notbob wrote in
:

R U kidding me!? I saw that shop safety film in the 9th grade. The
film stated the reason the piece of wood got shot back was cuz; no
guard thingie; the blade was set too low, hitting the work at an angle
guaranteed to turn it into a projectile; not using "push stick".

I don't think lack of a "guard thingie" would be a factor in
that particular problem, but lack of a splitter or riving knife
would be.

As Puckdropper said, setting the blade low has advantages and
is considered an OK practice today. Avoiding kickback means
having a splitter/riving knife so that the kerf can't close on
the blade. Also, as Puckdropper said, don't do thin cuts on
the fence side (as you push the wood into the cut you'll tend
to rotate it towards the blade if you're pushing on away side).

Push sticks, feather boards, and outfeed tables or rollers to
keep the board from lifting off the table are also good ideas.

And, from personal experience, avoid cutting thru knots. Even
what looks like a tight knot can come loose when the teeth hit
it, and having half a knot whistle past your ear like a bullet
really gets your attention.

John