12-05-2009, 09:05 PM
I am certainly glad you were not hurt in the blink of the eye that this kickback took.
I taught cabinet making for 35 years on the high school level using 3 unisaws at same time that tilted right and from my limited perspective here there are a few problems with how the original cut was being made.
You need to decrease your exposure to harms way by having the blade 1/8" to no higher than 1/4" above your work.
You cannot rely on your hold downs to keep the work where it belongs during the entire cutting process.
You need 2 push sticks on the stock at ALL times when ripping with one securely providing down pressure to the right of the blade area the other push stick is used to push the stock down and forward and towards the right or fence at the rear of the stock and as far away from the fence without interfering with the blade as possible while ripping.
Lastly and just as important is to push the stock well past the blade before you relax and stop pushing with the rear stick as the front stick continues to hold the stock down between the blade and the fence.
Also try your best to stand as far to the left of the fence and blade as possible to allow for human error in using your sticks to control your stock. This will in most cases allow the kicked back stock to pass harmlessly to the space you left open to your right side.
I always demonstrated the cause of most kick backs, by pinching the blade from the opposite or left outside, while demonstrating how to use the table saws. The students loved to watch and see how the kickback occurred as well as with what ferosity and distance they would travel. During one demonstration of how kick back occurred a piece of 1" x 1" oak punched a hole in a concrete block wall a good 20 feet from the saw.
Remember when ripping always have the part you want between the blade and the rip fence; try at all costs to avoid any pressure on the left or outside of the saw blade as this is what causes most kick backs other than the stock lifting above the blade as in this case. A further note in 35years I never had a student hurt on the table saws or any other machine they operated in the shop and we made loads of furniture every year from mostly solid stock and furniture grade plywood.
I taught cabinet making for 35 years on the high school level using 3 unisaws at same time that tilted right and from my limited perspective here there are a few problems with how the original cut was being made.
You need to decrease your exposure to harms way by having the blade 1/8" to no higher than 1/4" above your work.
You cannot rely on your hold downs to keep the work where it belongs during the entire cutting process.
You need 2 push sticks on the stock at ALL times when ripping with one securely providing down pressure to the right of the blade area the other push stick is used to push the stock down and forward and towards the right or fence at the rear of the stock and as far away from the fence without interfering with the blade as possible while ripping.
Lastly and just as important is to push the stock well past the blade before you relax and stop pushing with the rear stick as the front stick continues to hold the stock down between the blade and the fence.
Also try your best to stand as far to the left of the fence and blade as possible to allow for human error in using your sticks to control your stock. This will in most cases allow the kicked back stock to pass harmlessly to the space you left open to your right side.
I always demonstrated the cause of most kick backs, by pinching the blade from the opposite or left outside, while demonstrating how to use the table saws. The students loved to watch and see how the kickback occurred as well as with what ferosity and distance they would travel. During one demonstration of how kick back occurred a piece of 1" x 1" oak punched a hole in a concrete block wall a good 20 feet from the saw.
Remember when ripping always have the part you want between the blade and the rip fence; try at all costs to avoid any pressure on the left or outside of the saw blade as this is what causes most kick backs other than the stock lifting above the blade as in this case. A further note in 35years I never had a student hurt on the table saws or any other machine they operated in the shop and we made loads of furniture every year from mostly solid stock and furniture grade plywood.
