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Thread: Table saw safety reminder

  1. #1

    Table saw safety reminder

    Saw this video on Youtube. An excellent reminder of how easily an accident can happen
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifjjacjLBE

  2. #2
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    Unfortunately, I was in the hospital yesterday and had a chance to talk to a man who had that same thing occur to him. He had several fingers chewed up and luckily had them reattached. He had quite a bit of nerve damage also. When I asked what his next step was, all he could say, with a grin mind you, was SawStop.

  3. #3
    Good video. Good reminder. Thanks for posting it Gene.
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  4. #4
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    Thanks. I hadn't thought of that particular aspect of how a riving knife helps prevent kickbacks.

  5. #5
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    I disagree with his height of blade setting shown in the video. The blade should be set so that the bottom of the gullets clear the wood being cut. Blade manufactures recommend higher blade settings than he was using. IMO his accident was caused by the blade being set too low. Yes if he had a riving knife installed it would have also prevented the problem, so would a ripping feather board or rollers installed on his fence to pull the work piece toward the fence behind the blade. My Grip Tite feather boards have a roller mounted on a bias so that when I place it on the fence behind the blade it continuously pulls the work piece against the fence. A good push block on the piece being cut would have also prevented the twisting effect at the end of the cut.

    It is a good reminder to be careful around power tools, but his item number four on his safety list is wrong.
    Lee Schierer
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  6. #6
    Good reminders on some basic tablesaw safety measures. Given the fact that his tablesaw does not have a splitter or better a riving knife, the risk of kickbacks which he experienced is high.

    Did he mention SawStop as one of the solutions? A SawStop would have also reduced the damage to his hand.

    He has missed one critical point in his video. He is one of the many and growing social media woodworking fellas out there. Like many, he probably has not received any training about the risk of doing woodworking, demonstrating, talking to the camera and focusing on safety ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Distractions are a common source of shop accidents. It all looks easy when you watch Scott Phillips or Norm Abram on TV. They don't work solo and have professional production teams behind them.

    This fella uses a tablesaw without even a blade guard, which could also have reduced or avoided his hand injury. His job-site kind of saw offers almost no safety protection to him.

    He should invest in a SawStop if he plans to continue his social media business (the revenue generating model of youtube is drawing people to produce all kinds of materials from all ages; even Paul Sellers fell for it).

    Simon

  7. #7
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    what can possibly go wrong?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gene Takae View Post
    Saw this video on Youtube. An excellent reminder of how easily an accident can happen
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifjjacjLBE
    Thanks for that. It took guts for that guy to admit and talk about his accident. I liked his comment "I know it might sound odd to take table saw safety advice from someone who has had a table saw accident" and his logic for making the video. I think this makes a fa better impression than listening to the usual "safety blah be careful blah blah don't do blah blah blah"

    When I got my first chainsaw I read everything I could find about how to be maimed or killed from the saw and trees. When I got my first tractor I did the same. I discovered many real dangers, some surprising, that I would never have imagined. If I can't imagine what could go wrong, I can't possibly protect against it.

    JKJ

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    I disagree with his height of blade setting shown in the video. The blade should be set so that the bottom of the gullets clear the wood being cut. Blade manufactures recommend higher blade settings than he was using. IMO his accident was caused by the blade being set too low. Yes if he had a riving knife installed it would have also prevented the problem, so would a ripping feather board or rollers installed on his fence to pull the work piece toward the fence behind the blade. My Grip Tite feather boards have a roller mounted on a bias so that when I place it on the fence behind the blade it continuously pulls the work piece against the fence. A good push block on the piece being cut would have also prevented the twisting effect at the end of the cut.

    It is a good reminder to be careful around power tools, but his item number four on his safety list is wrong.
    One reason to set a blade as you described is for better dust collection when used with the dust/blade guard. The downward spinning helps push dust into the under the table dust shroud.

    I had not watched any videos from this person before and have no idea about his background. But youtube "instructional" videos are a potential minefield and if anyone sees a video showing unsafe practices in a forum you belong to, please report it so the moderators so they can take another look.

    Simon

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post

    He should invest in a SawStop if he plans to continue his social media business (the revenue generating model of youtube is drawing people to produce all kinds of materials from all ages; even Paul Sellers fell for it).

