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Thread: Tablesaw injuries

  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Becker View Post
    In most cases, tool accidents are mental mistakes (including being tired or distracted or rushed), so it can happen to anybody at any time. But risk does increase when folks either don't know and understand the risk or don't know and understand how to best mitigate it when working with their tools.
    I agree with this completely. I've had one injury when using a TS and that was many years ago. I needed to make four cuts and I felt a problem on the first one. Instead of stopping and thinking about what I was doing. I was in a hurry and I ignored the warning in my head and got bit on the second cut. It was several weeks bofore I could make a new piece and complete the last three cuts.

    I know lots of folks do free hand cuts on table saws and many claim they have never been injured. I will state categorically that free hand cutting on a TS is Dangerous and eventually you will get injured. Before making any cut you need to walk through the process with the saw turned on and see where your hands will be in relation to the blade and where teh cut off will go once your hand isn't controlling it.

    Here are some guidelines I try to follow:

    If you aren't 100% comfortable making a cut, find another way to do it.
    Quit working if you are tired or distracted by other things in life.
    Never work when you are angry.
    If you make more than one mistake in a session, it is time to quit.
    Always make sure your push sticks are handy before starting a cut.
    When using feather boards, make sure you can complete the cut.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  2. #17
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    Just to be clear, most tablesaw injuries are just that, injuries. They are not accidents; they are the result of improper operation. The amazing numbers thrown around for tablesaw (and other tool) "accidents" is misleading and a blatant spin on statistics. There may be accounts of a tablesaw throwing off parts due to some freakish sequence of occurrences and this sort of thing would be an accident. So far as I know there is no reliable account of a tablesaw lunging at someone, having the blade suddenly veer off course or grabbing material and throwing it back at the operator all on its own . Sorry to be snide but, the whole "your tablesaw attacked me" thing really lights me up.

    Was that too serious?
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 02-10-2019 at 9:29 PM.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  3. #18
    I've been making sawdust as a hobby for over 40 years. I've never been cut on a table saw but I have received stiches 3 times from power tool injuries. The first time was a biscuit joiner when I tried to cut too small a piece. I miscut one and didn't have more maple. Still was very stupid to try and recut it.

    Last two times were at the end of long days when I should have quit. I pushed through and it didn't work out well. A cordless reciprocating saw jumped into my hand - not sure exactly what happened. Then the next day I decided to try and work semi-one handed and badly cut my right index finger using my right to hold the work and left to operate the saw (left was injured). Could have easily done the cut safely but I didn't take the time, I was tired. Just wanted to get done. That finger is still messed up.

    I bought a SawStop and I like it but a table saw is not more dangerous than other tools but it does get a lot of use. The SawStop adds a bit of margin but there are still ways to get hurt with it and many other tools that will cut me if I do something stupid again.

    I guess it's possible to not know how to use your tools but that was not my problem. Not using safety guards was not my problem. Doing something stupid I knew not to do was my problem. Hard to fix stupid. But pushing past weariness is a bad idea and contributes significantly to stupid, at least in my case.

  4. #19
    My woodworking is strictly a hobby. I don’t have deadlines or any kind of time constraints. Except when my wife wants something. Maybe when you’re on a schedule to Finnish something for a customer. You might be more at risk with that in the equation.

  5. #20
    Tom King said he almost never uses a tablesaw for cross cuts. I would rather use my miter saw for any cross cuts. Since the tablesaw I have has very little room to start a cross cut. I had a tablesaw from the early 60s. And I thought that table top was small. Tom what is your reason for not doing any cross cuts on a tablesaw.

  6. #21
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    I have two Radial Arm saws, and a sliding miter saw. One RAS stays set up for accurate crosscuts. The other RAS stays setup for dadoes. I just never saw any benefit to crosscutting on a table saw. It always made me especially uncomfortable watching people crosscut using a sled with no safety box on the back. My fingers never get close to a spinning blade, and absolutely never over, or behind the blade on a table saw.

    I do this for a living, but never had a boss. I don't do estimates, or deadlines, so no pressure to push too hard.
    Last edited by Tom M King; 02-10-2019 at 6:14 PM.

  7. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    Just to be clear, most tablesaw injuries are just that, injuries. They are not accidents; they are the result of improper operation. The amazing numbers thrown around for tablesaw (and other tool) "accidents" is misleading and a blatant spin on statistics. There may be accounts of a tablesaw throwing off parts due to some freakish sequence of occurrences and this sort of thing would be an accident. So far as I know there is no reliable account of a tablesaw lunging at someone, having the blade suddenly veer off course or grabbing material and throwing it back at the operator all on its own . Sorry to be snide but, the whole "your tablesaw attacked me" thing really lights me up.
    I hear this all the time in many contexts - "it's not an accident, because someone was doing something stupid that caused it."

    Here's the first meaning of the word accident in the Oxford dictionary: An unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury."

    I highly doubt that very many people start a cut on a table saw expecting or intending to be hurt. So, with respect, I think you're distinguishing between preventable accidents, and force majeur accidents. Both are accidents by the common definition of the word.

