On 6/20/2011 11:04 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Steve Barker" wrote

Who is "THEY". I doubt seriously if 4000 fingers have been chopped off
in the history of table saws total.


Check out the chart on page 6 here


http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/...lesaw-injuries

According to a recent study published in the Journal of Trauma, a
professional journal for ER staff, roughly 31,400 people are treated in
emergency rooms every year for tablesaw injuries. This is based on ER
reports compiled from 1990 to 2007 and amazingly, that figure doesnt
even include folks who are injured on the job. Those statistics are kept
separate and arent included in the study.

As you might imagine, roughly 93 percent of those injuries were to the
users finger, thumb or another part of their hand. 66 percent of
those injured had lacerations while 10 percent had amputations. Other
types of injuries include soft-tissue injuries to the head, face and
neck, presumably from flying lumber or debris caused by kickback.

http://www.nclnet.org/health/99-safe...y-improvements

Did you know that each year, tens of thousands of people are brutally
injured by table saws €“ including 4,000 amputations €“ at a cost of
more than $2 billion a year to treat victims? The National Consumers
League is calling on the Consumer Product Safety Commission to implement
safety changes that would help keep this major public health threat at bay.

Agreed, not everyone should own a table saw. Very few people actually
need them. I wonder if anyone has researched how many of the victims
just bought the damn thing, or only used it once a year or so? And of
course, how many were ever instructed properly on how to use them?

I also wonder how many injuries were with 'real' table saws, and how
many were with those tiny toys with the 18" square tables, that aren't
useful for much more than building bird houses. (Try ripping a sheet of
plywood on one of those tiny things, even with a helper.)

--
aem sends...