    Simon
    A very unfortunate accident. Complacency in the work place is the leading cause of accidents. But to answer your question he actually had ordered a SawStop a few days before the accident. He received it shortly after the accident. Kind of ironic.

  10. #10
    [QUOTE=John K Jordan;2751671I know it might sound odd to take table saw safety advice from someone who has had a table saw accident[/QUOTE]

    When I took my son to a gun safety course both instructors showed us their wounds where they had accidentally shot themselves.

  11. #11
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    Appreciate the video reminder - cannot be too safe! A splitter would have prevented this accident as well.

    I place a large sheet of cardboard on top of my TS to protect the table top when not in use, so having a riving knife in place prevents it from sitting down flat on the table. However, after watching this video I just decided to try using the riving knife again & will cut a slot in the cardboard to accept it.

    By the way, I observed the same thing as did Lee regarding the set cutting height of the saw blade. I agree with Lee's comment about having the gullet of the blade clear the top of the workpiece when cutting as it will focus more downward cutting force on the workpiece holding it against the table, rather than straight back, plus it will help clear the blade of sawdust rather than let it accumulate, perhaps bind more easily & increase the cutting forces.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
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  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Al Launier View Post

    I place a large sheet of cardboard on top of my TS to protect the table top when not in use, so having a riving knife in place prevents it from sitting down flat on the table. However, after watching this video I just decided to try using the riving knife again & will cut a slot in the cardboard to accept it.
    Yours is a splitter, not a riving knife right? A riving knife should come all the way down with the sawblade below the tabletop.

    Simon

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    Yours is a splitter, not a riving knife right? A riving knife should come all the way down with the sawblade below the tabletop.

    Simon
    It's been awhile since I last used it so I'll have to check. As noted below my memory often fails me. Thanks for the FYI.
    Thoughts entering one's mind need not exit one's mouth!
    As I age my memory fades .... and that's a load off my mind!

    "We Live In The Land Of The Free, Only Because Of The Brave"
    “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living."
    "
    Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." Winston Churchill

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Simon MacGowen View Post
    Good reminders on some basic tablesaw safety measures. Given the fact that his tablesaw does not have a splitter or better a riving knife, the risk of kickbacks which he experienced is high.

    Did he mention SawStop as one of the solutions? A SawStop would have also reduced the damage to his hand.

    He has missed one critical point in his video. He is one of the many and growing social media woodworking fellas out there. Like many, he probably has not received any training about the risk of doing woodworking, demonstrating, talking to the camera and focusing on safety ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Distractions are a common source of shop accidents. It all looks easy when you watch Scott Phillips or Norm Abram on TV. They don't work solo and have professional production teams behind them.

    This fella uses a tablesaw without even a blade guard, which could also have reduced or avoided his hand injury. His job-site kind of saw offers almost no safety protection to him.

    He should invest in a SawStop if he plans to continue his social media business (the revenue generating model of youtube is drawing people to produce all kinds of materials from all ages; even Paul Sellers fell for it).

    Simon
    I watch a ton of YouTube woodworking videos. Probably at least an hour a day. I've never once seen someone talking or looking into the camera while making a cut on their table saw. I film my projects as well and have never done that. I set up my camera, push record, and then go through the setup of the cut. It's not distracting at all.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    I disagree with his height of blade setting shown in the video. The blade should be set so that the bottom of the gullets clear the wood being cut. Blade manufactures recommend higher blade settings than he was using. IMO his accident was caused by the blade being set too low. Yes if he had a riving knife installed it would have also prevented the problem, so would a ripping feather board or rollers installed on his fence to pull the work piece toward the fence behind the blade. My Grip Tite feather boards have a roller mounted on a bias so that when I place it on the fence behind the blade it continuously pulls the work piece against the fence. A good push block on the piece being cut would have also prevented the twisting effect at the end of the cut.

    It is a good reminder to be careful around power tools, but his item number four on his safety list is wrong.
    How did the blade height cause kick back? And he's not claiming that blade height can cause/prevent the accident, he's saying that because his blade was low that it did not cause further damage to his fingers.

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