table saw sled safety

Does anyone have any pictures of tablesaw sleds with some type of blade guard on them? I was running my saw for about 2 hours today and realize I really should have some type of blade guard on the sled to prevent any mishaps when loading and unloading the sled. I am thinking of just mounting a piece of plexiglass over the area where the blade goes but that may get in the way of loading and unloading when I use a stop. If anyone has any suggestions or pictures of guards that work with sleds I would appreciate it.

Here’s one I did several years ago. I bent the polycarbonate by SLOWLY heating it with a propane torch. The sled has a stop on it that prevents me from cutting through the guard.

Bruce I like that. How did you install a stop to stop the sled?

I don't mind the blade in the center of the sled area but the blade popping out the back really makes me worry. One time putting your hand in the wrong spot when you push the sled.

Now that is a gorgeous sled, Bruce. Nice work!

Joe, I put a block of wood at the back of the fence large enough that the blade doesn't come through. I have a small piece of wood attached to the TS and a mating piece on the sled to stop the sled when it contacts the piece of wood on the TS.

I also mounted a TS safety guard on the far fence of the sled. It is on a hinge and can be pulled down, or left up. I bought the guard from Grizzly for about $15 and already had the hinge. I did this because I got hit in the chin with a small offcut the first time I used the sled. Let me know if you are interested and I'll get some pictures. I'm sure the idea could be improved. (My sled is all plywood, not as pretty as Bruce's. Nice sled Bruce.)

Mike

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Originally Posted by Allen Breinig

Bruce I like that. How did you install a stop to stop the sled?

I don't mind the blade in the center of the sled area but the blade popping out the back really makes me worry. One time putting your hand in the wrong spot when you push the sled.

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Allen, I mounted a stop to the edge of the left wing and a post on the sled.
I need to redesign the stop because I have since removed the OEM wing and added a wider Bench Dog router wing. For now, I’m using a clamp mounted to my outfeed table as a stop.

Thanks Bruce
I have got to get that guard in place. It's one of those just stop and do it kind of projects.

I tend to be almost maniacally suspicious of "safety add ons" which is not to say that I want to do things in inherently dangerous ways, I just approach safety in a somewhat different manner.
I have to admit I never really liked saw sleds because I felt most sleds "invite" you to put your hands in inherently dangerous places.

Rob Porcaro has a sled on his website ( Heartwood) which the saw operator pushes from the rear material guide, an approach that automatically puts one's hands out of harms way. I built a duplicate a little while ago ( I'm in the getting used to it/tweaking stage), it seems to work well and I don't have that nagging sick feeling that I'm endangering myself when I use it.

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Originally Posted by Bruce Page

Here’s one I did several years ago. I bent the polycarbonate by SLOWLY heating it with a propane torch. The sled has a stop on it that prevents me from cutting through the guard.

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You wouldn't happen to have pictures of the stop as well would you? Also is there a strip of plexi between the two wood strips that go from the front to the back, and if so does it collect a lot of sawdust and cause problems with visibility?

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Originally Posted by Michael W. Clark

Joe, I put a block of wood at the back of the fence large enough that the blade doesn't come through. I have a small piece of wood attached to the TS and a mating piece on the sled to stop the sled when it contacts the piece of wood on the TS.

I also mounted a TS safety guard on the far fence of the sled. It is on a hinge and can be pulled down, or left up. I bought the guard from Grizzly for about $15 and already had the hinge. I did this because I got hit in the chin with a small offcut the first time I used the sled. Let me know if you are interested and I'll get some pictures. I'm sure the idea could be improved. (My sled is all plywood, not as pretty as Bruce's. Nice sled Bruce.)

Mike

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I am very interested, I had actually thought of mounting a guard from an old table saw onto the sled.

I am also now thinking of adding overhead dust collection to the guard on the sled.

I once emailed an engineer whose work occasionally get linked here about his poorly designed table saw sled which could curtail the ability of the user to text with his thumbs. He is otherwise an inspired engineer who has many good ideas (including homemade bandsaws and geared machines). Most good designs will have a large obstruction, whether a guard or a large block of wood to prevent the operator's thumb from accidentally entering the path of the saw blade. My sled has that feature as well, but I concluded that the better solution was to encourage the operator to place his hands, and thumbs, elsewhere on the sled. If you look at the typical tenon jig, there is usually a couple of large handles that encourage you to place your hands in a safe location. Table saw sled designers on the other hand seem to be satisfied that the sled fence at the rear of the jig is a good location for the operator to place his hands and push. My own sled simply has two large black plastic knobs attached to the top of the fence which safely, and comfortably, locate the hands clear of the path of the blade. Total cost is a few dollars from Rockler or almost any good hardware store. It can be retrofitted to any sled. I would encourage everyone to consider doing that to their sled. Just a couple of screw inserts embedded to the fence will make the handles easy to attach or remove as needed.

