..which is why I generally clamp down small pieces of wood that cannot be
adequately held by hand. Yours could have been worse though... a relative of
mine cut a biscuit slot in his finger when he lost control of a small piece
of wood.

I gained a lot of added respect for this tool a few years ago. I set the fence
depth wrong, for a slot in a board that I had clamped to a cast iron table.
The blade cut a neat biscuit in solid cast iron.

It looks like a safe tool, and generally is, but it has a nasty bite if you let
it off the leash.

Rich S.