# close call, kinda..



## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

My son, was helping me install a new tub in my bathroom that I recently gutted. The new tub was 2" higher then the old tub. So I had to make some 2" spacers for the studs that the inner wall of the tub sits on. I was ripping some short scrap pieces of 2x4's. Knowing that I was at risk of the wood kicking back at me, I was standing to the side, and using two push sticks. One to feed the wood and one to hold the wood against my fence. On my last piece, I ripped the board and just as it's coming through to the end, it shoots back out. Shoots across my 10' wide shop and hits a quart can of paint on a shelf. Puts a nice dent in the can and threw that can back halfway across the shop. Glad I was standing to the side!!


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## papawd (Jan 5, 2011)

close call indeed I have known of a few people who got hurt on a table saw


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Sounds like another good reason to adopt a European-style short rip fence


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

As one who has been fairly seriously hurt at the table saw, see http://www.routerforums.com/shop-safety/16865-one-post-i-never-wanted-make.html, if at all possible keep the blade guard in place for those mundane cuts. I am not the one to be critical of anyone's safety procedures, lost that credibility long ago, I can only suggest the use of blade guards or feather boards to help guide the wood through the saw. I can say with certainty that when bad things happen at the TS they happen fast and the consequences are lasting.


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## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

*Yea, it gave me the incentive to put the blade guard back on, untill I need the sled again! But thanks to this place, I was smart enough to stand to the side. Only a quart can of paint was injured...*


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## mpbc48 (Sep 17, 2010)

Lee,

Would a Gripper have been useful for that cut?

I keep going back and forth on the Gripper and missed out on last weeks sale because of it. I hear about your close call and I start thinking about getting one again. 

My feet are planted firmly on both sides of the fence on the Gripper. ":^)

Mike


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## N'awlins77 (Feb 25, 2011)

*Yea, it probably would have Mike. Guess I need to get one!! Either that are a metal suit! Gripper's probably cheaper and more comfortable!! LOL*


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## xplorx4 (Dec 1, 2008)

I have and use the Gripper quite regularly. Some times I have to stop and make adjustments to it, it is worth the time. The Gripper is well worth the money at full price.


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## RJM (Apr 11, 2010)

N'awlins77 said:


> My son, was helping me install a new tub in my bathroom that I recently gutted. The new tub was 2" higher then the old tub. So I had to make some 2" spacers for the studs that the inner wall of the tub sits on. I was ripping some short scrap pieces of 2x4's. Knowing that I was at risk of the wood kicking back at me, I was standing to the side, and using two push sticks. One to feed the wood and one to hold the wood against my fence. On my last piece, I ripped the board and just as it's coming through to the end, it shoots back out. Shoots across my 10' wide shop and hits a quart can of paint on a shelf. Puts a nice dent in the can and threw that can back halfway across the shop. Glad I was standing to the side!!


Maybe a standoff block.


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## mpbc48 (Sep 17, 2010)

Thanks Lee and Jerry,

I invarriably end up cutting small and/or narrow pieces for some project or another and it is always a battle for me to make a decent cut while trying to maintain safety. The gripper videos sure make it look easy.

Mike


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## BigJimAK (Mar 13, 2009)

What about this design??

Could This Tool Change Everything? - Fine Woodworking

or possibly...

http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/25942/miracle-shield-blocks-kickback

Seriously, I've been fortunate the last week to have my 20-yo son at home from the University for the summer and we've been working on some little projects in the shop and I find myself being *particularly* safety-oriented during this time.

A great safety refresher..


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

I think a short fence would have created more problems. A Grripper would have prevented this. It would have held both the piece being cut and the off-cut through and past the blade without any chance of kick back if it is used properly. I'm very glad that it was only the paint can that got hurt. 

I have no connection to Micro Jig or their products. I'm just a very satisfied user.

Charley


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## Mike (Nov 22, 2004)

Kick back occurs when the wood binds to the saw blade. This can be caused by different problems. The most common cause is the wood twisting as it travels past the blade. An improperly aligned fence can cause it. The solution to this is to use push sticks or gripper blocks to hold the wood firmly against the fence and be sure your fence is properly aligned. Wood has internal stresses that can not be seen; this can cause the wood to move and close the cut pinching the saw blade. The solution to that problem is a simple splitter mounted to your table insert. Since the factory splitter that is a part of the guard assembly is usually thin sheet metal it will not prevent kick back by itself, the saw toothed pawls are designed to do this. Because there are so many ways kick back can occur you should always stand to the side of the woods path... unless you like the idea of using yourself for ballistic testing!


