Do you use a blade guard?

[Brian Greb]

My TS Blade guard is a royal pain in my ass... I never use the guard on my TS, I respect the tool and watch where the blades cutting, never grab for a small piece and use a push stick. With all that said I do use the guard on all my other stationary equipment, A fat lot of good that it does I still managed to joint off my finger tip!(I know what your thinking yes it hurt... yes most of my finger is still there and yes I was back in the shop a week later)

...Lesson learned watch what your doing be mindful of others and don't work at a tool while distracted.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Never use a guard. It comes from having a cheap guard on my old saw that I considered more dangerous than nothing. Also I want to be able to see all around the blade at all times. With multiple cuts many times I end up a lot of small cutoffs and strips vibrating around the blade and I want to be able to see them and take a small strip and flick them out of the way while standing clear of the line of fire.

[glenn bradley]

Splitter whenever possible. Guard whenever possible. I have gotten lax about my RT bit guard but have mentally re-committed to that easy safety feature. Almost every injury I have ever heard of on a cutting tool could have been avoided by following safety procedures; that includes no "just this once" escapades.

Excerpt from a recent link in Fine Woodworking:

Back in January 2005, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) required that new tablesaw models include a riving knife and modular guard to prevent these injuries. Since that time injury rates have remained virtually unchanged, which begs the question: “Why are so many people hurt while using tablesaws, despite improvements in guards and splitters?”

I'm pretty sure the answer is that no matter how safe you make the safety feature, some folks still won't use them. If I jam my circular saw's guard open with a nail and then set it on my foot before it has wound to a stop after use, is the tool at fault?

[Troy Turner]

I will use mine if I have multiple cuts to make. Helps reduce the dust produced. Other than that...I'll be honest and say no.

[Rod Sheridan]

I worked in industry before I had any machinery at home.

At work it's "if you can't do the operation with the guard in place, use another machine for that job or install a guard that can be used".

I guess I've carried that home with me, and have an Excalibur overarm guard on my saw. It can be used for all operations, so it stays on all the time.

I gave up cutting tenons on the TS for that reason, I couldn't come up with a guard that worked. I now cut tenons on the shaper, which does have a guard that works for that operation.

If we were robots, we wouldn't need guards, because we wouldn't stick our manipulators in the saw blade. However being human, we don't always do exactly the correct thing at all times, so if you don't have a guard in place for that one in a million error, you'll need a new manipulator.

I checked with my Mom and she forgot to order spare parts for me, so I think I'll stick with the guard...........Rod.

[Chris Kennedy]

The one thing I disliked about my saw when I bought it was the splitter and guard. I have a zip code saw, and I swear, my guard and splitter were just the same as the splitter and guard on my dad's old Craftsman contractor. In 30 years, no serious innovations.

I have since bought an Excalibur, and use it all the time. After I installed it, I thought it was great and my wife completely agrees.

Cheers,

Chris

[Paul Ryan]

I have very rarely used a blade guard until recently. In the past I didnt use them for various reasons. Now I own 2 guards that I have started to use. The sawstop PCS guard and shark are acceptable to me. But it is still hard to teach old dogs new tricks. I always use a riving which is really nice, but many times forget to install the guard, and I do feel clausterphobic with it on.


But hey I own a Sawstop I don't need a guard!

That should bunch a few panties!

[Andrew Gibson]

I used the guard/splitter on mt Jet contractor saw at first, and no matter what I did to adjust it the guard would move and cause the wood to be caught by the guard and or splitter and jam then kink into the blade... not what I would call safe, especially when you try to fee the piece.

I took it off and feel I am safer without it. I do also always wear ear muffs and safety glasses. When I put on the muffs I think it's table saw time, and I am focused on the cut. With all my tools if I think is that right? or anything like that, I stop and check and recheck until I am sure and I'm confident in the cut.

now I still want a new saw that has good safety equipment. and I actually would rather move more toward the neander side and do as much work as possible with quiet and less dusty tools.

