Thread: How NOT to use a table saw

That made me cringe

Originally Posted by BobL

Sorry to keep pestering you with questions but do you recall if the push stick was being pushed directly in line with the blade?

Don't be sorry, it all helps to know what not to do.
I was only taking a sliver off the width of the piece.
The wide side (40mm) was between the blade and the fence, the pushstick was close to the fence and pushing down on the workpiece, putting the forward pressure towards the fence.
I just had a look at the piece, it is nice and smooth except the last 10 mm where it must have flipped upwards and back.
Just had the dressing changed and got told it would take about 4 week before I can use the thumb again

Originally Posted by SAISAY

Don't be sorry, it all helps to know what not to do.
I was only taking a sliver off the width of the piece.
The wide side (40mm) was between the blade and the fence, the pushstick was close to the fence and pushing down on the workpiece, putting the forward pressure towards the fence.
I just had a look at the piece, it is nice and smooth except the last 10 mm where it must have flipped upwards and back.
Just had the dressing changed and got told it would take about 4 week before I can use the thumb again

Thanks - I hope it heals up OK.

it won't help your situation but FWIW half my fingers are messed up.
The ring finger on my left hand is 4mm shorter after the top was taken off by a jointer some 36 years ago, my fault completely for not using a push stick!
The index and middle fingers on my left hand were badly crushed (bones poking out the side!) by a goods lift door 3 years ago - partially my fault but also the door had been slated for replacement almost 10 years before the accident
The index and middle fingers on my right hand were trapped last year between a couple of heavy timber slabs - nothing gory but some tendon damage that is still not right 12 months on. This was sheer stupidity on my part for sticking my hand in there without any back up!

You really should look into using push blocks rather than pushsticks. This one will give you an idea.

P2200006.JPG

Exactly - I like to have some control over both ends of the material, which the blocks wongo has shown will do. Either hold the material being cut firmly against the fence, or firmly against the table surface...don't just poke at one end of it with a stick.

I was surprised during a short course at Sturt School For Wood a while ago to have an instructor encouraging the use of nothing more than thin sticks with rough notches cut in the end as pushsticks. Very little control, good chance of the stick slipping.....and he's teaching other people these habits? Mind you, the state of the plaster wall in the firing line of their tablesaw shows they've had their fair share of exciting moments over the years. It happens in the blink of an eye - check out some of the kickback demos to be found on youtube !

SAISAY - hope you're feeling better, healing fast, and thanks for starting this thread.

Glad you anticipate getting everything sorted as soon as it can heel properly. I took a chunk out of my left thumb nail a few months ago, along with the flesh from the tip of my thumb. Took a fortnight to sort out the fleshy bit and a month to grow out the nail, but back to normal now.

I was ripping some 90x35 pine in 15mm wide strips, blade about 5mm out of timber, using an offcut of 90x35 on edge with a back 'heel' as a pushblock. I was aware of the possibility of the 15mm finished part jamming between the fence and blade so was concentrating on controlling that at the end of the cut, so it threw the waste (abt 70x35 and 650 long) from the free side of the blade back at me, hitting thumb tip from palm side, shearing tip flesh then breaking out half the nail, and creating a bruise 120 x 70 under my right forearm as it struck there on the way through to the barn wall 5 m away. Haven't worked out how it managed to throw the timber from the free side but it did. Luckily left hand was being kept 100mm+ clear of blade so the blade wasn't directly involved.

First issue with a table or panel saw in 10 years working around them, but was always very iffy about the old panel saw at work because the put the scribing blade right at what I was taught was the approach limit to the blade, so had to train myself to keep clear of that as well. Worked with that for three years without contacting a blade but came close (within 20mm)to the scriber a few times without mishap.

Was the pushstick one of those plastic things with a handle one end and a birdsmouth at the other that tend to come as standard with saws? They aren't very good because the don't provide holddown force, and can break or shatter if they contact the blade.

Also have you checked the splitter width relative to the ali blade? Sometimes there is enough kerf variation between different blade families to allow contact at the back of the blade (wider kerf) or force the material toward the fence and jam (narrower kerf), both being able to promote kickback.

Hope it settles down for you soon.

I always check, check and double check the splitter, bladeguard etc.
I would normally use a pushblock but don't have one for a 40mm wide piece.
Yes, it was one of those but a rather large one, about 15 mm thick.
The error on my part was that instead of just turning the piece over and cut it again, I raised the blade to cut the full height (20mm) of the piece.
I have o idea whether I looked away for a sec.
Oh well, 74 years with all my fingers intact is not such a bad record

Originally Posted by Wongo

You really should look into using push blocks rather than pushsticks. This one will give you an idea.

P2200006.JPG

Wongo
I have more of those that you can throw a stick at, plus the shopmade ones, however, sometimes they are just not the right size.

Hello Saisay,
If you are acquainted with what I am about to say, please disregard.
Can I suggest that you place a (say) 20mm spacer jig onto the rip fence
ahead of the saw blade and then add 20mm to the cut. Place the workpiece
against the table fence and slide it to the right until it is hard against the spacer.
The 20mm space between the workpiece and the fence prevents kick back when the piece
reaches the rear of the saw blade at the end of the cutting operation. This method
is failsafe, IMHO. Hope this helps, Drillit. (Others may be able to add to this or have other
opinions)

I will not use a push stick for a bet. Horrible unstable things at best and if it becomes unstable during use you never know where your hand will finish up, or the push stick for that matter. I hope your recover ok from your incident and there is no repeat.

that looks painful but it will heal. the hardest part will be only using one thumb until it does could have been a lot worse.trust me i know

Originally Posted by Drillit

Hello Saisay,
If you are acquainted with what I am about to say, please disregard.
Can I suggest that you place a (say) 20mm spacer jig onto the rip fence
ahead of the saw blade and then add 20mm to the cut. Place the workpiece
against the table fence and slide it to the right until it is hard against the spacer.
The 20mm space between the workpiece and the fence prevents kick back when the piece
reaches the rear of the saw blade at the end of the cutting operation. This method
is failsafe, IMHO. Hope this helps, Drillit. (Others may be able to add to this or have other
opinions)

Hi Drillit, Have you a pic? cos you have lost me a bit.


Pete

Maybe I can clear it up. Fix a piece of timber to the fence ending it before the leading edge of the blade. Take all your cut dimensions from the face of this piece of timber and not the face of the fence. This creates an extra space the equivalent of the thickness of the timber between the blade and the actual fence and the cut material will not become trapped and kick back. I don't know why table saws ever went to full fences that extend past the blade as they are unnecessary and dangerous. Also if the fence is angled away from the blade at the exit end it will reduce the tendency for kick backs to happen and will not affect the cut dimension.

The lengths people will go to avoid having to do the washing up.