How many use a TS with zero safety features?

[Bobby O'Neal]

I'm one that has this issue. I have an older Craftsman saw that was a hand me down. No guard, no splitter, knife etc. I dont know if it ever had a guard. This is the saw I learned on and I never feel the least bit nervous about a cut. I am extremely safe when working. But I found myself wondering how many others are in this boat? Does it bother you? If you got a new saw with all the safety bells and whistles, would you keep them all in place?

[John TenEyck]

The saws in my shop both have guards on them and I use them religiously. Sort of feels like driving without my seat belt if they aren't on. However, my jobsite saw has no guard, only because I bought it used and whoever owned it prior to me took it off and lost it, and I've been too cheap to buy one for it. But it scares the begeebers out of me every time I use it, so I think I need to pony up the money for the guard. In the meantime, it has my absolute undivided attention whenever I turn it on. Regardless of how careful you are, accidents can, and do, happen.

I think I'll order that guard today.

[David Hostetler]

I chose a Ryobi BT3100 over a slew of 1950s / 1960s vintage Rockwells etc... because of the Riving Knife. I have had kickback on a table saw that was not splitter or RK equipped, and it scared the snot out of me... I am unwilling to use a saw that lacks one now. My guard is a Shark Guard 10.4 (4" dust port model). I will be upgrading to the new, narrower model soon as I want to give Lee's new design a try.

Now having said that, I am not sure all safety tech is worth it's money. And please I don't want the flame junk that comes along with saying this, so if it offends please just hold your tongue as it were... But I don't know if the SawStop is a reliable technology long term. Mostly because it hasn't been around all that long, so very little history on the technology. I do have some philisophical problems with SS inventor as well, but that is a different story all together... IF I had the $$ to buy one, and could afford to replace it if it didn't pan out well, sure I would grab a SawStop... But I don't have that sort of funding...

[Brian Kent]

I won't work on a table saw without a splitter. The kickbacks punched me in the gut and nearly broke a couple of fingers. With a splitter, no problem. I am still looking forward to getting a high quality guard that I would be willing to use.

[Larry Fox]

I use a splitter whenever it is possible to do so for a particular cut. I also have a shark guard with built-in splitter that I also use whenever possible. When I can't use the shark (too narrow of a cut or something like that) I have a Biesemeyer snap-in splitter. I also use a magnetic featherboard whenever I can. I really don't want a kickback.

[Bobby O'Neal]

I didn't mean to imply at all that I'm against safety equipment. I would love to have a riving knife. If i am being totally honest, I dont know that I'd use a guard if I had one, though. There's something about not being able to clearly see the cut that doesn't sit right with me.

[David Kumm]

I have always felt that traditional ripping of about 4" or less seemed more dangerous for me with the overhead guard in place. I prefer the grr ripper set tight against the fence with my hands way above the blade. The guard always seems to be in my way. I don't think I am correct but that is the way I have always felt. I always use a knife or splitter and most importantly only rip good dry stock that doesn't seem too weird. Anything questionable goes to the bandsaw. My left hand caught a kickback 15 years ago and still doesn't close into a fist without some effort so kickback scares me to death. It is just that trying to use a push stick between the guard and the fence on narrow boards seems uncomfortable and distracting, like not using a zero clearance throatplate and watching the offcut fall into the opening. Dave

[Ryan Mooney]

Yup, in fact I'd say mine has multiple "negative safety" features. Its also a crapsman, but of the scariest sort (the late 90's super light tin can jobsite saw). The insert isn't level or even close to flush (so boards will catch on the outfeed side of it - the support system pretty much excludes using a shop made insert as they are two little screw tabs that don't provide squat for support) ?guards? yeah right (well it had a guard of sorts but it was so thin/poorly mounted that it would oooze over and bind like mad so that seemed worse than no guard at all).. Its light enough compared to its power that I've actually had kickback move the saw which was absolutely beyond terrifying when it starts to kick over with that blade spinning at you . I've "gotten by" with it for a few years (it was a gift), but have always been somewhat afraid when using it and do a lot of things the hard way to work around touching it.

A replacement and _vast_ upgrade is en-route for end of July (not-yet-a-gloat) . I'm planning on salvaging the motor out of this one for some other purpose because I don't want to feel responsible if someone else got it and hurt themselves.

