New year's safety reminder - be careful with those jointers

[Larry Fox]

Mine just gave me a little kiss on the knuckle of my right ring finger. Not worth a picture and will be fine but could have been MUCH worse. Thought I would post to remind everyone (myself included) that they bite.

[jack forsberg]

Larry good that is was just minor. I just made a Video of how to manage wood at the jointer/planer that has potential for kick back. it shows how i mill badly warped figured wood safely with machines equipped with ether a Pork chop or bridge guard. It may help some that have never heard of kick back on a jointer.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEtL-lFLmcI&list=UUI6jpIs2zjN9DmVvK2ZAWXA

[Keith Hankins]

Glad it was not serious and they will bite!. Push blocks, push blocks, push blocks!

[Kim Gibbens]

Nice video Jack. But I have to admit that your partially rolled up shirt sleeves hanging down looked kinda scary crossing the cutterhead.
I'm glad your cut was minor Larry, that could've taken a nasty bite.

[Pat Barry]

I've been of the opinion, since my 9th grade shop class, that the power jointer is the single most nasty / scary tool in existence. Jack's video did nothing to sway me from this opinion and in fact I flinched every time he pulls the porkchop out of the way to drop the board down. To me that is terrible practice and just asking for trouble. If you drop the board down and it actually engages the cutter you are destined for a big time kickback. Please folks, don't do this one at home.

[John TenEyck]

Just reading the title of your post Larry almost convinced me not to open it. Glad to see you weren't seriously hurt. I guess I'm in the group that considers a jointer pretty safe compared to a lot of other machines though I recognize a moment of inattention is all it takes.

I've never experienced kick back on my Inca jointer in 30 years and thousands and thousands of feet across it. But I am very, very attentive to where I put my hands each and every time I run something across it, just in case.


John

[jack forsberg]

:rolleyes:
I've been of the opinion, since my 9th grade shop class, that the power jointer is the single most nasty / scary tool in existence. Jack's video did nothing to sway me from this opinion and in fact I flinched every time he pulls the porkchop out of the way to drop the board down. To me that is terrible practice and just asking for trouble. If you drop the board down and it actually engages the cutter you are destined for a big time kickback. Please folks, don't do this one at home.


Pat i can'T agree that the jointer is the most nasty of tools if there properly set and guarded that would apply to all machines. I would agree that the pork chop guard is in no way the best guard for a jointer. I myself much more prefer the bridge to them. My other 2 jointing machine the 16"and 26" wadkin jointers in the mill shop have the bridge guard. The pork chop requires you/me to use push sticks as it opens at the begin and end of all cuts( the danger zone). I did note the machine was set for a light cut so if you were of less then the dexterity to right your name on a piece of paper then placing the wood on the out feed table may be a little hard for you to do. anyone who has done a tapered leg on the jointer has had to open the guard or remove it to place the end that does not get milled on the out feed table(that if set proper does not cut). In fact that's whats happens every time you use a pork chop guard you open up the head to the wood. I do see your point if you drooped the wood on the cutter but there is a push stick/pad in my hand and the cutter is set lightly as i stated. there is no cure for stupid as they say! so yes there is a possibility for this to happen. There may be a bit of excitement if it did but the hands are covered by the use of a stick and the cutter set lightly. Not all but some guards like mine have a fin to open the guard for those times when an advanced milling operation is done like rabbiting or start stop chauffeuring on a jointer.

perhaps mine is not the video that needs a warning when popular US magazines up load this type thing be done on a jointer and with the guard removed. clearly making full depth cuts like that is not required.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZTXvsrzbSQ

[Dan Chouinard]

Nicked the tip of my right hand ring finger about a week ago on the jointer. Straightening face frame parts. Always very careful not to let any bits of me hang low pushing stock across the cutter. My mind wandered and starting thinking about my youngest sons college choices and in a blink blood is pouring from finger tip. Very lucky this time, just lost skin on tip. Good wake up call. Did it after the pass thru. Must have picked up stock on other side of cutter and then brought it back into cutter with finger hanging low. Dumb ass.

[John Sanford]

:rolleyes:perhaps mine is not the video that needs a warning when popular US magazines up load this type thing be done on a jointer and with the guard removed. clearly making full depth cuts like that is not required.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZTXvsrzbSQ

In fairness, said video from said magazine DOES HAVE A WARNING.

Back to your video, there are two questions I have. The first goes to the sleeves, that concerned me slightly as well, why aren't they rolled up fully? The second is this: why don't you move your body when most of the board is on the outfeed table? You are leaning/reaching way out past your center.

[Bill Graham]

Nicked the tip of my right hand ring finger about a week ago on the jointer. Straightening face frame parts. Always very careful not to let any bits of me hang low pushing stock across the cutter. My mind wandered and starting thinking about my youngest sons college choices and in a blink blood is pouring from finger tip. Very lucky this time, just lost skin on tip. Good wake up call. Did it after the pass thru. Must have picked up stock on other side of cutter and then brought it back into cutter with finger hanging low. Dumb ass.

That so brings back 40+ year-old memories of my shop teacher parading a classmate around the shop with his bloody finger held up and shouting :"See! This is what happens when you hang your finger off the back of the board!"

I still have all my fingertips, thanks and God bless you Rodney wherever you are. I'm still sorry for your accident.

Bill

[jack forsberg]

In fairness, said video from said magazine DOES HAVE A WARNING.

Back to your video, there are two questions I have. The first goes to the sleeves, that concerned me slightly as well, why aren't they rolled up fully? The second is this: why don't you move your body when most of the board is on the outfeed table? You are leaning/reaching way out past your center.

What warning? the one where he said note the guard was off so you can see i will not use push sticks with this sleeves not rolled up any more than mine, and the way that his cut would ride over the guard if it was in place and foul the cut. If you did not see anything unsafe in that video there is nothing i can tell you as i disagree. All one has to do is read the comments on the video on YouTube to see this is not just my opinion.

303423


Very unsafe to push the end of a strict into a cutter block taking deeps cuts with your fingers and no push pads of the proper type. My guards were in place and push stick used. that was scary how close his fingers were to an open blade cutter head. Who cares about the shirt when the real danger is the fingers. Clearly you miss the point of this thread and my post. if you use push sticks and guards they help when things go wrong and reduce the danger of being cut. the point being that the pork chop guard requires you to use push block/pads at the end of short pieces. Take it or leave it my help to point this out, not like you payed for it. if you would like to make your point more clearly why not show use how its done than instead of pointing out the meaningless stuff? I don't know how the OP cut himself on the cutter but i bet it had something to do with the guard and or push sticks not in use, Just saying.

[David Ragan]

I must say that I am relieved to see this thread. I am not alone in injury @ the jointer.

My post a couple of weeks ago detailed how I had removed the porkchop, my mind wandered, and I was in for a month of healing the tips of two fingers. I felt like an idiot. I posted it, and nobody really said much.

We all know that a very common cause of injury is disabling the 'engineering controls' (safety guard), and just not paying attention.

The stupid part comes in where we think it is OK to work around all this power equipment when fatigued/preoccupied, etc.

When I am tired, I go to sorting bolts, cleaning, etc.