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MsNomer said:
There has been an ongoing controversy here about whether the operator can actually stop a kickback, rather than just prevent it.
Of course an operator can stop a kickback. Most of us who work sloppy (me included) have.
The controversy is over whether or not that's a sufficient strategy. For me, it's not.
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the best way to stop a kickback is to prevent it from happening in the first place.
there's no guarantee that you'll be able to stop the kickback once it starts....once the piece becomes airborne you're screwed.
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick
Mark
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Somewhere in here Mark said he thought kickback was a bigger danger than being cut on the blade...and i agreee wholeheartedly with that. My only table saw injury was kickback (many years ago) and I prefer to just try and avoid it as opposed to any other approach. But I do want to add I glad you weren't hurt, Carolyn. Like others, the "just a girl" part made me laugh; just a girl, indeed!
I started with absolutely nothing. Now, thanks to years of hard work, careful planning, and perseverance, I find I still have most of it left.
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I tend to stop them with my gut. Other than the couple of minutes trying to regain my breath and the big bruise on the aforementioned gut, it works pretty good!
Always remember, stand out of the line of fire!
Frank
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My Delta Saw's fence can be slide fore and aft as well as closer and further from the blade.
On narrow material I adjust the fence back towards me so that the stock is not wedged between the blade and the fence but for a very short distance. I don't know if that actually prevents kickback, but I've never had one once I started moving the fence that way.
No animals were injured or killed in the production of this post.
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kickback can come from almost any operation on the tablesaw...if not done correctly.
Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. - Philip K. Dick
Mark
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I have been following this thread with interest and want to chime in. Glad you were not hurt, Carolyn.
With apologies for preaching to the choir, but mainly for newbies who may be reading this thread (and those of us who "work sloppy"):
1. Totally agree that prevention is the key. Nobody's reflexes are fast enough to stop the board once it begins to lift. Do the math -- an 8" blade is traveling many thousands of feet per second when it accelerates the workpiece.
2. Totally agree that kickback can happen anytime you are not working safely. Also that kickback is potentially more dangerous than cuts from the blade, despite commercial messages that emphasize the latter.
3. Actually your belly is a terrible way to catch a kickback because a blow from a substantial piece of wood (say a 2x4) it can bruise/rupture your spleen. See (d) below
4. The formula is: (a) splitter/riving knife actually on the saw instead of sitting on a shelf somewhere, (b) push shoe long enough and shaped so it will hold the front of the work down if the blade catches (seems this saved Carolyn), © rip fence that is adjusted .001-.002" away from the blade at the back of the saw and which will lock in position every time. For dangerous jobs like re-sawing on a TS, add featherboards to hold the workpiece down. (d) "Always" stand to the side opposite the rip fence. That improves control of the workpiece against the fence and allows a kickback to miss you.
I happen to believe in the value of anti-kickback pawls with a splitter but I admit that I replaced those with a riving knife for convenience.
Does anybody know of research on this subject to supplement our collective experience/wisdom?
Doug
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One thing to attune your radar to can help in certain scenarios.
Observations of, and an awareness of dust emerging from the blade. I've seen this one before, both as a foreman, and as a member of the "general population." If your saw is cutting properly, the teeth moving downward are doing all the cutting; generating all the dust/shavings. The teeth away from the operator, the teeth moving upward are just on their way to the twelve O'Clock position. They are not intended to cut the stock. Either through release of tension in the workpiece, or a toed in fence, they occasionally engage the workpiece. They SHOULD not, but they sometimes do. This makes dust/shavings fly off the circumference of the saw at about a two O'Clock vector. Do not ignore this! Ignorance is bliss. Don't be lulled into thinking, "Well, that's how it is using the tablesaw."
Instead think, "Upward force is being exerted on the workpiece right here."
In your mind, you've identified the area directly above the arbor to the place where the teeth emerge from beneath the table. If you do not control that workpiece, a risk exists that it will move upward. You will loose control. The wood will travel away from the fence, toward your left. The teeth WILL engage the uncut wood that was supposed to be the finished piece. Your workpiece has now been placed (theoretically speaking) on a very efficient board launching device. The speed is set to the Sawblade Circumference setting. Depending on the variables, the most likely trajectory is a counterclockwise, rotational movement with either the South East corner of the panel or the infeed extremity of the fence acting as the pivot point.
Try not to do that.
Know your horse.
If the saw is spitting a stream of shavings/dust like I described, you're noticing it, Right?
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Glad you weren't hurt. If you wouldn't mind, could you post details about what you were doing, or possibly a pic? I know you know that it wasn't the safest option, but for educational purposes, it helps all of us out to see what exactly were the circumstances which led to the kickback, and how the situation could have been made safer.
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