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Thread: Is the table saw (non sawstop) the most dangerous tool in the shop?

  1. #1
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    Is the table saw (non sawstop) the most dangerous tool in the shop?

    I've been thinking to myself about what the safest and most dangerous tools are in the shop. Someone told me bandsaw was the most dangerous once, but I think that may be the safest saw in the shop. It's hard to determine the safest because all power tools are dangerous, but I think the most dangerous is the table saw, eapecially without sawstop. There's so much that could go wrong. Obviously, it's relatively easy to cut your finger off, and in many ways. You also have the risk of kickback which creates safety issues. The is also a high risk of long clothing or hair getting caught in the blade.

    As for safest, talking power tools only, I think planer is because no blade is actually exposed. If you stick your hand in the machine, you are in for a bad day, but that's not something done by accident
    Last edited by Michael Yadfar; 07-23-2014 at 4:09 PM.

  2. #2
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    Any tool can be dangerous if the operator is careless or distracted. My worst injury came from a simple handsaw. Table saw always gets my full attention.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Keeling View Post
    Any tool can be dangerous if the operator is careless or distracted. My worst injury came from a simple handsaw. Table saw always gets my full attention.
    Thats a good point, the most dangerous may be the least expected. I've never been injured or witnessed an injury, but the closest I've seen was on a drill press, where a guy didn't have his wood clamped and it hit him

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Keeling View Post
    Any tool can be dangerous if the operator is careless or distracted. My worst injury came from a simple handsaw. Table saw always gets my full attention.
    +1.

    My dad was a contractor and industrial arts teacher for most of his life and used a cabinet saw all time. Never got injured but told me about witnessing folks "joint" the bottom of their hand off or get hair caught in a drill press. "Inattention" is the most dangerous thing in the shop.

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    Motorcycles aren't dangerous but, the people riding them sometimes are ;-) The bandsaw is dangerous because there is a mindset that it is safe. You do know how they break down sides of beef, right? The tablesaw gets a lot of bad press but, I don't know that anyone has done a 'per instance' sort of comparison as in; there are 10 untrained folks using tablesaws for every untrained shaper user so, if there are 10 tablesaw accidents and 1 shaper accident, they're even . . . that sort of thing.
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  6. #6
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    I mean personally I have used all these tools many of times and never had any "close calls" but I'm also trained. I guess I'm speaking on the basis of say a person who's just as careless on every machine or someone who's untrained

  7. #7
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    A table saw is a much more widely used tool than others....just about everyone and their first cousin owns one. Plus a TS sees proportionately more action in my shop. It's logical that it causes more injuries than other tools. Does that make it more dangerous per minute of use? I dunno....the router scares me more than the TS....depending on the cutter in use, it can really mangle flesh, and is less predictable than a TS for me.
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  8. #8
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    The only time I've ever been hurt was using the table saw...From kickback to running my finger into a dado blade....Now I have a saw stop & I'm still careful because I don't want to test it....

  9. #9
    It's been years since I looked at the accident stats regarding woodworking machinery. If memory serves me correctly Scott wins the prize, TS injuries were reported more than other injuries but TS were present in more shops than any other tools. As others have said the TS gets my full attention every time and it has never tasted my flesh. My handtools have drawn blood, chisels, knives and one errant plane blade all being nasty, and I loved them all! So unfair.

    As far as the BS being percieved as friendly, I'd say not in my shop! The bandsaw IIRC was responsible for the most "gross amputations" like I lost my hand or all of my thumb.

  10. #10
    A planer is capable of horrible kick back if the conditions are right.

    A band saw is often called one of the safest saws in an an average shop but I assume the people who say that are referring to fairly small saws with narrow and fine tooth blades. If a 1 1/4 inch blade with 7/8 tooth spacing breaks in the wrong spot you don't want to be any where near it. (Usually the blade stays in the saw but it can come shooting out)

    A lathe is a a fairly safe but you can get tangled in one, the piece you are turning could explode, you could leave the key in the chuck or have a tool grab in the work.

    A drill press can become very dangerous if drilling through sheet metal. If the bit grabs the metal can start spinning and most peoples first reaction is to grab the metal to stop it.

    The table saw probably is involved in more accidents than any other power tool but is that because it is more dangerous or just more used?
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  11. #11
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    I have by far drawn more blood by a box cutter than anything else. My worst accident was on a drum sander. I temporarly lost a fingernail.

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jay Jolliffe View Post
    The only time I've ever been hurt was using the table saw...From kickback to running my finger into a dado blade....Now I have a saw stop & I'm still careful because I don't want to test it....
    Just yesterday I took the guard off my SS to run a little dado, and then cut a small sheet of plywood without putting it back on. Twisted the darned thing and took it in the gut. Isn't the SS supposed to prevent that?!

    Only tool I have hurt myself on was a bandsaw (50/50 chance of losing a fingertip, but got lucky), but the one that scares me the most is the router table. Lots of way that can get you.

  13. #13
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    Agree that they are all dangerous in the wrong hands.

    To me a big router is probably the most dangerous - simply cutting in the wrong direction of the grain can cause a little trickle in the pants or far worse.

  14. #14
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    JMO,they aren't the most dangerous....but they are,with out a doubt the most ignorant pce of "convenience",style of equipment ever devised.I'd say big(+20) disc sanders as the most dangerous.Next would be any pce of equipment where there's a "range" of tooling sizes,and you're runnin at the upper end.

  15. #15
    it would be interesting to see the number of accidents per hour of usage for each tool. Tools are inherently dangerous if misused or if one is not paying attention. The SS does not prevent kick back especially with the guard removed.

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