I experienced my first real near miss yesterday. Definitely caused a
few more gray hairs in the beard (not that you could tell the
difference from before).

I was cutting a shoulder rabet in a 1/2" thick slice of some exotic
burl. The protruding shoulder would sit in a 1/4" groove that runs
around the inside perimeter of a mitered walnut box I'm making to
store my chisels. I was making the last of the four cuts with the
wood on edge in which the TS blade would be buried in the wood (the
next series of cuts would be with the wood flat and would complete the
rabet).

All of a sudden I heard a loud CLUNK! of the blade as it grabbed the
piece and it was launched out of my hands. It's always amazing to me
how the mind can work so fast in those situations that it seems like
everything else is slowing down. In that fraction of a second I
thought, "Damn, that's gonna ruin that beautiful piece and I'll be
done for the day!"

I turned around and watched as the piece sailed through the air (I
live in sunny SoCal and do most of my work in the driveway), bounced
off the roof of my car, hit the street and shattered, some 30 feet
away. I quickly assessed that I had still had 10 fingers (a slight
nick on one, I believe from the burl bullet as it went past) and then
thought, "Yep, I'm done for today", and cleaned up the mess.

So, nothing irreplacable was lost. And it definitely left a lasting
impression on me. I have always been aware of the theoretical
potential for kickback. Now I've got the experience to go with it.
Even upon review, I can't think of what I might have done differently
to prevent it. I'm fairly certain my hands were well placed and
exposed to minimal risk. In a strange way, I'm glad it happened
because the occasional reminder is a good thing.

Just passing this on as a reminder to others here.

Ian Dodd wrote:

I experienced my first real near miss yesterday. Definitely caused a
few more gray hairs in the beard (not that you could tell the
difference from before).

I was cutting a shoulder rabet in a 1/2" thick slice of some exotic
burl. The protruding shoulder would sit in a 1/4" groove that runs
around the inside perimeter of a mitered walnut box I'm making to
store my chisels. I was making the last of the four cuts with the
wood on edge in which the TS blade would be buried in the wood (the
next series of cuts would be with the wood flat and would complete the
rabet).

All of a sudden I heard a loud CLUNK! of the blade as it grabbed the
piece and it was launched out of my hands. It's always amazing to me
how the mind can work so fast in those situations that it seems like
everything else is slowing down. In that fraction of a second I
thought, "Damn, that's gonna ruin that beautiful piece and I'll be
done for the day!"

I turned around and watched as the piece sailed through the air (I
live in sunny SoCal and do most of my work in the driveway), bounced
off the roof of my car, hit the street and shattered, some 30 feet
away. I quickly assessed that I had still had 10 fingers (a slight
nick on one, I believe from the burl bullet as it went past) and then
thought, "Yep, I'm done for today", and cleaned up the mess.

So, nothing irreplacable was lost. And it definitely left a lasting
impression on me. I have always been aware of the theoretical
potential for kickback. Now I've got the experience to go with it.
Even upon review, I can't think of what I might have done differently
to prevent it. I'm fairly certain my hands were well placed and
exposed to minimal risk. In a strange way, I'm glad it happened
because the occasional reminder is a good thing.

Just passing this on as a reminder to others here.

If that won't stop your heart, nothing will! I'll remember
to my dying day when all the carbide tips flew off my then
newly purchased Crapsman contractor's TS. I had ignorantly
placed the metal "feather board" that Sears sells, too close
to the blade. After the piece I was cutting cleared the
blade, the metal "feather board" touched the blade. This
all transpired in my driveway. I found only a couple of the
20 something blade tips. My dad had been standing off to
the side. Luckily, neither of us was hit by the shrapnel.
Yowsa!

dave

"Ian Dodd" wrote in message
om...
So, nothing irreplacable was lost. And it definitely left a lasting
impression on me.

Then this learning experience was a good one, and I am certainly glad that
you were not hurt badly.


I have always been aware of the theoretical
potential for kickback. Now I've got the experience to go with it.
Even upon review, I can't think of what I might have done differently
to prevent it. I'm fairly certain my hands were well placed and
exposed to minimal risk. In a strange way, I'm glad it happened
because the occasional reminder is a good thing.

If I read you correctly, in essence you were in the middle of a "resawing"
operation on the TS and your next step was to cut that portion away. Some
times you get less grab from the blade if you do this operation in reverse
order. Make the face cut before the edge cut. This way if there is
internal stress in the wood the piece being cut away can move a bit more
freely and not bind against the blade. Note also you always want to have
the waste piece fall away freely, not trapped between the fence and the
blade.

Again, I am glad to hear that this became a learning experience and not a
hospital experience.

"Bay Area Dave" wrote in message
. com...

If that won't stop your heart, nothing will! I'll remember
to my dying day when all the carbide tips flew off my then
newly purchased Crapsman contractor's TS. I had ignorantly
placed the metal "feather board" that Sears sells, too close
to the blade.

