I knew better but did it anyway

[John TenEyck]

I was cutting some shelves to width on the TS in the normal manner. The shelves were only about 13" long so they didn't project out very far behind the guard at the end of the cut, making the offcuts a little hard to reach on the outfeed side. I removed two or three from the back and then got lazy and thought "Oh, I can just move that to the side from the front and then run another shelf through, etc. That little voice in the back of my head said "But that could kick back." Yep, sure enough, when I pushed the first offcut to the side it pivoted just enough that the blade caught it and it shot back so fast I didn't even see it. But my finger told me it wasn't happy. That little 1/4" offcut put a nice cut in the side of my middle finger. Nothing more serious for repair than a Band aide, for which I am thankful. I'm going to listen to that little voice more seriously from now on.

John

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I am glad the result of your incident is limited to a band-aid. Thanks for a reminder. Did it ruin the wood?

[Brian Runau]

As I have gotten older, going on 66, my new rule is never reach with any piece of wood or hand towards a spinning blade no matter the size of cutoff. I will turn it off between cuts if I need to rather than reach. I used to sometimes reach, but with age.... Brian

[Phillip Mitchell]

Glad you’re ok and that it wasn’t worse than that. I like to keep my air hose with blowgun close by when doing cross cutting on the table saw so I can use a burst of air from the gun to push the offcut away/well on the outfeed table and out of the kickback zone without having to stop and turn the saw off.

[Kevin Jenness]

Glad you weren't hurt worse. Kickback happens so fast. That little voice is worth listening to.

A few thoughts: Do you have a riving knife? That will usually keep sequential cutoffs from launching.

You can make a tapered offcut diverter with magnets to shift the offcuts away from the blade. See post #5 here. https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?296703-Low-tech-and-low-cost-solution-for-clamping-stock-on-sliding-table-saw

I sometimes use the eraser end of a pencil to steer pieces out of the danger zone. Philip's use of a blowgun is good if the pieces are small enough.

[Jerry Bruette]

I am glad the result of your incident is limited to a band-aid. Thanks for a reminder. Did it ruin the wood?

Most likely ruined his underwear.

Glad is was just a shot across the bow and not any worse.

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for sharing the reminder and glad you weren't hurt badly. It is all too easy for any of use to try "just that one thing" at some point.

[John TenEyck]

It's an old Unisaw, no riving knife but I religiously use the splitter and guard, and both were in place when this happened. It was just a stupid thing to do. Afterward I put a Band aide on the cut I finished the rest of the shelves as I should have, by removing the offcut from the back of the saw. Any of the ideas you and others mentioned would be good to consider when lots of parts need to be cut. I had just 8 shelves. But that's the conundrum we all wrestle with every day. When to take the time to implement an improved device or aid vs. adding an extra step to make sure an operation is safe. The problem came when I bypassed both options. Lesson learned.

John

[Alan Lightstone]

I religiously turn off the table saw to remove anything from behind it. Yes it's a little more wear and tear on the motor, but less wear and tear on me.

I had one kickback incident years ago. Decent size piece slammed into my upper left quadrant. I'm standing there dazed thinking - did I just rupture my spleen?

Glad you weren't hurt badly John. And provided a lesson/reminder for all of us.

And come to think of it, ruining the underwear.....

[Ron Citerone]

Glad you got off without a serious injury John! I had a knot that was only visible on the downside of a piece of pine fly years ago. Broke my nail halfway up and needed a significant repair by a hand surgeon. Luckily it looks great and functions perfectly to this day. Never underestimate the power of a circular saw....