Kickback on a tablesaw yup its real

[Dave Macy]

Had a close one today. Piece came flying back right past my head. Gave me a nice bleed on the ear but it basically whizzed right by me. I'd heard about it, and always try to think about it but wow.

[Martin Wasner]

You're lucky to have survived I'm sure.

[Matt Day]

Details please! Feather boards? Push stick? Short or long piece?

[Joe Adams]

I recently had to rip a bunch of narrow, thin strips safely and became a big fan of Microjig's GRR-Riper 200. Not cheap but well worth the cost.

[jack duren]

Welcome to the club.....

[Matt Day]

Regardless of riving knife or splitter, a simple featherboard helps a lot to keep material tight to the fence. I don't have a RK or anything and use a FB wherever possible

[Chris Hachet]

Regardless of riving knife or splitter, a simple featherboard helps a lot to keep material tight to the fence. I don't have a RK or anything and use a FB wherever possible

I find featherboards help immeasurably with cut quality also...

[Jim Becker]

Even though I am generally "out of the line of fire" for kickbacks on my slider, I still pay very careful attention to avoid it anyway. The velocity that the blade can fling a piece of material, regardless of size, can be a least...painful...and at most...deadly. It's essential that everyone insure that their saw is properly tuned up and aligned and to use safety accommodations like splitters or riving knives (the latter preferable) to reduce the instance of kickbacks to begin with and also take care in "where" they are physically relative to the cutting operation in progress. Some cuts benefit from hold-downs, too, whether via a good push-block or by mechanical means fastened to the fence. This is particularly true with thin materials that can lift with just the friction of the blade coming up at the back of the cut.

[Simon MacGowen]

You were lucky!

If the fence is set up probably, with a splitter or riving knife in use, the best way to avoid kick up is to use a Grr-ripper or a shop-made equivalent. Those long, narrow push sticks are the worst accomplices in causing kickbacks. Use a push shoe if you have got nothing better.

Simon

[Peter Aeschliman]

Not to one-up the OP, but here's what happens when you're not so lucky.

As I warned at the top of the thread, the pictures are not for the faint of heart!

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...highlight=gory

[Wayne Lomman]

Coming in a bit late on this but table saws with no riving knife? I have worked in shops that were so old the machines were flat belt driven but they all had original equipment riving knives. My father's boss was fined in 1936 for a safety breach like this when dad lost a finger tip.

I also question the validity of standing to the right of the saw when operating it, left handers excepted or when ripping a wide board on a slider. Use a solid guard and correct riving knife and stand just to the left out of the line of fire.

The only injury I have seen in my shops was when one guy removed a riving knife for no known reason. The timber split and drove back into his thigh. We had to bandage his leg and cut off the end of the six foot splinter so he could fit into the car to get him to a clinic.

So please everyone, get a riving knife and a solid guard that can be easily adjusted. And use decent notched end push sticks. Cheers

[Jim Becker]

Wayne, most "North American" design table saws didn't employ riving knives until relatively recently. They came from the factory with a splitter/guard system, but unlike a true riving knife that moves with the blade, those devices had to be removed to facilitate a non-through cut...and once removed, many folks never reinstalled them since it was not a quick change process in most cases. It's not easy to retrofit a saw not designed for a riving knife to have one. There have been a few aftermarket products that provided it for some specific saw models, but nothing universal. So people add things like short splitters embedded in the table insert behind the blade to help reduce kickback from pinching, but it's still not as effective as a true riving knife and not employable on bevel cuts, either. My Euro slider has a true riving knife and I absolutely appreciate it for sure!

[John Sincerbeaux]

I disagree, and would go so far as to say there is a dangerous arrogance in believing what you say. I haven't had a kick-back in some years, and that is indeed due to thinking, following rules, and executing carefully with the saw. But I would never say kick-back "doesn't happen" to me. Just by way of example, a couple of weeks ago I was finishing breaking down some white ash lumber for a furniture project. I'd made dozens of cuts, none of which suggested the wood was anything but rock-solid stable - it was like machining a manufactured material - hardly unexpected in well-seasoned ash, but still a joy to work with. And then with no external indication of what was about to happen, I ripped a 3' piece that was not stable. I didn't get a kickback, but I got a badly burned cut and had to shutdown mid-cut when the trapped portion of the rip bowed strongly into the blade. I finished the cut on the bandsaw, and when done, the board had 3/32" bow along it's length.

This time, I did not experience a kick-back, but that was more luck than planning - all the ingredients were there, and not predictable, and not controllable by just keeping the wood tight on the deck and fence. Wood will do things like that, and wood combined with steel spinning at high speed will occasionally surprise even the best among us. You can bet I've been a bit more careful than usual about where I stand relative to the blade and board in the last few weeks.

I don't think Martin's comment was any more "arrogant" than many "ignorant" posts on this thread that imply if you're not using a splitter and a guard you're operating dangerously.

[Steve Demuth]

John,

You're entitled to your point of view, but if you honestly believe what Martin wrote - that "Kickbacks only happen when you are doing something stupid." - you're going way out on a limb about a lot of good, competent people. Kick-back is indeed made far more likely by poor practice, but good practice does not eliminate the possibility. You've got a material that is not entirely predictable, and are working with forces and timing that exceed what you can control when things go South. Humility is called for in these situations.

This is not limited to table saws, BTW. I work in my day job with surgeons and anesthesiologists that are among the best in the world. Their skills and attention to detail is astounding, and they have process checks to verify that they don't overlook anything known to be an issue (that is, they don't do stupid things at all often). Their results are the envy of their peers. But they still lose from time to time in cases where the wrong set of circumstances come together. The reason is basically the same - unpredictable material, and forces we can't fully control.

[John Sincerbeaux]

John,

You're entitled to your point of view, but if you honestly believe what Martin wrote - that "Kickbacks only happen when you are doing something stupid." - you're going way out on a limb about a lot of good, competent people. Kick-back is indeed made far more likely by poor practice, but good practice does not eliminate the possibility. You've got a material that is not entirely predictable, and are working with forces and timing that exceed what you can control when things go South. Humility is called for in these situations.

This is not limited to table saws, BTW. I work in my day job with surgeons and anesthesiologists that are among the best in the world. Their skills and attention to detail is astounding, and they have process checks to verify that they don't overlook anything known to be an issue (that is, they don't do stupid things at all often). Their results are the envy of their peers. But they still lose from time to time in cases where the wrong set of circumstances come together. The reason is basically the same - unpredictable material, and forces we can't fully control.

Steve,
reread my quote. All I said was Martin's quote was not any more out of line then guys who say rather imphatically, you're not safe if you're not using a blade guard and or splitter. I certainly would of chosen different words then Martin but I think his premise is you don't need those items to be completely safe and to that I totally agree.

Of course we can draw parallels from woodworking to ALL aspects of life. I grew up in a medical profession family. Some of my best friends are surgeons. These guys are some of the smartest guys I know. That being said, there is no other profession on the planet that is more regulated, more scrutinized, or more unforgiving of mistakes than my mine. As an airline captain, safety is the center of everything I do. Ironically, I learned how to safely use a tablesaw before I ever flew a plane.

I think the highest risk guys are guys who were never trained how to use a tablesaw, go out and buy one, and try to figure it out as they go?

Merry Christmas to all