Tablesaws are not the only wood launchers

[wood2woodknot]

Every so often this forum has a scary story about tablesaw kickback. I want to add my recent experience with a table router. Normally everything is set up properly and I feed the wood in the correct direction. In a moment of mental lapse, I set the fence back and fed a 24" piece of 1x3 from RIGHT to LEFT BETWEEN the bit and the fence - therefore, WITH the rotation, not against it. Halfway through, the rotation of the bit launched the board with such speed and force that the board imbedded itself in the drywall more than five feet away. Thank God no one was standing in the way or they would have been impaled.

When you read about not making a climb cut, you don't realize the force it can produce.

As much as I thought I knew what I was doing, I made a mental mistake that could have been catastrophic. It's time to go back and take a refresher course for me. Don't make my mistake - review your manual and its precautions. It may save your life.

[packerguy®]

Good thing it wasn't a short piece and your hands went with the board into the bit.

[wood2woodknot]

packerguy® said:

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Good thing it wasn't a short piece and your hands went with the board into the bit.

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That thought sends chills up my spine - it was a 1/2" diameter bull nosed bit that was still in the router from a job I had just finished. I was using the straight portion of the bit to dress the edge of the 1x3 (why change the bit if I didn't have to - and maybe that was another mistake). One massive chunk of steel whirling around. Ugh!!!

[DaveR1]

Post deleted by DaveR1

[packerguy®]

One other method I use when dealing with routers, small parts I bring to the router, and large parts I bring the router to the part.

Not knowing exactly what you were doing, a 24" long board, I would have likely brought the router to the board, and built a jig or straightedge setup.

[jteneyck]

Thanks for posting that. I'll bet we all make mental mistakes more often than we like to admit. Fortunately, they rarely result in more than a ruined piece of wood and a wake up call to think more about every operation, every time.

John

[wood2woodknot]

jteneyck said:

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Thanks for posting that. I'll bet we all make mental mistakes more often than we like to admit. Fortunately, they rarely result in more than a ruined piece of wood and a wake up call to think more about every operation, every time.

John

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John, I've caught edges before or had the router jump, but this was the scariest thing I've experienced. Totally frightening when that board launched and then I heard it hit and saw it sticking out of the wall. I stood there for a good five minutes just thinking about what happened.

[Paul K. Murphy]

A good post, a worthwhile warning. Another thing to bear in mind is having a routine place to stand, a routine disposition of one's hands and fingers.
Safety training, for me, included an understanding of acceptable and unacceptable places to stand. If the unwanted accident should occur, a person who isn't standing in the wrong place is in a much better situation. This isn't to say that accidents are desirable, but simply that IF they occur, there is desirable and undesirable real estate.

[Bill Lyman]

Good post has lead to a good thread.

[jussi]

Router tables still scare me a bit. I still flinch when I turn it on. Especially on larger bits like panel routers.