Resource on how to use a table saw safely?

[jason lambert]

Table saws scare me, this is probably a good thing. I have a festool saw system so I don't need to use the table saw much but I think in my new shop I will get a real table saw, right now I have the dewalt contractors saw. I am intrested on how to cut small pieces of wood safely. Any sugestions or good resources out there. Kickback and slipping into the blade are my bigest fears.

[Nissim Avrahami]

Hi Jason

Have a look at this post
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=63533

In the mean time, I changed the sticks cut-out for a better grip and control but, that's the general idea...

Regards
niki

[Rye Crane]

Jason,

check out Kelly Meher's book "The Table Saw Book" He has also made a video. I read it carefully before getting into this hobby and decided the Euro Sliding table saw made the most sense.

Best of Luck,
Rye Crane

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

Jason
First and foremost - know where your fingers are located at all times. In other words "keep your fingers safe" - if the cutting operation looks dangerous to you - rethink the procedure.
Second - If you are making a cut that is less than _____ (fill in blank that you think is safe) (ex - 2 inches, 3 inches) between the saw blade and the fence - USE A PUSH STICK.
Third - ride your fingers over the fence, if cutting narrow strips of wood. ( Say! didn't that guy just say no fingers closer than 2 inches to the blade?
Fourth - respect the spinning blade - know where your fingers are at all times.
Fifth - STOP before each cut and think through the procedure - (now, that may only take a second, but a second spent thinking about what you are about to do will save your fingers later)

Now, Make sure the saw is set up correctly and safely
The fence should be absolutely parallel to the blade - will help eliminate kick backs. A 10 inch blade has a tip speed of about 120 MPH and that hurts when the kick back board hits you in the hips. :(

[Gary Curtis]

The Mehler Book is great. But for a hands-on quality of learning, get Mehler's Tablesaw DVD. Lee Valley has them on sale right now. It is a bit like learning to dance. Right foot here, left hand there..... that sort of choreography to protect your body.

Gary Curtis

[Eddie Darby]

Most table saw injuries happen with people who know how to avoid them in the first place. The unexpected is the real culprit.

I would build a hold-down jig that secures the wood and allows the hands to be well clear of the blade.

[Bill Wyko]

When ever cutting small pieces you want to run the large side of the material between the fence and the blade. Then let the small piece be the cutoff to the open side (left side) of the blade. If the piece is small on both sides of the blade, tape the fence side to a larger block of wood in order to have a safe distance between the blade and fence. This is ofcourse IMHO.

[Richard Magbanua]

What kind of pieces are you cutting? If I have small pieces to cut I use my bandsaw. Unfortunately, it took a few kickbacks to train myself to do that.

[jason lambert]

I am thinking of getting a sawstop I will see if it will fit into my one car gurage shop. I grew up woodworking but doing small strips on the table saw alwas made me squirmish. Anyhow alwas wanted to try making some cutting boards but requires lots of small rips. I use push sticks but they alwso scare me for kick back since I don't feel my hold on the wood is good.

[Mark Mazzo]

Jason,

I would second (or third) the advice on the Kelly mehler book and video/DVD. Those were resources that I used when first starting out in woodworking. They are excellent.


Jason,

check out Kelly Meher's book "The Table Saw Book" He has also made a video. I read it carefully before getting into this hobby and decided the Euro Sliding table saw made the most sense.


Ryan: Kelly just spoke at a meeting for our woodworking club - I wrote about his lecture in this post (http://thecraftsmanspath.com/2007/10/27/an-evening-with-kelly-mehler/) on my blog. You may be interested that he has gone the route of European tools as well. He outfitted most all of the new shop at his woodworking school with them.

[Pete Clifford]

Jason, when I first began I was very respectful (still am) and somewhat fearful of the TS. In order to start my woodworking hobby safely, I ended up taking a couple of introductory WW courses at my local community college. This provided immediate feedback from a knowledgeable instructor and emphasized proper, safe use of power tools. I prefer this over watching a DVD, but it is also more expensive.

[Bill White]

Nobody has mentioned this yet, but equipment set-up is very important. All the best safety practices won't help if the machinery is not properly adjusted, trued, squared, etc. This goes for ANY piece of shop equpiment. Not only is it safer, it makes the end result much more satisfying.
Bill

[Wayne Ilfrey]

Pay Attention! then, make sure you Pay Attention. When youve done that, pay attention.

