On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 07:42:13 -0700, Doug Winterburn
wrote:

What extra gadgert? You consider blade guards, splitters, antikickback
pawls as extra gadgets?

Compared to a table, then yes.

I'd be happier if my cast iron table was actually just a plain rock,
as was good enough for my ancestors thousands of years ago. However
ditching the moving parts isn't a bad start, and ditching a part that
has a safety-critical adjustment that needs setting before each piece
of timber is certainly a good idea in my book.

No, I always use the blade at full height. This is the big advantage of
the TS for ripping - I can use my blade so that the timber passes
through it with the blade travelling vertically and almost all no
horizontal drag forces.

Sorry, but the experts such as Kelly Mehler, Nick Engler & others disagree
with you.

So what ? There are an equal number of "experts" who argue it the
other way. I find their arguments more convincing.

Kelly & Nick suggest the blade be adjusted between 1/8" and
1/4" above the workpiece.

That's just silly - maybe the gullet root should be that low, but
setting it on the tooth tip isn't going to clear the chips properly.

So why set the blade low ? It reduces the Scary Whirling Death Blade,
but the best ways to stop that being a problem are to keep your
fingers out, and to use a crown guard. In terms of cutting
performance, it's a bad idea on every count.

Why set the blade high ? - because it reduces kickback risk. This is
good - I can't "keep my hands away" from kickback, and I can't really
build a guard against it.

And what about non through and dado cuts? Oh,
that's right - you aren't allowed to use those dangerous devices.

Of course we're allowed to do them. Here in Evil Pinko Europe (motto:
a uniformed nanny in every nursery) we celebrated the fall of the
Berlin Wall by performing dado cuts through old statues of Stalin.
Why do people keep thinking that Europeans aren't "allowed" dado
heads?

On the whole I like our HSE. I can think of some really stupid rules
(Article P) coming in on wiring from other government agencies, but
the industrial safety people offer good advice and have never put
forward any rule or requirement that I've ever seen as pointless or
excessive.

--
Smert' spamionam