[Bob Borzelleri]

Immediately after posting my last thought on this topic (as in, I always use the guard and splitter unless the needed cut is impossible with the guard attached and those instances are getting to be very few and far between), I went to my first meeting of the local woodturner's club.

Sitting to my right during the demo was a fellow who was a very experienced woodworker and turner and his left hand was fully bandaged. This past Saturday, he was running some walnut through his table saw with a push stick in his right hand. The wood suddenly lurched forward through the blade and he fell forward and his left hand went into the unguarded blade. He lost his thumb at the 1st knuckle.

[Callan Campbell]

Immediately after posting my last thought on this topic (as in, I always use the guard and splitter unless the needed cut is impossible with the guard attached and those instances are getting to be very few and far between), I went to my first meeting of the local woodturner's club.

Sitting to my right during the demo was a fellow who was a very experienced woodworker and turner and his left hand was fully bandaged. This past Saturday, he was running some walnut through his table saw with a push stick in his right hand. The wood suddenly lurched forward through the blade and he fell forward and his left hand went into the unguarded blade. He lost his thumb at the 1st knuckle.

Yes, it's sad sad sad. It all happens so fast to everyone, during a "routine" cut or operation. I wish him well.

[Don Bullock]

On my old 1970s vintage saw the guard was more dangerous on the saw than leaving it off. Now, I always use the guard on my SawStop. It doesn't get in the way like the Craftsman guard did.

[Sean Nagle]

I never used the original guard on my 16-year old Unisaw, it was junk. After a few years I purchased an Excalibur overarm guard. I felt it was always in the way and it came off. I just reinstalled the Excalibur within the past year. I feel it's still in the way of the majority of cuts. When the cut is 2" or less, there just isn't room for the pushstick; as the pushstick passes the guard, it has a tendency to push the board INTO the blade! If there's a pushstick design that works with this type of setup, I haven't found it.

I always use pushsticks and almost every cut employs a featherboard. I stay clear of the blade's path and NEVER, EVER reach across the blade. I feel technique at the tool is THE most important safety precaution. Once in a while on HGTV you'll see them using a tablesaw and their technique always gives me the willies as does really early NYW episodes. Also, if you haven't seen the video of the SawStop inventor, it's worth a look. He has the worst tablesaw technique I've ever seen. He needed to invent that device for his own safety.

[Peter Quinn]

No guard for me here. The factory model on the PM66 was a scary piece of rubbish. Unusable. I have made no attempt to replace it with something better, though I have taken other safety steps. I have a tall fence that replaces the stock fence plate and stops one from pushing any close cuts through by hand. I have a lot of push blocks. I have a good splitter. I have good feather boards and a power feed. But that stock guard? Hard to call that thing a safety feature except to the extent that it makes you not want to use the saw, and a saw that is not used will hurt no one.

[mreza Salav]

Both guard and splitter ALWAYS (unless cannot do the cut with).
Eventhough I have a Sawstop, I keep the guard so that I know my hand isn't supposed to be in that zone, AND, for dust collection.

ss1.JPG

[michael osadchuk]

sign above my General table saw:

"SAW IS FASTER THAN FINGERS
10" blade w/60 teeth will have
2,043 teeth pass thru my fingers
before I can pull back my hand"

..but I think that's an exaggeration and anyway, with my superior reaction
time, I bet I can pull back my bleeding finger stumps after contact with
only several hundred carbide teeth (smiley)

.... after a decade of largely not using the stock guard (because it was awkward, etc.), a couple of years ago I got a Sharkguard and use it because it works and can be removed/reattached within 30 seconds and has the major side benefit of dust collection.....

.... about only using the ts when attentive and focussed which was my rule/practice, along with the above sign: problem is, as we get older many of us, perhaps all of us, have "senior citizen's moments" of inattentiveness that we are not aware of until an unexpected but usually harmless outcome occurs.... which is fine when we reach into the wrong kitchen cupboard in a 'mindless' moment but not so great if we have such a moment with spinning ts blade.....

best wishes,

michael