Dumb jig questions

Newbiee, still learning......until??

Got this safety issue in my head.

Have a Dewalt contractor saw that came with flip out of the way plastic guard with kickback pawls. Yes it is a major problem sometimes.

Then I see that splitters are on sale, and most of you seem to be using them. Considering ordering them along with zero clearence shield.

Also considering a overhead plastic guard with dust collection, which I have plans for.

But before I do..........

Questions.
So that must mean you have done away your factory safey guards, using splitters. And depending on push blocks (sticks) to avoid kickbacks.

I got a major kick back awhile back that darn near done me in. (had the guard off) So I tend to tread lightly.

Had to take the factory guard off the other day and made a temporary splitter. That worked out great, not perfect just great.

Questions being
1. What
2. Why
3. How
are you guys working around splitters, vs guards, vs kick back pawls.
Believe I have answered my own questions, shall see..........

hungh?.........most of the time i run my equipment guardless....and i have the scars to prove it .......really it`s all what you become accustomed to and are comfortable with......if something makes you uneasy then fix it! tod

Bob,
To me the factory guard and splitter on my Jet CS was more dangerouse then running without one. I would like to have a reeving knife and when I figure out how to put on on my saw I will post it here. In the mean time I use push sticks, feather boards and Don't stand in the line of fire. Have there been kickbacks in my shop, Yes. Has anyone been injured by one, No.

I am planning on some overhear Dust collection when I move the saw to the new shop in a month or so.

Shark Guard

Just reading up here in the Family woodworking about Shark Guards, maybe this may be my answer to splitters, and guards etc.

Like most I find guards to be a pain. I make my own throat plates and my own tall splitter. Keep in that what causes kick back and then watch what you do. Learn to work to minimize the chances of it. Thats the biggest part to me.

Once I finally get to work on DC I want an overhead guard on mine too.

I'm another who doesn't use the factory guard that came with my saw. (Ridgid TS3650) I installed it, but never even did a single cut with it on, since I could tell it would only get in my way, and that's more dangerous to me than having the blade exposed.

However, I'm a FIRM believer in zero-clearance inserts (a.k.a. throat plates) and splitters. I use the plastic MicroJig splitter and like it a lot. If and when I break it, I'll likely buy their new metal splitter. I also swear by the Grrripper push block system, also from MicroJig. It gives me much better control than any pushsticks I've ever used, and I've used a lot of em' before learning about the Grrripper.

As Tod said though, what works for one guy feels totally wrong to the next, so I'd say try several different techniques or approaches (being extra aware of anything that feels wrong to you, of course) and decide which devices feel best to you.

HTH -

I hear you about the stock blade guard, I tossed the one that came on my DeWalt BT744, but I did keep the part that acts as a splitter with the pawls on it..........











OK, it is not the easiert thing to remove and replace, but it works fairly well. I have a few shopmade zero clearance inserts too, and one or two have a wooden splitter attached to it.

The gripper is a great thing, and I guess worth the price, but I always seem to bump it off my list when I go to buy stuff.

I made one up of my own, it is a piece of 2x6 about 8" long, with a handle on top, then a piece of plywood on the back of it that is attached via slots abd screws, so the plywood can slide down past the back of the block, to act as a hook of sorts, the blade is then buried into the 2x6 on each cut.

I'll take a pic of it next time I'm in the dungeon, is it no Gripper but it is a lot better than just a push stick, IMHO.

Cheers!

Well I finally got around to posting the pics of this homemade gripper like thing.....















Works like a charm.

Cheers!

Good idea for a push block, Stuart. I have an extra pair of plastic push blocks laying around somewhere - I'll just attach them to scraps of 2x10.

Cheers,

Kevin

Simple. Makes eminently good sense.
BTW, every time I see the title to this thread, I wonder, "Wats a dumb jig?"

I don't know anyone who uses the factory installed guard. I think they are just cya for the manufacturers.

Like Vaughn, I'm a gripper fan. They feel much safer to me than other pushsticks and since they press on both sides of the cut, there's no chance for kickback.

The other thing I do is when something doesn't feel right on the tablesaw, I head for the bandsaw. I'll cut it 1/32 proud and then smooth it with one pass of the jointer.

I think the main idea is "If it doesn't feel safe, it probably isn't."

Every saw I've bought, the guard went to the scrap iron bin outside.

I use only a ZCI and a splitter

I really like your Splitter and kick back pawl Stu. I was going to do that to my Delta contractors saw but I got the Unisaw and didn't want to butcher it up since I knew I would sell it.

If I ever find one that will fit my Unisaw I am going to do what you did. It should keep the blade off the top of the saw blade and prevent a kickback.

Those were actually great questions, Bob. Like most everyone else, I can't stand the stock guard and splitter that came with my Delta. It's more in the way (makes it more dangerous) than anything else, so I ran my saw uninstalled for several years. Then last year I had a kickback. Thankfully it only knocked the wind out of me and bruised my ribs a bit. So I bought a quick release Excaliber splitter and installed it. No more kickback worries.

And I agree that zero tolerance inserts are a must and they're easy to make. And featherboards are worth their weight in gold! One of the most important things for safety's sake is the push block. Notice I didn't say push stick. If you own one, throw it away. They are much too small and can easily slip. That slip immediately puts your body parts in or much too close to the blade. Stu's gripper is perfect! But you can't use something that large with a spiltter installed. However, for a push block in those instances you can stand a 10" length of 2x8 (or even 2x6) on its side and add a replaceable lip on the back. When the kip gets chewed up, just replace it. It can look something like this:

http://www.extremehowto.com/xh/article.asp?article_id=60361


Or be made from a notched 2x8 and look like this:

http://www.knottyplans.com/index.php?page=20042&ref=kp32ap98f
And throw it away whens it gets sufficiently marred. These are much less likely to slip and put your valuable appendages in harms way.

Here's a good one:

http://www.blackanddecker.com/ProjectCenter/ProjectDetail.aspx?DOC_ID=p_3_36_13936_13941_13986.html

And one even better:
http://www.woodmagazine.com/wood/story.jhtml?storyid=/templatedata/wood/story/data/1142021320359.xml

I really like the last two because they straddle the fence. This eliminates almost any possibility of slipping and putting your hands near the blade.

EDIT: fixed my goofy drawings.

Like most...never installed the guard that came with my Delta Contr. saw... would have caused more problems, than worth. Made a whole mess of ZCI out of Baltic ply...for different blades, including for a number of 'standard' dado widths. ZCI with a featherboard clamped to my Unifence and always use push sticks, when closer to the blade...no problems. Keep threatening to make some splitters though...mounted on the ZCI...to avoid having to remove them for dado operations. The utmost important things are to keep focused on what you're doing and always know where your fingers/hands are...not the blade, as it's always in same place!

It is a comfortable place to ask these questions, this family forum. If you have a question ask it, somebody else wonders the same thing they just haven't asked it yet. I learn something around here all the time, thanks guys, good Thread.
Shaz