Thread: Table Saw and Butchers Glove

I know it's important to concentrate, but I have doubts about its usefulness as advice. You have to have inherent safety, just telling people to concentrate sounds good but we're all human.

Scott Adams (Dilbert cartoonist) tells how he had an email sent to him by a reader which tells how an efficiency expert came to his place of employment (a copying service). This is from memory, so I'm paraphrasing.

The efficiency expert asked the copying clerks if they could make one copy, perfectly, without making an error and wasting paper etc. They all agreed they could. He then said, so if you could do it once, if I asked to you copy five things, could you do that perfectly without any errors and wasted paper? And they all agreed they could.

So then he says, well, currently this shop wastes tens of thousands of copies a year due to errors. So if you can make five perfect copies, you can make a million perfect copies, you have no excuse.

This is, of course, dumber than a box of hammers.

Sorry to hijack this thread and return to the original question but....

I wouldn't wear a glove for quids.

The possibility of being dragged at least partially into the slot followed by inevitable jamming and possible mincing is more horrific than just having a finger lopped straight off.

One does lose the "feel" that an ungloved hand has. I was discussing this only recently with my dentist who feels the same now that they have to wear gloves. Their gloves are the tight surgical kind too.

Wearing a glove may give the operator the sense of relaxation around his machine. He feels safer because he wears a little insurance perhaps. The last thing one needs in operating a table saw is to feel like this.

I am relaxed when using table saw because I think clearly and am alert to the safety requirements. I never ask the machine to do anything it wasn't designed to do and am prepared to find the safest way to do any task. If unsure don't do it.

The machine will soon tell you if you've been an idiot

WB

Jeezuz

you've got ten of em

stop worrying

I reckon it's time someone put this to the test.

Method: Get one SS glove and 1/2 kg of snags. Shove a snag down each finger and tie/tape the glove to a piece of wood. Set up video camera and then poke glove into saw.

Prediction, Blade will shred glove and spray sausage meat around a bit.

Sounds like an above average U-Tube production.

I might do it on my old table saw with and old blade.

Now where did I put that butchers glove.

Cheers

Thanks for all the replies guys even if some did go off the track a bit.

Bob L. I would really like to see that, would make for a great video / U-Tube post !!

Hey BobL

Use boned chicken legs instead of snags. At least you get the bones and solidness a hand would have.

On a realistic note, I'd be scared of the reaction of the glove to the saw blade. The acceleration of the unit once it hits the blade would be frightening. I think most of us have seen a piece of wood catch and dissappear over our shoulders....if they don't leave a nasty bruise or bounce off the face shield.

Cheers

Pete

Bob, if you did I would have the glove on a piece of wood as long as you can ie you being able to stand outside the shed!

The thought of what would happen terrifies me!