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

Mike said:


> Kick back occurs when the wood binds to the saw blade. This can be caused by different problems. The most common cause is the wood twisting as it travels past the blade. An improperly aligned fence can cause it.


To be concise I'd say kickback occurs when something occurs which forces the timber which has been cut to contact the rising teeth towards the rear of the saw. A riving knife or splitter helps cure the problem by ensuring that the saw kerf is always held open (especially useful for stuff like case hardened walnut) but if the tension in the timber causes the material to curl outwards away from the rear of the blade a jam and kickback can easily occur when using any through rip fence (the type which runs from front to rear of the saw blade, e.g. Biesmeyer) as the material ends up getting trapped between the blade and fence. This avoidable by adding an auxilliary short or Euro style rip fence to the rip fence and is a cheap way to improve safety on any rip saw. Of course European saws already come with just such fences in-built, e.g. Felder, Hamer, SCM-MiniMax, etc. See the articles at Badger Pond by Barb Siddique and Richard Jones for further details

Regards

Phil


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## istracpsboss (Sep 14, 2008)

Intriguing surname. Arabic for 'my friend' and colloquially used for home made booze in Saudi ! I've bookmarked it to read later.

Cheers

Peter


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

CharleyL said:


> I think a short fence would have created more problems.


On the contrary, when a short piece is passed through a table saw with a long fence there is always a chance that the material can turn slightly into the blade and contact the rising teeth at the rear, especially if the fence has been set-up without any freeboard (e.g. dead parallel to the blade). With the short rip fence there is nothing to the right of the blade which can pinch-trap the workpiece amd the riving knife can thus do its' job properly. When I cut large numbers of short pieces (as I do from time to time) I often set-up a wedge-shaped fence behind the blade to direct the ripped pieces off to the right behind the rip fence). I've been using short rip fences for getting on 40 years now and they are a lot safer than the Biesmeyer style through fences with a much lower chance of kickback _when used with a correctly sized and adjusted riving knife_

Regards

Phil


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## Phil P (Jul 25, 2010)

istracpsboss said:


> Intriguing surname. Arabic for 'my friend' and colloquially used for home made booze in Saudi !


Well I never! If you take a look at the (now defunct) Badger Pond site there are some real nuggets in the articles over there, Peter. Well worth a browse

Regards

Phil


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## sp5937 (Apr 10, 2009)

I have been suffering with an abdominal bruise and a couple deep nicks in my gut from this very thing for almost a month now. I knew better, but did not stand to the sie on a narrow piece cut...sure enough KICKBACK!!!! and man did it hurt. I was scared at first something serious had happened and would not look at the injury...but a little while later I did not feel any worse so pulled up my shirt and took care of the bad scrapes and nicks...I will never stand behind a saw like that again!!!!!


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi Steve

Here's little device you can add to your table saw and it will stop 98% of the kick backs..best of all it's free..you can take your hands off the stock and the part will just stay in place until you are ready to go aging with the push stick..


http://www.routerforums.com/shop-safety/9874-ice-hold-downs.html
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sp5937 said:


> I have been suffering with an abdominal bruise and a couple deep nicks in my gut from this very thing for almost a month now. I knew better, but did not stand to the sie on a narrow piece cut...sure enough KICKBACK!!!! and man did it hurt. I was scared at first something serious had happened and would not look at the injury...but a little while later I did not feel any worse so pulled up my shirt and took care of the bad scrapes and nicks...I will never stand behind a saw like that again!!!!!


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## sp5937 (Apr 10, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Steve
> 
> Here's little device you can add to your table saw and it will stop 98% of the kick backs..best of all it's free..you can take your hands off the stock and the part will just stay in place until you are ready to go aging with the push stick..
> 
> ===


Now that is sweeeeet!!! Thanks!! I will see about building up some of those asap!! :dance3:


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## bobj3 (Jan 17, 2006)

Hi

You're Welcome

They work, I use them on the router table as well, I will not use my table saw without them now, I have some 2" wide and some that are 3/8" wide for the real thin items on the table saw...use some good spring wood like Maple,Ash, just about anything that will spring back will do the job...

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sp5937 said:


> Now that is sweeeeet!!! Thanks!! I will see about building up some of those asap!! :dance3:


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## sp5937 (Apr 10, 2009)

bobj3 said:


> Hi Steve
> 
> Here's little device you can add to your table saw and it will stop 98% of the kick backs..best of all it's free..you can take your hands off the stock and the part will just stay in place until you are ready to go aging with the push stick..
> 
> ...


Now that is sweeeeet!!! Thanks!! I will see about building up some of those asap!! :dance3:


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