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Tablesaw Safety
By Steve Maxwell
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If the tablesaw habits I’ve seen on building sites are any indication, false pride must be a more valuable commodity than human fingers. Why else would so many people choose to use a tablesaw rather than ask how to do it safely? Combine a tool with the power of a gasoline lawnmower, an exposed rotating circular blade, and the need to look good in front of all those other experts, and it can be hard to remain friends with the tablesaw for an entire building career. Maintaining a good working relationship with this machine depends on understanding where the worst tablesaw danger comes from, anticipating the conditions that give those dangers a foothold, and making sure they never get their chance.
Kickback is the Menace
There are lots of ways to get hurt with a tablesaw, but the worst directs the full force of the tool against you. It’s called kickback, and you won’t be in the trade for long before hearing stories about its effects. Kickback occurs when a spinning blade ceases to cut the piece of wood its moving through, grabbing and throwing it towards you instead. Imagine a sharp, wooden spear heading your way at the speed of a major league baseball pitch. That’s kickback, and there are two groups of strategies to avoid it.
The first is equipment-based. Start by making sure your saw’s rip fence is either parallel to the saw blade or angled out very slightly from it (1/32-inch), as you move towards the back edge of the saw. This keeps the work piece free from the rising saw teeth at the back of the blade, an area that could grab wood, lift it up, and fling it your way.
Another thing is correct blade choice. It doesn’t make sense to install a different blade every time you need to rip, then crosscut, then slice some plywood. This fact is why they invented combination blades. These are designed to operate safely in most cutting conditions, but there’s more to maximizing safety than simply using one. You have to buy the right version of a combination blade, too.
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Tablesaw Safety
By Steve Maxwell
|
|
|
If the tablesaw habits I’ve seen on building sites are any indication, false pride must be a more valuable commodity than human fingers. Why else would so many people choose to use a tablesaw rather than ask how to do it safely? Combine a tool with the power of a gasoline lawnmower, an exposed rotating circular blade, and the need to look good in front of all those other experts, and it can be hard to remain friends with the tablesaw for an entire building career. Maintaining a good working relationship with this machine depends on understanding where the worst tablesaw danger comes from, anticipating the conditions that give those dangers a foothold, and making sure they never get their chance.
Kickback is the Menace
There are lots of ways to get hurt with a tablesaw, but the worst directs the full force of the tool against you. It’s called kickback, and you won’t be in the trade for long before hearing stories about its effects. Kickback occurs when a spinning blade ceases to cut the piece of wood its moving through, grabbing and throwing it towards you instead. Imagine a sharp, wooden spear heading your way at the speed of a major league baseball pitch. That’s kickback, and there are two groups of strategies to avoid it.
The first is equipment-based. Start by making sure your saw’s rip fence is either parallel to the saw blade or angled out very slightly from it (1/32-inch), as you move towards the back edge of the saw. This keeps the work piece free from the rising saw teeth at the back of the blade, an area that could grab wood, lift it up, and fling it your way.
Another thing is correct blade choice. It doesn’t make sense to install a different blade every time you need to rip, then crosscut, then slice some plywood. This fact is why they invented combination blades. These are designed to operate safely in most cutting conditions, but there’s more to maximizing safety than simply using one. You have to buy the right version of a combination blade, too. |
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