  8. #23
    Great breakdown by Steve and Glenn. I'm like Tom King - nearly 40 years using the tablesaw daily, as professional with all the pressures to make a living, not hobby, and have over 100 stitches in both hands to prove it (but no lost digits - Thank God). Ditto to all thats been said, except the insistance on guards - can't do many operations with guards in place - first thing removed from my unisaw. I will add these two insights: one - hope you get bit by some machine someday, and I hope its not bad, but I do hope it happens, because nothing will slow you down to hyper focus on safe cutting more than after you first get cut from a machine. You literally learn a hyper awareness of the space between the blade and your fingers, and can likely detect any blade location even with your eyes closed.
    Second - don't cut styrofoam, just don't. Use a razor knife. Even during the rush of shipping. Principle is true for any unique material other than wood. Lexan plastic is also super dangerous - sticks to rear of blade, grabs easily, unpredictable. Learn alternative ways to cut too, like push in pc half way through, pull out, then flip end over end and cut til it meets in middle - no need for push stick then, and quite safe.
    john.blazy_dichrolam_llc
    Delta Unisaw, Rabbit QX-80-1290 80W Laser, 5 x 12 ft laminating ovens, Powermax 22/44, Accuspray guns, Covington diamond lap and the usual assortment of cool toys / tools.

  9. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Demuth View Post
    I hear this all the time in many contexts - "it's not an accident, because someone was doing something stupid that caused it."

    Here's the first meaning of the word accident in the Oxford dictionary: An unfortunate incident that happens unexpectedly and unintentionally, typically resulting in damage or injury."

    I highly doubt that very many people start a cut on a table saw expecting or intending to be hurt. So, with respect, I think you're distinguishing between preventable accidents, and force majeur accidents. Both are accidents by the common definition of the word.
    I do have too strong an opinion on this and I apologize if I rubbed anyone the wrong way. I'm speaking of the many "accidents" that result from using a tablesaw while drinking beer, assigning an unskilled worker to use a tablesaw on a job site, not setting your saw up correctly and getting kickback, doing operations that are beyond the scope of your particular model, doing "just one last thing so I didn't bother with the push block", that kind of stuff. If I approach a machine that I am unfamiliar with, and I am unsure of its state of readiness for an operation, something going wrong is not unexpected, it is likely.

    If I am reasonably able to use a machine safely and a tooth flies off a blade, a bearing seizes up, a trunnion fails, etc. I would certainly call that an accident. Tomato, tomato; just don't jack up my insurance rates because "tablesaw are statistically unsafe"
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  10. #25
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    I agree with john ,styrafoam is the most dangerous stuff I have ever cut on a table saw. Kickbacks like crazy. Plastic laminate is also another hazardous material to cut on a t.s. It can catch and shatter. In 30 years or so I have had two serious kickbacks,thankfully the long skinny one went by me and stuck in the wall. The reason it went by was my training from shop class days to stand off to the left side of blade. Other one was a nearly square piece of plywood 20" x20" or so. This drilled me in the abdomen,big dark bruise and sore for a while. Fingers have never contacted a blade. Again I would credit this to my shop training and good push stick design and use.

  11. #26
    I am instructor and I preach safety first. I have a saw stop in one of my shops. I also have a Wadkin PK in a other.

    The first thing is it is way too many people remove guards.
    The second thing is way too many people don’t have a healthy respect.
    The third thing is healthy respect goes away with confidence.

    I instruct proper body position, proper guarding, proper push stick operations, proper hand placement,.....

    In my personal opinion, a sliding table saw is way safer (when properly trained) than any basic cabinet saw.

    I really wish weekend warriors took a two hour course before jumping behind the wheel Of a machine that can cause finger amputation or bodily injury.

  12. #27
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    Cut my right thumb making repetitive cuts.

  13. #28
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    Most common mistake with table saws that I see (and it seems like I see it a LOT) is people standing behind the blade.

    Another one that never would have occurred to me if I hadn't seen my brother (a career home builder) do it, was reaching over the blade to try to "pull" the workpiece through.

    With the first mistake, a kickback will lead to a nasty bruise or impalement...with the second mistake, possibly a missing thumb.

    I grew up using table saws without any guards. My father thought (and I tend to agree) that many of them obscure your view of what's going on where the rubber meets the road...

  14. #29
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    I believe that, when operators place too much reliance on guards, aids and technology to keep them safe, they are more apt to be injured, particularly if they are easily distracted and have difficulty keeping their head in the game. For example, in an effort to keep their hands well away from the blade, some operators make scary use of push sticks and give up good control of the workpiece.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jacob Reverb View Post
    Most common mistake with table saws that I see (and it seems like I see it a LOT) is people standing behind the blade.

    Another one that never would have occurred to me if I hadn't seen my brother (a career home builder) do it, was reaching over the blade to try to "pull" the workpiece through.

    With the first mistake, a kickback will lead to a nasty bruise or impalement...with the second mistake, possibly a missing thumb.

    I grew up using table saws without any guards. My father thought (and I tend to agree) that many of them obscure your view of what's going on where the rubber meets the road...
    Hi Jacob, I often hear people comment about not being able to see what's happening when using guards.

    I'm not sure why you want to see what's happening? I guarantee the blade is cutting, just like when you use a straight line rip, gang saw or saw with a feeder, you don't have to watch what's happening.

    If you really want to watch, install a proper guard that gives good visibility...........Regards, Rod.

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