(12-21-2018, 07:45 PM)Buckhunter Wrote: I got a little careless today and my 1 1/2 hp craftsman contractor saw kicked a piece of wood back at me ..... I was really glad it wasnt a 5 hp saw when that happened .
With correct safety devices and working practices it should be almost impossible to get directly hit by a kickback.
With the large and powerful table saws common in Europe we have developed such devices and practices.
-Never stand in the line of fire when ripping.
-Use a short fence or a sliding fence in short position when ripping
-Use a riving knife. Preferably one that doesn't protrude above the crown of the blade so that it never has to be removed for any cuts and therefore always is in place.
-Use a solid overarm guard that takes most of the energy out of a workpiece being thrown upwards.
-Use long European style push sticks so that you can stand in a safe position and rip without being hindered by the overarm guard.
With those precautions taken seriously there are hardly any kickback accidents. Someone will get a small bruise or a tiny scratch with two drops of blood and someone will have a workpiece being thrown across the workshop and out the door but kickback accidents where somebody got hurt are almost unheard of.
As you Americans have a tradition of using small and by European standards underpowered table saws you haven't needed to develop those working practises and safety features as far as we have.
Part timer living on the western coast of Finland. Not a native speaker of English