I'm a staunch supporter of health and safety in the shop and always
appreciate reading posts about mistakes, in hopes that others will benefit
and not repeat the screw-up. I've been lucky, but here goes:

I bought a plate jointer. I went to try it out. So I got a few pieces of
pine board out of my scrap bin, and proceeded to cut some slots. I'd read
the recent article in FWW and knew what I wanted to test.

I cut several slots in the edge of a few scraps; everything went perfectly.
Then I tried to cut a face slot in a small piece of scrap (the scrap 5" X 6"
piece laying flat on the bench). I set the board on my bench and used a
support fence (like in the article), and plunged.....

.... into a unexposed knot. The board and plate jointer blade bound, and the
board flew into my chest (OK..... my belly) with considerable force.
Pluswhich, the inertia carried the blade into my workbench, which now has an
ugly asymmetrical gouge that kinda' resembles a biscuit jointer slot with
an extended right side.

Live (hopefully) and learn (hopefully). Be safe all.

-JBB

"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in message
news
I'm a staunch supporter of health and safety in the shop and always
appreciate reading posts about mistakes, in hopes that others will benefit
and not repeat the screw-up. I've been lucky, but here goes:

I bought a plate jointer. I went to try it out. So I got a few pieces of
pine board out of my scrap bin, and proceeded to cut some slots. I'd read
the recent article in FWW and knew what I wanted to test.

I cut several slots in the edge of a few scraps; everything went
perfectly.
Then I tried to cut a face slot in a small piece of scrap (the scrap 5" X
6"
piece laying flat on the bench). I set the board on my bench and used a
support fence (like in the article), and plunged.....

... into a unexposed knot. The board and plate jointer blade bound, and
the
board flew into my chest (OK..... my belly) with considerable force.
Pluswhich, the inertia carried the blade into my workbench, which now has
an
ugly asymmetrical gouge that kinda' resembles a biscuit jointer slot with
an extended right side.

Live (hopefully) and learn (hopefully). Be safe all.

...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.

John

..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.

"John Grossbohlin" wrote:

A relative of mine cut a biscuit slot in his finger
when he lost control of a small piece of wood.


Ouch ouch ouch ouch!

Visceral response, there.

"Wolf Lahti" wrote in message
...
"John Grossbohlin" wrote:

A relative of mine cut a biscuit slot in his finger
when he lost control of a small piece of wood.


Ouch ouch ouch ouch!

Visceral response, there.

That pretty much matches my response when I saw his finger!

John

"J.B. Bobbitt" wrote in message . com...
... into a unexposed knot. The board and plate jointer blade bound, and the
board flew into my chest (OK..... my belly) with considerable force.
Pluswhich, the inertia carried the blade into my workbench, which now has an
ugly asymmetrical gouge that kinda' resembles a biscuit jointer slot with
an extended right side.

J.B. Thanks for the laugh.

I had to re-read your post - first time I read "belly" instead of
"workbench" and thought you cut an asymmetrical gouge across your
midsection. I laughed AFTER I re-read it and realized that it was
your bench that had the gouge, not your belly and that you were
(relatively) uninjured. I will picture a belly with a biscuit
sticking out (and coat of Titebond applied ready for glue up) every
time I use my biscuit jointer now and that will remind me to be
careful.

-Chris