Lee Valley Shop Apron saved me

[lowell holmes]

Lee Valley dose not advertise it as such but their canvas shop apron saved me from kick back injury. I'm sure they can't advertise it as such because of liability issues. I can comment on it though.

I wear eye and hearing protection as well as the apron. I was making a stupid cut when it kicked back striking me in the sternum. It knocked the breath out of me and almost stunned me.

The double layers of canvas in the bib of the apron never even ripped. I suffered no bruising, no cuts and no penetrations. The canvas was not penetrated either.

I'm sure Lee Valley can't advertise it as such, but it sure made a believer out of me that it is another layer of protection. I'm glad they use a strong canvas.

I'm embarrassed to post this, but it might save someone else from injury.

I bought the apron because of the shoulder strap configuration.

[Dave Lehnert]

Glad you are ok.

[Chris Padilla]

Do you have any bruising on your chest? I'm glad you are fine. What did you do wrong to warrant the kick back?

[lowell holmes]

No bruising. I was making a diagonal cut on a rather small piece of wood using a push stick. The wood must have twisted a bit and the blade caught it and kicked it back at me.

I never had thought of the apron acting as a protection device. I would not depend on it, but I have used the apron for years and I will certainly always have on now.

[Aaron Berk]

This description sounds like you were free handing on the table saw? Was that the case? Not using a miter gauge or the fence?

[Chris Parks]

What he was doing is not pertinent to the OP's post in my view. He is just putting a comment out there on the outcome of a kickback and not the kickback itself. Go down that road and this thread will degenerate into a blame game and I am sure the OP already blames himself without any further criticism from others.

[Aaron Berk]

Nice way to keep the peace.
I wasn't trying to stir the pot, just curious.

I've free handed, and even back feed while standing on the outfeed side of a ts before.
Not condoning it at all, just stating that I have no bone to pick.

[John TenEyck]

I wear a heavy Cordura nylon apron that I bought at Woodcraft about 15 or 20 years ago. They no longer sell it, no idea why. I bought it specifically because I thought it would help protect me in case of kickback, and it has earned my praise a couple of times over the years. I wear it along with eye and ear protection every time I'm in the shop. It is amazing the force a narrow piece of stock has if it kicks back; there are a couple of impressive dents in the door to my boiler, 20 feet away, where pieces have hit it. I don't care how careful you are, chit happens, eventually, it's just the nature of the table saw beast. Keeping yourself out of harms way is number one. Wearing PPE is number two, and I'm glad I have that heavy duty apron. If you are tall, you really want one, a long one.

John

[scott vroom]

What he was doing is not pertinent to the OP's post in my view. He is just putting a comment out there on the outcome of a kickback and not the kickback itself. Go down that road and this thread will degenerate into a blame game and I am sure the OP already blames himself without any further criticism from others.

Chris, it's always useful to understand the activity that lead to the accident. I didn't get the sense that Aaron was doing any finger pointing or blaming.

[Chris Padilla]

What he was doing is not pertinent to the OP's post in my view. He is just putting a comment out there on the outcome of a kickback and not the kickback itself. Go down that road and this thread will degenerate into a blame game and I am sure the OP already blames himself without any further criticism from others.

Sure it is. I'd like to know to learn NOT to do it or to be more careful myself in the future.

[johnny means]

I assure you the apron did very little. Maybe it prevented a slight cut. Kickbacks will go through 3/4 plywood with ease. The fact is you were lucky not protected. A slightly different scenario would have pushed that apron right into your chest. Thankfully, you're okay, but I think you may have the wrong idea about how dangerous a kickback can be.

[Pat Barry]

Good news is that you are not badly injured.

The degree of injury includes a bunch of factors, importantly the length of the pice as it makes contact with the blade (the longer it is the faster it can be propelled assuming other circumstances are the same), the mass of the object, the bluntness or sharpness of the object, god know what else. I agree with jonny that the apron didn't save you all that much but no doubt it helped. Better would have been to have an insert in the apron - think Kevlar or stainless steel. Assuming the insert was in the proper location and optimally oriented to the projectile line of flight, that could save you.

Like I said though, good news is you weren't injured

[John Coloccia]

This is why I always wear my leather shop apron when I'm working. If you spend enough time in the shop, you'll eventually be pelted by things, run into sharp blades (I'm thinking hand tools here) and have other little accidents that the apron will offer at least SOME protection against.

Mine doesn't look too pretty anymore. Neither did my old motorcycle helmet (rocks, pine cones, etc....). Better it than me.

[johnny means]

What he was doing is not pertinentto the OP's post in my view. He is just putting a comment out there on the outcome of a kickback and not the kickback itself. Go down that road and this thread will degenerate into a blame game and I am sure the OP already blames himself without any further criticism from others.

Years ago, when I was the young inexperienced guy in the shop, I observed one of the senior guys in the shop doing something I knew looked dangerous. I wanted to say something but thought to myself that it wasn't my place. This guy has probably been doing this longer than I had been alive, let alone worked in a shop. So I walked on by and kept my mouth shut. No sooner than I got to the other end of the shop I hear folks yelling that this fellow had gotten cut. Without hearing anything else I knew exactly how and where he had gotten injured. I felt horrible because I basically allowed it to happen.Thankfully it wasn't s life altering injury and he was back at work the next day, albeit with limited duties. To this day I find it very difficult to not be very blunt and matter of fact about safety issues. I for one would rather be percieved as rude or overly critical than miss an opportunity to save someone a world of suffering. Say something, you just might be the voice that makes a difference.

[lowell holmes]

I wear a heavy Cordura nylon apron that I bought at Woodcraft about 15 or 20 years ago. They no longer sell it, no idea why. I bought it specifically because I thought it would help protect me in case of kickback, and it has earned my praise a couple of times over the years. I wear it along with eye and ear protection every time I'm in the shop. It is amazing the force a narrow piece of stock has if it kicks back; there are a couple of impressive dents in the door to my boiler, 20 feet away, where pieces have hit it. I don't care how careful you are, chit happens, eventually, it's just the nature of the table saw beast. Keeping yourself out of harms way is number one. Wearing PPE is number two, and I'm glad I have that heavy duty apron. If you are tall, you really want one, a long one.

John

John, that's why I made the post. I don't need any one to tell me I was stupid to be in the situation that a kickback could occur. However, I was wearing all my safety gear plus a strong canvas apron that has double layers of canvas in the chest area. I had not and do not consider this safety gear. I can tell you that if I was only wearing a shirt, the wood would have broken the skin and possibly more.

I appreciate the concern you all have shown, and if my post helps prevent another kick back, then my purpose has been served.