It just goes against my way of thinking that a manufacturer would produce a
metal feather board to be used on a TS. Seems like an accident waiting to
happen. I guess it actually was.
I wonder if Rockler still markets the Aluminum push stick, another bad idea
IMHO.

Leon wrote:

"Bay Area Dave" wrote in message
. com...


If that won't stop your heart, nothing will! I'll remember
to my dying day when all the carbide tips flew off my then
newly purchased Crapsman contractor's TS. I had ignorantly
placed the metal "feather board" that Sears sells, too close
to the blade.


It just goes against my way of thinking that a manufacturer would produce a
metal feather board to be used on a TS. Seems like an accident waiting to
happen. I guess it actually was.
I wonder if Rockler still markets the Aluminum push stick, another bad idea
IMHO.


yeah, as soon as it happened, I thought the same thing; why
in the hell did they make it out of metal? I don't know if
Sears still sells them.

dave

Tabled router and this or the homebrew equivalent is a LOT safer. Of course,
you wouldn't have the waste piece, but sawdust.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...gory=1,43 000

"Ian Dodd" wrote in message
om...

I was cutting a shoulder rabet in a 1/2" thick slice of some exotic
burl. The protruding shoulder would sit in a 1/4" groove that runs
around the inside perimeter of a mitered walnut box I'm making to
store my chisels. I was making the last of the four cuts with the
wood on edge in which the TS blade would be buried in the wood (the
next series of cuts would be with the wood flat and would complete the
rabet).

Even upon review, I can't think of what I might have done differently
to prevent it. I'm fairly certain my hands were well placed and
exposed to minimal risk. In a strange way, I'm glad it happened
because the occasional reminder is a good thing.

Just passing this on as a reminder to others here.

"Leon" wrote in message
om...

"Bay Area Dave" wrote in message
. com...

If that won't stop your heart, nothing will! I'll remember
to my dying day when all the carbide tips flew off my then
newly purchased Crapsman contractor's TS. I had ignorantly
placed the metal "feather board" that Sears sells, too close
to the blade.

It just goes against my way of thinking that a manufacturer would produce
a
metal feather board to be used on a TS. Seems like an accident waiting to
happen. I guess it actually was.
I wonder if Rockler still markets the Aluminum push stick, another bad
idea
IMHO.



I agree with that Leon - I favor white pine push sticks in the hope that
they might disintegrate (rather than snatching my paw) when the worst
happens.

I make mine out of 1/2" Baltic Birch. They have a handle on top, a finger
on the back end to push the work through and they extend forward about 9" to
hold the work down.

George wrote:
Tabled router and this or the homebrew equivalent is a LOT safer. Of
course,
you wouldn't have the waste piece, but sawdust.


http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.a...gory=1,43 000

I have one of these. To be able to keep the (whatever is being worked) flat
on the table it helps to put a piece of 1/8" scrap hardboard under each of
the yellow parts when you're clamping.

-- Mark

Sounds about like mine. I'm surprised, the last time someone mentioned the
inadvisability of the aluminum push stick, there were some who defended it.
The last thing I saw at work today was someone slam a 1 1/4" HSS endmill
into a piece of aluminum. The aluminum is fine (a few dents but not bad) but
the milling cutter shattered. Makes you think.


"Leon" wrote in message
.. .
I make mine out of 1/2" Baltic Birch. They have a handle on top, a finger
on the back end to push the work through and they extend forward about 9"
to
hold the work down.

Yes. Rockler does still market the AL push stick. Have a couple of them
and even nicked one. It is a very soft aluminum, hardly knew it happened
at the time. Still, tend to only use them when there is a bit of
distance from the blade.........

Bill

--

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are."
-Theodore Roosevelt


"Leon" wrote in message
om...

"Bay Area Dave" wrote in message
. com...

If that won't stop your heart, nothing will! I'll remember
to my dying day when all the carbide tips flew off my then
newly purchased Crapsman contractor's TS. I had ignorantly
placed the metal "feather board" that Sears sells, too close
to the blade.

It just goes against my way of thinking that a manufacturer would
produce a
metal feather board to be used on a TS. Seems like an accident
waiting to
happen. I guess it actually was.
I wonder if Rockler still markets the Aluminum push stick, another bad
idea
IMHO.

Ian Dodd wrote:

I experienced my first real near miss yesterday. Definitely caused a
few more gray hairs in the beard (not that you could tell the
difference from before).

I was cutting a shoulder rabet in a 1/2" thick slice of some exotic
burl. The protruding shoulder would sit in a 1/4" groove that runs
around the inside perimeter of a mitered walnut box I'm making to
store my chisels. I was making the last of the four cuts with the
wood on edge in which the TS blade would be buried in the wood (the
next series of cuts would be with the wood flat and would complete the
rabet).

