On 5/7/2014 9:01 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
knuttle wrote in
:

*snip*

Have I ever been hurt on a table saw? Yes I did something absolutely
stupid and then followed up with some as stupid to correct the
problem.

I was ripping a piece of 1X4 to fit under a mirror. My first stupid
mistake was to set the out-feed feather board to the width that I
wanted to cut, not the to the width of the board I was cutting.

The second stupid mistake was to try to readjust without turning the
saw off

Fortunately it only slice the end of the finger, and I lost nothing
physical. It would have been significantly different if I had not
made the rest of the set up with safety in mind.

Let's say you notice a cut starting to "go bad." What should you be
looking for in order to safely stop the cut/saw? Is it ever safe to
completely let go of the workpiece while the blade is still in it?

Stop all movement and then try to shut off the saw with out moving the work.


I realize there's a large number of possible scenarios, but let's focus
on just a few:
1. A large workpiece (like plywood) completely covers access to the
switch, so shutting the saw off mid-cut requires ducking under it.

Full 3/4" sheets I try to break up with my track saw or have my wife on
hand to turn the TS on and off and to help me keep the edge against the
fence. Typically the work is too heavy to cause a serious kickback
should you bind the blade. the blase most often creates a burned wider
kerf. IME the small pieces are the ones that can cause the most harm.




2. A long workpiece begins to close on the blade, requiring reaching over
the piece to hit the switch. (Avoidance would include using a
splitter/riving knife and not placing the work between you and the
switch.)

Not sure what you are describing here but typically the switch is on the
left side of the blade. The work is always between me and the fence.

Some thing to consider about the safest place to be during a cut. I
know a lot of people that want to use the fence to help protect so they
stand with the fence between them and the work. IMHO it is far better
to stand in a position that affords you maximum control over the cut vs
one that may not necessarily be ad protective as you think.

If the board takes flight no where is necessarily a safe place to be.



3. A feather board is set improperly and will not allow the work to pass.
The error is not realized until after the work has been introduced to the
blade.

You need to plan your feather board placement better. The feather board
should not allow a start of a cut at all if properly placed, meaning the
feather board is always in front of the blade.