"Paul D" wrote in message
...
Lets think about that board with a bow in it .... As is more than likely
the
bow is not consistent throughout the length of the board. If the amount of
bow increases slightly, with both ends of the board in contact with the
fence. Where is the board forced to go? ... into the side of blade.

ONLY if one end of the board begins or eventually is not in contact with the
blade during the entire cut.

If the board is relatively short, too short to go through a jointer to
straighten, and will remain in contact with the fence through the entire cut
the pricedure would benefit from the a longer fence as the piece would
travel in a straight line.


We have
two options here. If the blade is thin enough and the increased bow is
only
minor the blade will flex enough to absorb the extra side forces being
applied. If the blade is rigid or the increase in bow is considerable then
things start to jam up. Hopefully at this point your saw in a little
underpowered and the motor will start to stall, if not you can guess what
happens next.

Actually I have had to guard against more "starts of a kick back" with an
under powered saw. With my cabinet saw and regular kerf blade the blade
seldom shows any sign of binding as the saw has the power to power through
the cut. In my experience the more HP the safer all cuts are.



You must remember that a rip saw is designed to cut straight
stock.

True, however with the proper jig/sled, it can easily and safely straighten
stock also.

Snip

Always remember
there is no such thing as an accident.

If that were true there would be no such word, as accident.
Partially agreeing however, "MOST" accidents can be prevented. A power
failure in a basement during a cut could easily cause an accident and
probably happens quite often. I personally have had power failures during
cuts and they were not because of a blown breaker. This situation would be
next to impossable to prevent.

99.99% of 'accidents' are usually the
result of someone doing something wrong, whether it be a deliberate
decision
to do it or simply a lack of concentration on the task at hand

I'll not disagree here, you are preaching to the choir. ;~) The other .01%
are accidents. Unfortunately no one is not incapable of an accident. There
are simply too many situations that come into play that fall outside the
situations that one is taught to help prevent an accident. The moment that
you think that all you know about safety will save your butt is the moment
that something can get you. NO ONE is incapable of covering all bases in
every situation or scenario.