Can someone explain to me where to stand at the Tablesaw?

[Tony Bilello]

Dan

"This position does have the advantage that you are out of the way of wood kicking back over top of the blade CCW to the left, but it seems the chances of kickback are much greater with this stance".

I am in 100% agreement with this statement. As I stated earlier, the things people do to avoid kickback are the very things that may cause it. When using the table saw I dont even think about being hit with flying wood from kickback. It never enters my mind. My prime concentration goes into body position for the best control of the wood. If I lost control of the wood, I would be more worried about my fingers than a flying fragment.

[Jason Hanko]

I'll be the lone dissenter here:
Im right handed, and I stand to the right of the blade/fence for most rip cuts.
I guess Ive just always done it that way; always made sense to me. I dont want to be directly behind the wood, and I dont want to be reaching over the blade to finish a cut (even with a push stick).
Ive never felt it was a problem keeping the wood tight against the fence from this angle, but then Ive always done it that way and can see how someone not used to it would find it awkward. To me it feels weird to be standing way to the left of a piece of wood, trying to reach over the blade far enough to be out of the immediate danger zone while keeping it moving smoothly (but then again Im a short guy, so reaching over things has never been my greatest talent).
That said I do always go with what gives greater control of the stock. Ill stand on the left side of the blade when ripping very narrow stock where a push stick is needed because I dont feel like I can keep the stock solidly against the fence with a pushstick when standing off to the right. I cross cut on the left hand side of the blade. With sheet stock I usually stand wherever gives me the most control (I think this is usually directly behind, maybe slightly left of the blade).
I dunno, just my 2 cents. No kickbacks yet </knock knock>.

[Brian Smith3]

I was taught that you want to try and stand outside of the miter slots, either to the left or right, depending on the width of the stock. So the answer is that it depends on what I am cutting (as in this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9V4F...eature=related).

Also I use a splitter and at least one board buddy just past the midline of the blade, which if setup properly I don't know how you could have a kickback, they become kind of a non-issue. Though I do have to admit that setup may induce some bad habits because you kind of stop thinking about kickbacks in general.

[Randall Clark]

On a chair facing the rising sun. Helps to have a pink rabbit's foot in your left pocket. Good luck!