The sled that I am using is a bit different than most, I use it for cutting miters. Here is a picture
Attachment 232314
Due to the large back area I am not very worried about getting cut when I am actually running the pieces through. And once I add a stop and maybe a chunk of 2x4 where the blade would come through if I run the blade to high to keep my thumbs out of the way it will even be safer.

I am more concerned about bumping the blade wit either my had or a piece of wood well I am loading and unloading it. To prevent that problem I am either thinking of mounting a piece of plexiglass over the blade area which will keep my hands out of the way or add stops at the back and some type of enclosure in the front to compleatey cover the blade. That way as long as I pull the sled all the way back to the stop before loading it it should be safe.

Like I said in my first post, I run this thing for hours at a time so after making hundreds and hundreds of cuts I feel some type of safety precautions are necessary to prevent a momentary lapse in concentration.

As a quick safety measure you could add a layer or two or three of wood or MDF across the area the blade will exit to a depth greater than the blade should come through. You will feel when the blade stops cutting your material and feel again if it begins cutting into the added material. A transparent guard and a stop is best but if you just dont get to doing that and want safety, you could throw something on in a very few minutes if desired.

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Originally Posted by Floyd Mah

I once emailed an engineer whose work occasionally get linked here about his poorly designed table saw sled which could curtail the ability of the user to text with his thumbs. He is otherwise an inspired engineer who has many good ideas (including homemade bandsaws and geared machines). Most good designs will have a large obstruction, whether a guard or a large block of wood to prevent the operator's thumb from accidentally entering the path of the saw blade. My sled has that feature as well, but I concluded that the better solution was to encourage the operator to place his hands, and thumbs, elsewhere on the sled. If you look at the typical tenon jig, there is usually a couple of large handles that encourage you to place your hands in a safe location. Table saw sled designers on the other hand seem to be satisfied that the sled fence at the rear of the jig is a good location for the operator to place his hands and push. My own sled simply has two large black plastic knobs attached to the top of the fence which safely, and comfortably, locate the hands clear of the path of the blade. Total cost is a few dollars from Rockler or almost any good hardware store. It can be retrofitted to any sled. I would encourage everyone to consider doing that to their sled. Just a couple of screw inserts embedded to the fence will make the handles easy to attach or remove as needed.

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How about sharpened spikes protruding from the area the blade would exit so you never put your hands there? :)
Seriously though the knobs are a good idea.

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Originally Posted by Joe Hillmann

You wouldn't happen to have pictures of the stop as well would you? Also is there a strip of plexi between the two wood strips that go from the front to the back, and if so does it collect a lot of sawdust and cause problems with visibility?

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Joe, I mounted a stop to the edge of the left wing and a post on the sled as shown in the first pic. The post could be a problem for some depending on how you store the sled. I dimensioned the sled width so it would fit on a shelf under the crosscut table when stored, so the post is not a problem.
I did not add any plexi over the top. The two bars were added later to help in lifting it in & out of the shelf – the sled is on the heavy side.

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Originally Posted by Joe Hillmann

I am very interested, I had actually thought of mounting a guard from an old table saw onto the sled.

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Joe, Here are some pictures of my sled. I use an extra plastic guard from a tablesaw as the cover for the blade. Currently, it is hinged at the front fence. One improvement would be a way to secure it in the up position. I may put a magent in the wooden arm and in the fence to hold it up when I can't use it for the cut. The sled forward movement is stopped by a block screwed to the bottom of the sled and one to the side of the saw table. There is a glue-up at the back fence so the blade is not exposed when the sled travels all the way forward.

The high shape of the back fence in the middle keeps my handes out of the blade. I can't reach the blade with my fingers from the top or sides. The high fence also helps with standing boards on end for various cuts. I imagine you could add some boards in the middle at 45 degrees to guide your miter cuts.


Mike

Hold downs easily attached to the sled base or fence help to prevent fingers being used for that purpose. Other cues can help: if you don't mind the look, you can round over and smooth the edges of the fence only where fingers are appropriate, providing an immediate tactile notification that you should not grasp it elsewhere. It's the same idea as the spikes, really.

Clever idea Bruce. I think I'll add it to my sled.

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Originally Posted by Greg Peterson

Clever idea Bruce. I think I'll add it to my sled.

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What are all the holes for on that sled?

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Originally Posted by Joe Hillmann

What are all the holes for on that sled?

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My guess would be that Greg removes the throat plate when using the sled and the holes aid in dust collection.

Bruce is correct. I use a shop vac on top and the TS DC to further extract the fines. Works well.