follow-up to UNI safety equip – my list
thanks to all who replied to my earlier post — sorry, i’ve been away from the computer for the past few days.
in that first post i didn’t make it clear that this is just a hobby shop, not a commercial shop — however the owner is a very decent guy who just doesn’t know much about the safety issues yet. i am one of two guys renting shop space from him.
we’ve have had several conversations about safety and shop efficiency. he wants to, and fully plans on doing the right thing — he’s not a dirtbag, quite the contrary — in fact, he offered that i could help him set up the tools, and safety equipment, in exchange for greatly reduced rent — which is a fine deal by me.
hence my post here and on 2 other forums. i was the one who said $150 — it was just a guess or a reference point — it was not his “safety budget.” clearly i was ignorant of the costs of some of the items, esp. OH guards! but fyi after doing some research i really think you CAN get a lot of bang for the buck for under $150 — esp with the sharkguard.
i’ve done a lot of looking, and have gotten good input from those here and elsewhere. so below is my safety list or “plan” — i’d really appreciate people’s comments and experience.
MY SAFETY EQUIPMENT LIST/PLAN for the UNISAW:
(comments welcome.)
1. align the saw (done), replace worn belts, check bearings, buy Leecraft ZC inserts for different cuts. plan to modify the ON-OFF switch to include a knee-accessible OFF switch, and build a height-matched outfeed table.
2. continue to wear safety glasses and ear protection, and continue using push blocks, featherboards, and magnetic hold-downs (the owner has grip-tite system already), miter and cross-cut sleds, and standing rollers for infeed, etc.
3. buy a SharkGuard for the unisaw — ideally the newer one w/the wider DC mouth, also because it provides a slightly wider view of the blade. (we’ll attach it to our shop’s existing overhead collection.) it seems like the SG can be used for most through cuts, straight or beveled, and offers various splitter heights. the only situations that seem hard or not possible are dados or very short/very narrow cuts.
4. buy the Grr-ripper — for almost everything else not protected by the Sharkguard. being able to keep the stock held down firmly on both sides of the cut, and held straight against the fence seems like a very good safety solution for dado cuts, ripping short or very narrow pieces, and even resawing — plus it will work on other tools too. although i am a little alarmed by leaning over the TS blade area, the grr-ripper seems very well engineered and documented, and has been very positively reviewed.
5. we may eventually get or make an overhead guard/cover. i’m not sure i understand the merits well enough yet, or if there’s enough budget for that too, so for now we’ll hold off.
that’s it — again, i’d love to hear how other guys address safety with the TS — particularly their working style for different cuts, as well as their favored equipment.
thanks!
philip
Edited 3/13/2007 8:01 am ET by flipstuff
Replies
no comments on this list?
Morning flipstuff..
"that's it -- again, i'd love to hear how other guys address safety with the TS -- particularly their working style for different cuts, as well as their favored equipment".
thanks!
philip
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The safety upgrades you made will serve you well. The Shark Guard alone is a major benefit. Any improvement you make is better than no improvement as far as safety issues.
What style do I use with a TS... ? I don't style much.. just rip stock! :>)
My TS is the ripper... my SCMS is the cross-cutter and does angles to it's capacity.. as of recently any angles larger than the SCMS will handle and sheet good sizing (very little as I prefer solid stock) gets done on TS #2 with a riving knife and crown guard that moves with the tilt of the blade.
And I do dadoes with a router... period........
That's about it for my style.. life is simple!
Regards...
Sarge.. jt
thanks for the reply sarge --
i did a lot of research and feel good about "the list" -- i think we'll be pretty well covered.btw, that's a nice clean impressive setup you've got there! i forgot to say last time that i really appreciated the quality of the guard you made. whether you intended it or not (and i suspect maybe you did :)), it does look very "stylish."not to change the topic, but if you use the SCMS all the time, what blade are you using? a craigslist ad near me is selling the forrest chopmaster for $60, lightly used, never sharpened. i wonder if it's too good to pass up -- it's $100 at amazon -- or if one of the freuds is a better bang for the buck.best
philip
I use a Freud LU91R012 SCMS blade with 72 teeth. The 5 degree negative hook is the key on a SCMS. I don't use the higher teeth blade that a trim carpenter might prefer. The 72 T gives a smooth cut and I'm not concerned with ultra fine smooth as most end grain that would show is just sized about 1-2 mm longer and taken down with a block plane.
I couldn't give any advice on the Forrest Chopmaster. Never used it as it is a little too pricey for me. I feel you can get more value with all the alternatives available. Sometimes you can get two good blades for what you pay for one of the Forrest. Some will tell you it's the Holy Grail itself, I'm just not one.
But it is a great blade, but I would spring the extra and get one new if you go that route. If you recieve it and it needs sharpening.. you lost that gamble by sight un-seen!
Regards... gotta get to work
Sarge.. jt
Edited 3/14/2007 12:36 pm ET by SARGEgrinder47
Philip, one comment on the magnetic featherboard thing. I too use GripTites, but they have their quirks -- the hold-down finger is very stiff and awkward, and can mar the stock. Also, if the stock is narrow, they can be hard to position around the miter slot or the throat insert. He might want to try the new(?) MagSwitch featherboard. Recently saw it in the Lee Valley catalog (look here) and seems to address these issues well, and it may be easier to lock and unlock.
An aid that's easier to use is more likely to be used.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
thanks forestgirl for the tip --i'm really not a big fan of the griptites but some people swear by them, including the owner -- i find them awkward and too large, and they always seem to be in the way. plus the metal fence that comes with it was warped, and so now we are waiting for a replacement to come.i like a featherboard hold down that rides above the fence face. when we recently rebuilt the biese fence we intentionally made the faces about an inch higher so that we could build a long "box" inside, from which we could mount fence attachments like some of the jigs in tolpin's "table saw magic" book.cheers
philip
What I like about the GripTites is their versatility. I've used them as a quick fence on the drill press when tilting the table, against stock on the jointer and router table, as a guard to block my hand from going where it shouldn't, and as a quick point fence on the bandsaw. They've worked fine when ripping stock that's of a certain size, but I have run into problems as mentioned above.
Once you get that fence plate mounted, you might find you really like the roller/featherboard system. It certainly works well in their demos. Be sure, however, to mount them the way they instruct in the video or manual, so that they put the needed forces on the stock.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
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