kick back

[andrew whicker]

I think the other thing to keep in mind is that if it all possible, just quit trying to get more wood out of a piece of lumber shorter than 6 to 8 inches... you can't even do any planing or jointing on a board less than 12 inches. I mean you can do whatever you want, but if it is going to be a dangerous cut merely because you are trying to save money by having less scrap.. I think it's time to re-think your plan. Cost of finger / bad bruise in your stomach > cost of new board.

[Bernie Kopfer]

The Sawstop riving knife is designed to be centered in the blade kerf. I took some green tape and adhered it to the left side of the riving knife where its clamped so that the right side of the knife lines up with the right side of the blade teeth. This has the benefit of using the knife as splitter so that it keeps the workpiece against the fence. Perhaps someMinimal benefit in terms of kickback too. But I know that the wood will have a harder time reaching the blade teeth if It try’s to close up the kerf.

[Thomas Wilson]

I would suggest that the safest way to do this cut would have been with a sled equipped with track and clamps to hold the workpiece. A plexiglass guard over the blade is also good for deflecting small off cuts.

If you use a stop block on a miter saw, the piece against the stop should be clamped too. Keep the saw down after the cut until the blade stops spinning to prevent catching the off-cut and flinging it. Usually the piece goes backward, but it can ricochet off the fence toward the operator.

[Larry Frank]

Very interesting that someone would try not to have a guard or riving knife installed. I seriously do not understand not having the riving knife installed.

[Eric Cothern]

I had a 4x4x.75 inch piece of walnut go flying at me and left a nasty bruise across on my belly. Thank goodness for the spare tire. I now stand well clear of the side between the blade and fence.

[Michael Rutman]

There are some times you don’t use a riving knife nor guard, but they wouldn’t apply here.

Dado blades.
Thin kerf saw blades where you forgot to buy a thin kerf riving knife.
You want to demonstrate kick back to teach someone what not to do.

That’s about all I can think of.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I much prefer using a bandsaw to cut smallish pieces of wood. It feels safer, though even the bandsaw can kick back in certain conditions.

[Frank Pratt]

I much prefer using a bandsaw to cut smallish pieces of wood. It feels safer, though even the bandsaw can kick back in certain conditions.

I've seen some spectacular videos of a bandsaw grabbing & rotating a piece. All hell breaks loose.

[Dave Bunge]

I agree with previous posters that it's very important to use a riving knife.

I bought a Sawstop PCS recently and it took me a while to realize that it came with 2 riving knives. One that's part of the blade guard mechanism and easy to see. But also a second, stand alone one that's meant for use when the blade guard is removed. The 2nd one is stored in the same holder that's used for the miter gauge. I probably put it there when I was assembling the saw. But I forgot about it and was in a quandary when I wanted to make cuts without the blade guard. It took me a while and some internet sleuthing to discover that I had what I needed all along.

So I'm just passing this along in case the reason you weren't using a riving knife was that you didn't realize you had one to use when the blade guard is removed.