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6th October 2014, 11:15 PM #1SENIOR MEMBER
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Complancency and emotion can kill, or remove body parts if you are lucky.
I am the biggest offender here. Today, using a table saw I had a kick back that put my thumb on the saw blade. Luky for me, the blade height was only a couple of mm above the timber height as I usually set it. I was using a stick to push the timber through, but because the timber grabbed it pulled my hand back through the blade. The damage was minimal, but still required about 15 stiches to the pad of my thumb. Thats a lot of sticthing for a little area.
The problem with us tradies, is we often become complacent with tools. Use them everyday, get to used to it, mind drifts of for a second and then its all over. I have been using table saws for 20 odd years now and this is the first time I have had an incedent. I got off very, VERY lightly. A single lapse in concentration because the sister in laws kids were over mucking up and I got off.
I rave about it to motorcyclists, being one myself, not to ride when you are tired, been drinking, when emotional. Same applies for power tools. I dont use them tired or , and I made the mistake of using one today when I was annoyed.
Talking to the doctor who ficed me up, he had to work on a bloke who was a factory worker been using the same panel saw for 20 years. One day got distracted and put his whole hand accross the saw. Lost is hand as a result. Just single lapse in concentration.
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6th October 2014 11:15 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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7th October 2014, 12:18 AM #2
Sorry to hear of your accident Pearo.
Were you using a push stick with your right hand and did the damage happen to your left hand thumb.
Just wondering if you have been reaching over the line of the blade at the back of the blade?
Which as you know is a good way to guarantee digit loss.
If it didn't happen that way please give more detail. It is a good thing to share these mistakes. Ive had some big kickbacks , never lost anything [so far] from being taught early never to cross the blade line especially at the back . Getting hit by the wood is not much fun , Learned that the hard way, it hasn't happened for the last 20 years though.
Rob
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7th October 2014, 07:53 AM #3SENIOR MEMBER
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Yup, push stick in right hand, left hand holding it down on the table. Normally my hand goes no where near the blade. Broke the rules by being complacent. I was ripping 90mm decking timber offcuts in half.
Cant count the number of nicks and cuts on my hands various power tools over the years due to the same stupid attitude.
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7th October 2014, 09:05 AM #4
Splitter
Do you use a splitter behind the blade?
.
www.ColonialPlantationShutters.com.au
Use your garage or home workshop to make Plantation Shutters as a business
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7th October 2014, 10:08 AM #5SENIOR MEMBER
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7th October 2014, 10:18 AM #6
Hope you heal well Pearo
I my self got a few stitches in my thumb just over 12 months ago
For yes not focusing being in a mood at the time
You are perfectly correct machines and moods don't work
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7th October 2014, 02:17 PM #7
I always like having a blade coming out of the table and over the work high . so the teeth on the down cut are pushing the work down to the table and not so much pushing the work back at me like a rocket launcher. It looks scary and I keep well away from it and there is not as much chance if my attention lapses and the wood gets the wobbles that it can jump up and come back down on the top of the blade. My guard covers the work as well and prevents lift off if I have set it well
I use long push sticks as well , about 350mm long and sometimes one in each hand , This is for shorter work .
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7th October 2014, 02:32 PM #8.
www.ColonialPlantationShutters.com.au
Use your garage or home workshop to make Plantation Shutters as a business
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7th October 2014, 02:54 PM #9
Hell is other people.
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7th October 2014, 02:55 PM #10
Isn't this a bit of a two edge sword? I know each approach has its advantages and disadvantages however if Pearo did have the blade set high then his thumb would have gone further onto the blade. Perhaps the counter argument is that if the blade was higher then the kickback wouldn't have occurred and his thumb wouldn't have been cut. Personally I set the blade only a fraction higher than the thickness of the timber as I would rather have less exposed blade, but that being said I haven't really studied the pros and cons of each.
Sorry to hear about your accident Pearo. I certainly know the feeling of working when tired, stressed or not really into it. There is a tendency to force things just to get the job done and safety is often overlooked. I have had a few instances where working when I shouldn't be, something happens unexpectedly and it is just enough of a fright to think its best not to continue.Now proudly sponsored by Binford Tools. Be sure to check out the Binford 6100 - available now at any good tool retailer.
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7th October 2014, 03:11 PM #11
The idea of running the blade higher is that it increases the angle of the teeth as they enter and leave the cut, making the trajectory more vertical and less groin-oriented.
You will find plenty of argument both sides of the debate. Some people argue that higher blade height increases the chance of kickback.
Personally I run mine somewhere in between. But at least an inch or so above the top surface of the work piece. The most important thing is to make sure that the cut is protected by proper guards, kickback pawls or a feather board, and a splitter or riving knife.
Incidentally, if the saw has a splitter, a higher blade height places the back of the blade closer to the splitter, making it more like a riving knife, which hugs the back of the blade."I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."
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