table saw without a riven knife... I knew very little about table saws at the time. First time I tried to use it, I caught a piece of plywood in the stomach... so, I started reading.

Adding and removing the blade guard was a very long arduous time sink, so it was never used. It was not attached when I received it, and I never even tried given how it was setup. I did purchase a micro-jig MJ Splitter, but, I finally purchased a sawstop. Now, I can add / remove the splitter and blade guard very quickly; they rarely come off. Also, I have that extra security if my hand does hit the blade. I hope it never happens (I would need to clean my shorts, buy a new saw blade, buy a new brake, etc.....), but, it is a little bit of piece of mind.

About the fourth time my wife said "maybe you should get one of those", I finally pulled the trigger.

[Brian Kincaid]

Use a tracksaw.

-Brian

[Joe Hillmann]

The last time this video showed up here it scared me into getting a splitter for my saw and I showed it to all the local wood workers I know. For some reason or another I never got around to it. When it came back up last week I decided I was going to get a splitter for my saw. When I tried to order it I remembered why I didn't get it last time, it is unavailable. I figured out a way to make one that I can mount and remove in seconds and now have it mounted to my saw. I don't intend to test it but the way it is set up the piece of wood covers the gap between the blade and the splitter it would be nearly impossible to get a kick back.

So if nothing else this video made me a bit safer in my shop. And for that I would have to say it is a very good video.