I liken working with a table saw to riding a motorcycle. When riding a motorcycle you have to pay 500 times more attention to the road, other drivers etc. on the road.
Same with a table saw (or any other tool with a large high speed blade) dont take your eyes off that blade and your fingers. Dont take your mind off your work.

thats my $0.02

[Bill Ragland]

Table saws scare me, this is probably a good thing. I have a festool saw system so I don't need to use the table saw much but I think in my new shop I will get a real table saw, right now I have the dewalt contractors saw. I am intrested on how to cut small pieces of wood safely. Any sugestions or good resources out there. Kickback and slipping into the blade are my bigest fears.

Along with what has been said already (good advice), there are many safety devices available for the table saw. Two that I use are featherboards (Kreg makes a nice one) and Board Buddies. Both are kickback preventers and well worth the $$$. I especially like the board buddies as they only allow the board to move forward. Properly adjusted one can let go of the board halfway through a cut (not recommended by the way) and the board will not be kicked back. These devices are used during rip cuts only.

[Steveo O'Banion]

.....right now I have the dewalt contractors saw. I am intrested on how to cut small pieces of wood safely. Any sugestions or good resources out there. Kickback and slipping into the blade are my bigest fears.

There are two good videos of kickback on the web. Google The Big Splinter for a surgical video removing a large piece of wood from a mans face. WARNING not for the faint of heart :D. Also google Table Saw Kickback Demonstration for another video out created by a shop teacher. He does a slow-mo view and you can actually see the work climb on top of the blade and get launched, the most dangerous type of kickback because the wood gets to gain altitude. You can see he has removed his Brett Guard (Sold now by HTC Products Inc) removed. The first rule here is never release your material when it is still trapped between the blade and fence, push the WHOLE piece past the BACK of the blade.

I'm a big believer in the Brett Guards we use, the stock guards we bought 30 years ago are junk and create a greater hazard.

As far as fingers are concerned keep these things in mind. Never push your hand or fingers toward any blade or cutter (I learned this the hard way in shop when I was 17). Use a soft pine push stick when ripping 4" or less in width (wider invites kickback) and a push block for 4" or wider boards. Obviously a push block is not necessary with really wide rips.

One of these days I'll get around to posting pictures of the body english I teach my kids to protect themselves.

Can anybody help me with posting picks or video here?

Finally, I'd recommend you watch someone on the saw who knows what they're doing. I automatically disqualify anyone with serious scars or more than one missing digit. I teach with a guy with horrible safety habits and he has cut the same thumb off 2x. He's an example of what not to do, some people never get it.

Steve

[Terry Briley]

Hope this helps.

[Roger Warford]

Don't stand directly behind your workpiece. Use the safety equipment that came with your saw (splitter, riving knife, etc.). I just ordered a new saw and one of the key safety features I looked for was a riving knife with a quick disconnect. I'm ashamed to say that even a little bit of effort becomes an obstacle to me and I don't use my splitter as much as I should because it takes an extra couple of minutes to put it on. If I can put it on and take it off without having to hunt for a tool and git it done in seconds, then I'll do it. Knowing that about myself I went ahead and spent a little extra to get features I knew I would use.

Don't work when you are tired. I read an informal survey somewhere recently (can't find it at the moment) that suggested that most accidents occured by those who had been working with table saws on average seven years. That suggests the number one cause of injuries is a lapse of concentration. Pay attention, use the appropriate safety devices, and have fun! And by all means take a class and/or read up on the subject.

By the way, featherboards are a really simple beginner project. Even I was able to make one without any trouble! :)

Sorry, I realize that's not answering the question you asked, but that's my two cents.

[Kevin Groenke]

I am thinking of getting a sawstop I will see if it will fit into my one car gurage shop. I grew up woodworking but doing small strips on the table saw alwas made me squirmish. Anyhow alwas wanted to try making some cutting boards but requires lots of small rips. I use push sticks but they alwso scare me for kick back since I don't feel my hold on the wood is good.

Jason, if you feel you don't have the necessary control with you current push-sticks, try a different/better design.

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=74815&highlight=push+sticks


IMO, push-sticks like those below are WORTHLESS.
http://www.justfreud.com/Graphics/push_stick250.jpg



We cut 100's of feet of stock less than 1/4" wide (against rip fence) EVERY week, never a problem with the proper equipment and technique.

We use push sticks like this for most operations.

http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/uploadedImages/Fine_Woodworking_Network/Image_Resources/Web_Only/99928490_05.jpg


Here's a good article from FWW on push sticks and making narrow rips safely:
http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=28490

That said, a SawStop would give you an additional line of defense in the event of the unforeseen. Accidents do happen.

-kg

[Randal Stevenson]

Check out your library. You may find those books and dvd's available there.
Read your tablesaw manual. Too many people don't.