All of a sudden I heard a loud CLUNK! of the blade as it grabbed the
piece and it was launched out of my hands. It's always amazing to me
how the mind can work so fast in those situations that it seems like
everything else is slowing down. In that fraction of a second I
thought, "Damn, that's gonna ruin that beautiful piece and I'll be
done for the day!"


snip

Did you figure out what went wrong? Find the "missile"
and I'm betting it is cupped, twisted or bowed or all
three - and not by much - just enough to get it to
rock against the fence enough to move the back of the
cut into the upward rising teeth coming out of the
table at the back of the blade. The "clunk" could have
been a corner into the gullet between the teeth at
the initiation of the event

Did you have a splitter behind the blade? Even if
you did, sounds like you were doing a pretty
shallow cut so the splitter would be a ways away
from the back of the blade - that's assuming the
splitter raises and lowers with the blade. If it
doesn't then it'd have to be removed for the cut
you were making.

This is another example of why a riving knife
that wraps around almost all of the top rear
quarter of the blade and goes up and down with
the blade is so much better than a simple
splitter.

Oh, was the exotic wood zebra wood or snake
wood by any chance?

charlie b

"Ian Dodd" wrote

I was making the last of the four cuts with the
wood on edge in which the TS blade would be buried in the wood (the
next series of cuts would be with the wood flat and would complete the
rabet).

All of a sudden I heard a loud CLUNK! of the blade as it grabbed the
piece and it was launched out of my hands.

........................ I'm fairly certain my hands were well placed and
exposed to minimal risk. In a strange way, I'm glad it happened
because the occasional reminder is a good thing.

On my web site - Circular Sawbench Safety - Fences, there's information
about a tunnel guard suitable for such an operation.

A fag to set up? Yes! But ..................................

Jeff G
--
Jeff Gorman - West Yorkshire - UK
Username for email is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
Website - amgron.clara.net

"Leon" wrote in
om:


"Bay Area Dave" wrote in message
. com...

If that won't stop your heart, nothing will! I'll remember
to my dying day when all the carbide tips flew off my then
newly purchased Crapsman contractor's TS. I had ignorantly
placed the metal "feather board" that Sears sells, too close
to the blade.

It just goes against my way of thinking that a manufacturer would
produce a metal feather board to be used on a TS. Seems like an
accident waiting to happen. I guess it actually was.
I wonder if Rockler still markets the Aluminum push stick, another bad
idea IMHO.



Carbide blades cut aluminum quite easily, actually. I was really skeptical
about it, but my very reliable neighbor showed me on HIS saw how it worked.
So this morning, when needing to trim some aluminum door threshold, I used
the OEM blade on my DeWalt CMS, rather than some other saw.

Quick, easy, and cleaned up the trim with a small file.

That said, I still believe that 3/4" plywood makes excellent push sticks.

Patriarch

"patriarch astDOTnet" patriarch wrote in message
.17...

Carbide blades cut aluminum quite easily, actually. I was really
skeptical
about it, but my very reliable neighbor showed me on HIS saw how it
worked.
So this morning, when needing to trim some aluminum door threshold, I used
the OEM blade on my DeWalt CMS, rather than some other saw.

Quick, easy, and cleaned up the trim with a small file.

No doubt that carbide cuts aluminum easily. BUT the aluminum push sticks ar
THIN. If the push stick were to be thrown back at you or a thin piece were
to be cut off and thrown back at you the thin material would most certainly
penetrate your skin. I would have to beliece that amumimum shavings would
also fly through the air with more force than saw dust shavings.

Leon wrote:
No doubt that carbide cuts aluminum easily. BUT the aluminum push sticks ar
THIN. If the push stick were to be thrown back at you or a thin piece were
to be cut off and thrown back at you the thin material would most certainly
penetrate your skin. I would have to beliece that amumimum shavings would
also fly through the air with more force than saw dust shavings.

And those aluminum shavings would be hot.

-Bob

--
Bob Waltenspiel

http://www.sonic.net/~bobino

Glad you are still here to give us the lesson!

Have had similar experiences. Had one just the other day---ripping a
thin piece of oak for a face frame for wife's bookcase. 6 1/2 feet
long, 1x1 inch wide. Didn't support offcut properly. Once it severed,
the 1" x 79" piece bounced on the offcut table, which 8 inches low
because I was lazy, and landed squarely on the spinning blade, which
then launched it like a missile straight backward, where I would have
been standing if I had been an idiot. A contractor friend taught me to
always stand to the side when cutting anything that could kick back...
so I was to the side, pushing with a (wooden!) push stick, and only got
a foot-long scrape on my right arm as the missile sailed past and landed
in the yard 20 feet away.

My lesson? Reinstall the blade guard and anti-kickback that came with
my $90 homeowner's special? Heck no, in pine it cuts a deeper groove
than the blade. STAND TO THE SIDE and use infeed and outfeet rollers or
tables, and take the time to set the damn things up properly.