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Table Saw Accident

Sorry to hear of your near-miss and glad you didn't get hurt. Just to add my 2 cents to all of the above good thoughts is the use of safety glasses, as pointed out by Bob, and I'll add the use of a face shield to that as well, i.e. used with the safety glasses. http://www.amazon.com/S8500-Uvex-Sperian-Bionic-Shields/dp/B0040C10KI. It may appear a bit cumbersome to use a face shield, but it's actually not bad at all & is well worth any discomfort as it protects a large area, all of your head down to your chest. Get the best safety glasses & face shield you can afford as the features that prevent/minimize fogging are well worth it.

Also, it's a good idea to have a kill switch that you can quickly shut off by leaning against it with your thigh in the event you find yourself in an awkward position & want to shut off the saw quickly. You can search this site as much has been written about it.

Stay safe & enjoy the table saw.
 
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Karl Brogger said:
I'm the rare breed that doesn't view a splitter, riving knife, guards, or other doodads to add anything to safety.

I don't know how much lumber I push through a tablesaw each year, but it's a lot.

My tablesaw safety advice:

1. Your work area needs to be clean.
2. The deck of the saw needs to be highly polished and smooth. Like an air hockey table.
3. Most important direction to push stock through a saw is DOWN.
4. Second most important direction is toward the fence.
5. Third most important would be forward and through the blade.

I've been at this professionally for 15 years. No amount of experience or gadgetry will keep you safe if you are being dumb. I've mauled myself on virtually every piece of equipment in the shop and it's always from a rectal/cranial disorder.

I also don't believe in push sticks, there's usually another way.
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Good luck.
 
Karl Brogger said:
I'm the rare breed that doesn't view a splitter, riving knife, guards, or other doodads to add anything to safety. ...
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On the other hand, I've seen boards start closing up as soon as I start them through the blade because of internal stresses that one cannot see. When I've seen this happening, I hit the OFF switch while still holding the board and waited until the blade stopped to remove the board. With a riving knife or splitter in place, a board can't close on the blade and cause a kickback. AND, it has nothing to do with stupidity.
 
Kevin Sadaj said:
When it kicked back, it was so fast, I had no time to prepare, I mean, I had no idea that it could happen so fast.
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I can only echo all the other advice about using all the available safety features and staying clear of shortcuts. One thing I would add is have respect for the machine you're using. A table saw blade travels at 3600 RPM. That means every second that bad boy spins around 60 times and unless you happen to be that guy from Marvel comics in the red suit with the big gold lightning bolt on his chest, you can't move that fast.

Glad to hear you are OK Kevin.
 
On the other hand, I've seen boards start closing up as soon as I start them through the blade because of internal stresses that one cannot see. When I've seen this happening, I hit the OFF switch while still holding the board and waited until the blade stopped to remove the board. With a riving knife or splitter in place, a board can't close on the blade and cause a kickback. AND, it has nothing to do with stupidity.
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Just push it through.
 
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As I understand it when cross cutting with the miter gauge & using the fence you should clamp a block to the fence as a gauge block just a small distance in front of the blade so that the drop off has plenty of room to separate from the original material with out binding & kicking back. Yet it may still happen.

I prefer a push block that has some area that sets on top of the piece being ripped & helps to hold the material down against the table as compared to a push stick which just hooks on the edge of the material. I use shop built push blocks & Grrrr - rippers.
 
Bart Leetch said:
As I understand it when cross cutting with the miter gauge & using the fence you should clamp a block to the fence as a gauge block just a small distance in front of the blade so that the drop off has plenty of room to separate from the original material with out binding & kicking back. Yet it may still happen.

I prefer a push block that has some area that sets on top of the piece being ripped & helps to hold the material down against the table as compared to a push stick which just hooks on the edge of the material. I use shop built push blocks & Grrrr - rippers.
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That's my approach for both types of cuts. :thumb:

For crosscuts with the fence and miter gauge, I have a block that's exactly 1" wide. When it's clamped to the fence, I can still easily use the scale on the fence (as long as I account for the extra inch).

I dislike push sticks because they don't give me enough control of the wood - especially when ripping thin pieces - but really like my Grr-rippers. Never had a kickback since starting to use the Grr-rippers. Plus, my rip cuts are now glue-ready straight from the saw...something that never happened for me with push sticks.

I also use a Micro Jig splitter, but don't use the blade guard, since IMO it gets in the way of the cut and prevents me from controlling the wood the way I want to. But I have no dispute with those who prefer to use them. ;)

And I'm always to the left of the blade.
 
Vaughn McMillan said:
That's my approach for both types of cuts. :thumb:

For crosscuts with the fence and miter gauge, I have a block that's exactly 1" wide. When it's clamped to the fence, I can still easily use the scale on the fence (as long as I account for the extra inch).

I dislike push sticks because they don't give me enough control of the wood - especially when ripping thin pieces - but really like my Grr-rippers. Never had a kickback since starting to use the Grr-rippers. Plus, my rip cuts are now glue-ready straight from the saw...something that never happened for me with push sticks.

I also use a Micro Jig splitter, but don't use the blade guard, since IMO it gets in the way of the cut and prevents me from controlling the wood the way I want to. But I have no dispute with those who prefer to use them. ;)

And I'm always to the left of the blade.
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Yes I'm always on the left of the blade too. Accept when the fence is on the left for beveled rips. (right tilt Unisaw) I also have my Dad's gold anniversary Craftsman approximately 1957 contractors saw (left tilt) I hope to set them both up in a shop someday.
 
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