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Thread: It's been a year since

  1. #1

    It's been a year since

    Hey everyone. So in 2010 I asked what table saw I should buy. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...hase&p=1559594

    Lots of people said Saw Stop. I bought a Jet table saw instead. Well I wanted to let everyone know that last year I cut my left index finger off and part of my thumb. I sold the Jet tablesaw cheap and bought a Saw Stop. I wish i would of before.....

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Location
    Sacramento, CA
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    2,005
    Dang... Sorry that you had to go through that. Hope you can still enjoy woodworking though and with confidence knowing that youre a bit safer with the SawStop. Which one did you end up going with and how are you liking it so far versus the Jet?
    If at first you don't succeed, redefine success!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Central MA
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    1,584
    Serious question; was the blade guard installed on the saw at the time of the accident? If not, would it have prevented the accident if it had been?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Leland, NC
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    Like everyone else I am sorry to hear that you lost a finger and part of your thumb.

    Not everyone is going to rush out and buy a SS and sell their old table saw off for cheap. There is a small issue with selling something you believe to be dangerous to someone else but that is another subject altogether.

    Since very few if any are going to sell their old saws it would be beneficial if you shared the experience and what caused it.

    I have some questions:

    Are you left handed? If not, what was your left hand doing by the blade?

    Did the saw kickback or did you just run your digits through the blade because you were distracted?

    Were you using a push block of any sort? If so, describe it for us?

    The reason I ask all this is because I see LOTS of folks on YouTube cutting on a TS that are asking for trouble. My pet peeve is when they are pushing a board through with their right thumb hooked on the end and the left hand is pushing the cutoff past the blade. Someone new to TS would think that is acceptable. It isn't as we all know.

    I use a big honking push lock that has a handle on it like a plane. It is about 12 inches long, 1.5 wide and has a heel that catches the end of the board. I never, ever cut anything without it. The height is such that if the board goes flying out from under it my hand is still well above a fully extended blade. Being 12 inches long also allows me to keep downward pressure towards the front which prevents the classic "riding up" onto the blade problem.

    Why guys think that a push block is too much trouble or makes them a sissy is beyond me.....

    I think the biggest problem is anyone can buy a table saw, then go online and see some self styled "experts" doing things that are just plain dangerous and think it is the right way to cut. My older brother got into wood working late in life. He asked me to stop by and help him with a project. You see this coming donchya? No pushstick, no nothing. We had quite the discussion because since I was his YOUNGER brother how could I possibly know more than the experts on line? I finally told him there was no way I was going to stand in his shop and watch him cut his fingers off and bleed all over me on the way to the ER.

    Please, share the experience so everyone else can learn from it.

  5. Oh man.... So sorry to hear this. But thank you so much for sharing your experience - a very good lesson for us all. One day the patents will run out and hopefully table saws with an "emergency brake" will be more common and less expensive... but until then I guess SawStop will remain the only option.

    I am new to woodworking myself, having "dabbled" for many years before. I finally decided to turn my garage into a woodshop about 18 months ago and the first big purchase was a 52" sawstop PCS. It was very expensive, but I looked at it as an insurance policy. I did a lot of reading, got a lot of advice, watched a lot of on-line videos (some better than others), but still lacked experience using large table saws. That's why I bought the sawstop - kind of a last line of defense. Without my hands I couldn't do my day job, so I figured it was worth it. I have yet to set off the brake with anything other than a metal ruler (oops!), but I sure have some extra peace-of-mind when using it. I do not use the blade guard since I do so many dados and rabbets on the saw. I do use the Jessen table saw anti-kickback roller guides mounted on the fence, the riving knife of course, push sticks/push blocks, feather boards, and always stand out of the path of potential flying boards. So far, so good.

    SB

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
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    I think the most dangerous way to use a table saw is to use it for repetitive cuts. I know if I'm cutting a lot of pieces to the same size, the repetitive action can cause me to lose concentration ever so slightly, enough to send chills down my spine when I snap back into it. I think it's just human nature and any typical person falls prey to inattention when doing a repetitive task. It's best to recognize this and try to fight against it. So now, for example, if I need to rips 8 boards to the same width, I'll rip 2 or 3 and then go do another task and come back and do a few more, rinse & repeat. It's definitely not the most efficient way, but it's not bad and I feel a whole lot safer doing it this way.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Putney, Vermont
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    I'm very sorry to read this.I hope you adjust well to your new situation.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Nick Shattuck View Post
    I think the most dangerous way to use a table saw is to use it for repetitive cuts. I know if I'm cutting a lot of pieces to the same size, the repetitive action can cause me to lose concentration ever so slightly, enough to send chills down my spine when I snap back into it.
    Nick, you are soooo right. Last evening I was learning to use a kerfmaker knockoff I made and found myself doing it. Scared the crap outta me. I'm going to try again now, but if the same zoning-out happens, I think I'll be done with making dados that way.

    Terry, I'm sorry you got hurt. I appreciate you telling us your story as a reminder. And I applaud yyour courage in "getting back on the horse" - sawstop or no, it had to be extremely hard.

    Fred

  9. #9
    Details Details Details. Everyone will be asking for more details about what operation was being done, how it was setup, how it was being done, and so on. There is no doubt in any of these situations a blade that stops when it hits flesh would save the day, but the unfortunate reality is that the approach to the operation, and the circumstances surrounding the event, can tell a lot.

    Major suck that you got hurt.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Porter,TX
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    1,520
    I guess that having a SawStop help when using a TS but life still requires our full attention.---Carroll

  11. #11
    I never brought this up but here it goes. In 2011 I started having grand mal seizures. One time I woke on the floor in my woodshop with a really black eye, hurt ribs, and muscles really sore. Five years I went to Dr after Dr and so many medications. April 28, 2016 I had major brain surgery and had a section removed on my left side.
    Well I cut my finger and almost my thumb off in July 2016. I was using the table saw and have no idea what happened. I still wonder about it....

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
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    I'm sorry for your condition and wish you the best. I hope if your drive to do woodworking surpasses your concern of random blackouts/seizures and the absolute catastrophe that could be around powered woodworking equipment, please equip your shop with safeguards. A tablesaw can be replaced with a SawStop, but please try to look into deadman switches for the rest of your equipment. I think I'd probably avoid dangerous situations in your condition, but I'm not in your shoes and maybe it's a rare thing for you to blackout, but I think it would be smart to make your shop safe just incase you have an episode.

  13. #13
    This thread really brings up the need for retired guys looking for a hobby to take a course in woodworking from your local high school or juco. I forget that other guys have not had a career in construction and woodworking, and have probably not done a lot of woodworking since their school days. Just stopped by FHKSU on Saturday, they have built a new building, and old Davis Hall is scheduled for demo. Looked at the new shop, it is tiny, and had a new sawstop tablesaw. So, I guess there is not a lot of demand for shop teachers. Now they call it applied science.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Austin Texas
    Posts
    1,957
    Sorry for your troubles Terry. Maybe consider slowing down some and leaning more towards hand tools rather than power tools. You will still get there, perhaps just at a more relaxed pace. Something to consider.
    David

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Leland, NC
    Posts
    476
    Until you get your seizures under control you should not be in the shop. You have already injured yourself twice, once seriously. Shops are full of sharp corners, smashing your eye into one could be much worse than cutting off your finger. You could also crack your skull, break your neck, etc.

    I am not saying you should quit woodworking, but you need to manage your situation first. Woodworking is not fun when you are getting injured.

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