Having said that I've also used older saws w/o riving knives/guards/etc.. and didn't feel nearly as scared around them as I do with this saw, mostly because they were more stable/better built and I could control things better. A riving knife makes me feel better for sure because it solves >50% of kickback cases. Most cases where a guard would help I mostly figure "your hand/body part shouldn't have been there anyway". Note that this doesn't discount the value of guards by any means, but even with them I try to avoid getting in a spot where they might have a chance to help (use the guard if at all possible but work like it isn't there).

[Ken Fitzgerald]

The only time my guard comes off the table saw is when I am using my dado blade.

Pain in the butt? Yeah.....but I am used to it.

[Rod Sheridan]

I didn't mean to imply at all that I'm against safety equipment. I would love to have a riving knife. If i am being totally honest, I dont know that I'd use a guard if I had one, though. There's something about not being able to clearly see the cut that doesn't sit right with me.

Hi Bobby, I owned a cabinet saw with an all metal guard, it was a General 650.

When I worked in industry, most of the machines had guards that you couldn't see through, who cares, there's nothing to see in that area.

When you are ripping, your eyes need to be on the fence/wood interaction, not on the saw blade. I guarantee that it's still cutting even if you don't watch it.

This isn't Schroedingers cat we're talking about, it's wood machinery.

When you are crosscutting, use a mitre gauge or sled with a flip stop for length, then watch the mitre gauge or sled and wood interaction, no point watching the cut, you don't need to see it.

Do yourself a favour and buy a splitter or riving knife, and a good overhead guard with dust collection. You deserve to be safe................Rod.

[David Hostetler]

I didn't mean to imply at all that I'm against safety equipment. I would love to have a riving knife. If i am being totally honest, I dont know that I'd use a guard if I had one, though. There's something about not being able to clearly see the cut that doesn't sit right with me.

Then you REALLY ought to try a Shark Guard. Most guards are hard to see through, the SG is nice and clear, easily seen through, and has the added benefit of additional dust collection port...

[Kent A Bathurst]

I guarantee that it's still cutting even if you don't watch it. This isn't Schroedingers cat we're talking about, it's wood machinery..

OK, it's Friday, and we can now give the Cleverest Line of the Week award to Rod.

Wish I had thought of that hook, Rod. Well played. In fact, I can guarantee you that I will steal that one for conversations.

On the original topic - my 13 yr old Uni came with the classic Mickey-Mouse OEM POS guard, splitter, fingered pawls, etc. That thing disappeared 12 yrs 364 days ago. The guard itself - that one, or a better replacement - does nothing for me personally, to be honest, but someday, the dust collection potential might drive me that direction. Even though I always stand out of the line of fire, 2 kickbacks in 13 years means I should really get an aftermarket quick-disconnect splitter, though. I do a lot of dado work on the saw.

[Robert Barrett]

I'm one that has this issue. I have an older Craftsman saw that was a hand me down. No guard, no splitter, knife etc. I dont know if it ever had a guard. This is the saw I learned on and I never feel the least bit nervous about a cut. I am extremely safe when working. But I found myself wondering how many others are in this boat? Does it bother you? If you got a new saw with all the safety bells and whistles, would you keep them all in place?

My saw is the same, it is the one that I learned on and have never used another with guards and riving knife, even the one that my brother bought off a school didn't have any of the safety features.
I don't feel that I am in any real danger, always keeping in mind that I need to stand out of the line of the blade and generally don't cut anything less than an inch in width, that puts my fingers a little too close to the blade. I also use push sticks if I think that I am putting my self in harms way.

In my 30 year of working, I have met many people that have put their fingers in different types of machines, ((I am a metal-fabricator/welder by trade and have access to all manner of finger eating machines 95% of which have no guarding at all. They have safety features, but not a lot that will stop you from getting hurt) and after talking to them and questioning their state of mind, it turned out that they nearly always were worried about and thinking about other things, Not what they actually doing at the time.

I applaud all who have the patient enough to work around all the guards and safey features, and don't in any way encourage anyone to not use these safety features if they are not comfortable doing so.

Robert

[glenn bradley]

I am extremely safe when working.

As Brian, Larry and others stated, it is virtually impossible to use a tablesaw safely without a splitter. Make yourself a ZCI and spend a whole $20 on an MJ Splitter setup. Getting your hand pulled into a saw is not the time to say "I shoulda . . . ".

[John McClanahan]

Ryan, rather than scrapping out the lightweight saw, get a sanding disk for it to replace the blade and use it as a disk sander.

John