Plan on getting a different guard. While I would use the guard that comes with the saw, aftermarket ones with dust collection can be a big help. (can be an overarm guard, that allows splitter use, an integrated guard, that is removable from a riving knife, etc).

Learn to keep scraps the same thickness as your needed small pieces, so you can use your guided circular saw system, for things you don't feel safe doing on the tablesaw.
And of course, continue on with the best thing you have done so far, don't be afraid to ask questions.

[Lee Koepke]

I am thinking of getting a sawstop I will see if it will fit into my one car gurage shop. I grew up woodworking but doing small strips on the table saw alwas made me squirmish. Anyhow alwas wanted to try making some cutting boards but requires lots of small rips. I use push sticks but they alwso scare me for kick back since I don't feel my hold on the wood is good.
for cutting board info read Mark Schwings tutorial on this website. .. the one thing that jumped out at me and "so obvious, cant believe I missed it" was cutting small strips. He takes a jointed board 4-6" wide, the same thickness of the strips hes cutting and glues it to the cutting material. Thus you are cutting small strips yet have 4" or so of "safe hand" area. I tried this on some 1/4" cuts and darnit if it didnt work out like a charm.

[Nissim Avrahami]

I think that "safety on the table saw" is very wide subject and cannot be covered in one thread.

Not only, but "safety" is very individual....what looks safe to one, may look unsafe to the other.

In my opinion, the most important is, that your hands are not around the blade...
A picture like above, of the guy cutting a strips...scares me...his left hand is already in a "ER position"...
It's true that the blade is very low (1/8") but when the piece work passes the front teeth of the blade, the blade is 1¼" exposed and waiting....

Please have a look at the following pictures, I'm cutting bevels and I removed the guard otherwise you will not see nothing but normally, the guard is on.

I made many aids to keep my hands out of the "war zone"...

I'm using the same jigs that you see on the pics, also for cutting thin strips (5/64" or less)

Regards
niki
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[Nissim Avrahami]

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[Karl Brogger]

Does anyone else think that guards or anti kickback devices are more dangerous? Not being able to see the blade is scary to me.

I hate both, and rarely use a pushstick. If I have to rip something that is less than an 1" wide, (I start getting nervous about pushing anything through less than that), I usually just flip it end for end.

[Lee Koepke]

Does anyone else think that guards or anti kickback devices are more dangerous? Not being able to see the blade is scary to me.

I hate both, and rarely use a pushstick. If I have to rip something that is less than an 1" wide, (I start getting nervous about pushing anything through less than that), I usually just flip it end for end.
i have a clear guard and the pawls. I know where the blade is and IMO it reinforces the "keep your hands out of this area" theory. Setting the blade guard down and not moving your fingers will let the pawls poke you, so there is that ....

To me, anytime I can use any other means to feed the wood without my hands I try to do so. The right push stick or guide helps me keep even feed rates and less chance for mishaps. It means that I am THINKING about my cuts rather than shoving wood thru.

[Nissim Avrahami]

Does anyone else think that guards or anti kickback devices are more dangerous? Not being able to see the blade is scary to me.

I hate both, and rarely use a pushstick. If I have to rip something that is less than an 1" wide, (I start getting nervous about pushing anything through less than that), I usually just flip it end for end.
Hi Karl

When the guard is not installed, you are watching the blade all the time while actually, you have to watch that workpiece is pressed all the time to the rip fence.....the first indication that you see that the workpiece is "de-touching" from the rip fence...it is a sign of "Impending kickback"...kick the stop switch...

But, if the blade guard is not installed and you must watch the naked blade...how would you know about the "Impending kickback"...

Almost 99% of my cuts are done with the blade guard installed...In my opinion, the blade guard is there not only to prevent accidental contact with the blade but also...just imagine a carbide tooth flying at you at a speed of...

The blade guard, usually has different color like, black, yellow or red and when it is installed, you can see the blade location without concentrating on the blade and be much more careful.

Believe me Karl, the blade will cut the wood even without you looking "how the blade is cutting".
More important is to keep the fingers "far far and away" and watch the workpiece/fence.

When you are ripping less that 1" (and I would say, less than 2"~3") you can use one of the jigs above...no body said that they are only for cutting thin strips...just extend the "pusher" and you'll see how easy and safe it is.

On the pic you can see my normal set-up for ripping...I always know where the blade is without looking at it.

Regards
niki

http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t104/nanikami/Glass%20table%20WIP/001.jpg


http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t104/nanikami/Glass%20table%20WIP/002.jpg