An emergency that thank God, turned out to be a false alarm

[Scott Brandstetter]

I am sharing this only to help those who haven't been through what I went through and to maybe get you to think about the "what if".

Spent the entire time in the wood shop this weekend...wife went to her mothers. Today, as I always do, was cutting down a 4/4 rough cut piece of poplar and the board began to bind in the table saw. The board was approx 11 inches wide and an 8 feet long. I was cutting it in half and about half way through the cut, it bound up. (i need to do some research on how to properly cut rough sawn lumber). Long story short, the board began to "burn" and smoke was created. I turned the board around, got through the cut and went to the jointer.

Now at the jointer and finished my first board, I turn to get the next board and see smoke in the wood shop. I swear, I thought I had a fire. I immediately thought that I had caught the sawdust below the cabinet table saw on fire. I immediately grabbed my fire extinguisher and then looked at the saw puzzled...remember...things are happening fast, how do I get to the inside of the saw.

I did manage to remember the door that covers the motor, finally swung it open and thankfully no fire. It really woke me up to the fact that I need to be better prepared. I am going to get more fire extinguishers this week and I have also taken time to look at my machines and try to memorize how to get to the guts.

I know I'm rambling but I thought this might make a point to someone else to take safety seriously. I will also not go to the shop without a phone, just in case I need 911.

[John K Jordan]

Yikes! Don't waste your time with the junk fire extinguishers with plastic valves they sell at the big box and hardware stores. I go to a local fire extinguisher shop and get high quality commercial extinguishers that can be refilled for years. (They should be checked and recharged on a schedule)

BTW, the best way I found to rip rough sawn lumber, especially large boards and thick boards, is on a bandsaw mill! But hard to do if you don't have one...

I've used my woodmizer to rip and straighten the edges of even those that warped considerably when drying. Since the board is clamped stationary and the saw blade moves on a track, it is always perfectly safe, easy, quick, and gives a straight edge down the entire length every time. With one edge flattened, flip the board over and it rests on the mill such that the other edge is quite parallel. My little manual mill will handle up to 17' long boards. It doesn't matter if the board is 1/2" thick or a 6" thick slab. You can even straighten or rip a bunch of boards in a stack all at once, up to the width capacity of the mill. Once ripped close to size they are easy to rip to exact size on the table saw.

If I had a bunch of these to do and didn't have a mill, I think I would take them to a mill. I suspect a small operator would do them cheap since it is so quick and takes little effort compared to sawing a log.

JKJ

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Scott, good to hear that you didn't have a fire.

If you have a conventional table saw, don't use it for breaking down rough lumber unless you make a jig with clamps to hold the wood. The jig then runs along the fence.

Obviously make sure you have a guard and riving knife or splitter installed.

The safest way to do it is with a band saw or a sliding table saw.....Regards, Rod.

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for the reminder. I need to check my extinguisher.

[glenn bradley]

always glad to have a reminder about shop safety. I ws helping someone in their shop and managed to get a gnarly splinter, the kind you can yank back out without need to look for tweezers. Anyway, I find thatif I stop and put a squirt of neosporin or like antibiotic goo on minor cuts and slap a band-aid on them, they don't get angry with me for continuing to work and they are pretty much gone by tomorrow. So, I turn and ask the guy (who claims he has his shop safety "worked out to the nines") and he starts to head for the house. I ask him where he is going and he say "to get you a band-aid". After I am bandaged up I ask him why he didn't just get one from his first aid kit . . . . He says "Oh, I was looking for that the other day and couldn't remember where I put it".

A long drawn out way of saying that shop safety is like exercise equipment. You have to actually practice the activity, not just prepare for it or talk about it. Thanks again for the reminder. I just checked my extinguishers and one is due for a charge.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Not having access to a mill, a regular bandsaw with a fence would also do the job equally well.

[John Lankers]

Thanks for the heads up reg. the fire extinguishers, I have several but haven't even checked them in years.
For breaking down rough lumber I'm fortunate to have a Felder with sliding table so I just clamp the board to the slider and make the cut with the riving knife in place of course. Otherwise I'd use the bandsaw or a circ. saw.

[John K Jordan]

Not having access to a mill, a regular bandsaw with a fence would also do the job equally well.

Having done quite a bit of both, I think that while the bandsaw with fence would be much better than the tablesaw, the mill would do the job even better and be far quicker (This assumes the boards are not too short to clamp - on my mill under 4' is too short without a jig) I was struggling once ripping some lumber when it suddenly hit me, duh - I had a better way just a few steps away!

It takes less than 10 seconds to push my manual mill through 8' of 4/4 or 8/4 oak. The result is a perfectly straight jointer-ready edge even with a warped board. This takes just a bit longer if I gang a bunch of boards. A band mill is made for this sort of cut.

With one of my shop bandsaws there is a lot of holding, supporting, guiding, and sometimes drift control. Even with a very long fence a warped board can be a challenge without a jig. Once two of us resawed a rough-sawn fir 3x12 into four boards - this sort of operation is FAR FAR easier and quicker on a band mill.

JKJ

[Derek Stockley]

i need to do some research on how to properly cut rough sawn lumber

Lots of good suggestions on this thread already about how to do this, but many of them are talking about top dollar gear. Before I got a good band saw, I clamped boards to saw horses and used either my jig saw or my hand held circular saw for cutting rough lumber to fit my jointer. I snapped a chalk line on the board leaving a little extra tolerance just in case I didn't cut straight and followed that line by eye.

I was taught to never cut rough lumber on a table saw. The only wood that I was taught is appropriate for a table saw is wood that has been surfaced flat on the bottom face and at least one adjacent edge jointed square and straight to make good contact with the fence and the table.