Kickback on Camera

[Jerome Hanby]

Thanks Tom. It's so easy to get complacent and skip the safety gear. It's time for me to make some ZCIs with splitters and 1 without for the times I use a sled. Paul

Couldn't the sled also work with a splitter mounted on the insert?

[John Coloccia]

LOL....Yeah, that WAS pretty dumb, Tom!

I did a rough calculation one time of the potential force of a kickback. I can't find it anymore but I think I remember it being on the order of hundreds of lbs....Arnold himself couldn't hold that back. Great demonstration and glad you're safe.

[carl zietz]

OK, Now I AM A BELIEVER, just one dumb question. Could anyone reccomend a suitable splitter for a jet left tilt xacta ??

Thanks

[Roger Feeley]

For what it's worth, they run a class at the Kansas City Woodworkers Guild in table saw safety. Using that pink hard foam insulation, they purposely reproduce all sorts of kickbacks so people can get a feel for what not to do. I've never taken the class but I guess foam flies all over the place and a great time is had by all.

[Kevin Gregoire]

wow, that was a nasty video and amazing how close your fingers came!

that reminded me of my first days in shop class back in high school where our
instructor had a jar of formaldehyde with two fingers inside of it hanging above
the table saw and was a good reminder every time we used the saw to do it
correctly!

[Robert McGowen]

This was really an eye opener. Thank you for posting it. I accidently touched a blade several years back and it instantly took off the end of my index finger right through the bone. It has been pretty easy to justify a splitter and an overhead guard since then.

[Troy Turner]

Tom - WOW! Not sure what to say about you making the video without getting my post deleted Unfortuantely though, some have to see something like that to get the point across...so my hat's off to ya' for making it.

Just outta curiosity though, how long did it take you to get the nerve up to do it?

I have an older '80's model Craftsman. Been running it for years without the blade guard/splitter. Over the past few months, I've seen alot of folks post pics of the accidents because they DIDN'T have one on. Ordered myself one and been running with it now for a few months.

Thanks again for the video!

[Tom Hintz]

Tom - WOW! Not sure what to say about you making the video without getting my post deleted Unfortuantely though, some have to see something like that to get the point across...so my hat's off to ya' for making it.

Just outta curiosity though, how long did it take you to get the nerve up to do it?

I have an older '80's model Craftsman. Been running it for years without the blade guard/splitter. Over the past few months, I've seen alot of folks post pics of the accidents because they DIDN'T have one on. Ordered myself one and been running with it now for a few months.

Thanks again for the video!

I had been thinking about this video for over a year and have been talking to people about how to do it as safely as possible but yet show a full--on kickback. the reason we went with the push block was the rubber bottom that gave me the grip I needed to get the piece turned intot he blade WHEN I WANTED IT AND EXPECTED IT, the push handles just did not have a good enough grip. And with the push block I was able to be pulling on the handle back into the fence while I rotated the front of the piece. That muscle tension rather than pushing jsut may have saved the fingers. As we can see, no matter how much planning and thinking, this was still dumber than I anticipated....

[Van Huskey]

I had been thinking about this video for over a year and have been talking to people about how to do it as safely as possible but yet show a full--on kickback. the reason we went with the push block was the rubber bottom that gave me the grip I needed to get the piece turned intot he blade WHEN I WANTED IT AND EXPECTED IT, the push handles just did not have a good enough grip. And with the push block I was able to be pulling on the handle back into the fence while I rotated the front of the piece. That muscle tension rather than pushing jsut may have saved the fingers. As we can see, no matter how much planning and thinking, this was still dumber than I anticipated....

I bet in hindsight you can think of a lot of ways to do it safer...even though you would NEVER do it again!

[Peter Aeschliman]

Wow. WOW. I just said every expletive in the book. Major goosebumps.

It made me relive my forehead kickback injury... Kickback is no joke- my permanently disfigured forehead is living proof... Be glad that you don't have such "proof" yourself my friend!

Here's my thread in case anybody is curious, but as the title warns, the pictures are bloody!

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...RY-PICTURES!!)

[Tom Hintz]

I bet in hindsight you can think of a lot of ways to do it safer...even though you would NEVER do it again!

Yup. You don't have to worry about me doing that again! Maybe next we will investigate playing in traffic or something.....

[Don Morris]

Ten minutes AFTER I put my first TS together and had my first and only major kickback, I watched Kelly Meher's introduction to the Table Saw video. Should have been the other way. That kick back put a black and blue mark on my groin, left an indelible mark on my brain, gave me a great fear of my equipment and led to the purchase of a lot of safety equipment. This video recommends the use use of a riving knife. That probably would have done it, but a splitter that has anti-kickback pawls might have even worked better, or The Grrr-Ripper System (2 for long pieces). Even then, analyze the procedure and if it looks shakey, STOP and figure out a better way.

[Ole Anderson]

There is a reason new tablesaws require a riving knife, they work, and they work better than a splitter. The knife is right behind the blade, whereas a splitter is inches behind the blade, and sometimes disaster is but a fraction of an inch away. Even my Skil flooring saw with a tiny 4 3/8" blade so hidden you can hardly see it has a riving knife.

[Fred Belknap]

Tom don't do that no more!!

[Stan Mitchell]

No version 2.0 please.

I really enjoy your website - but that convinces me that you should stick mainly to tool reviews.

I still admire your intentions for the test though.