A couple of months ago my table saw threw a board into my chest. Hurt like the dickens – it actually knocked the breath out of me. While I have always been respectful of it, now I am afraid of the saw even though I used it without incident for over 20 years.
I need to cut the boards for the draw fronts of the two dressers I am making. That is what I was doing when I got hurt. I was cutting a board that was, I think, too short for safety – 15 inches x 10inches x 3/4 inch. I think my best approach is to cut the boards to width (two 7″ boards, two 8″ boards, and two 9″ boards), then use the chop saw to cut them to length. Any thoughts?
Replies
Another option is to use a cross cut sled.
Tell us about your set up.
What did you have or did not have in place for a safety system?
It sounds like you were crosscutting against the rip fence with the short end against the fence. If that's the case it was a dangerous move. The board sounds plenty big for the tablesaw, but that is a rip fence, not a crosscut fence. (Apologies if I'm reading it wrong.)
Ripping to width before crosscutting is a good plan. Crosscuting next with the chopper, miter gauge, or a sled as @largeb suggests is a safe process.
This sounds like a perfect wakeup call. Mine after about 3o years came close to costing a thumb. Revisit your gear and process and get back to it. I did all of that and then invested in a Sawstop.
Definitely sounds like poor technique. The size of the board was not the problem, but as mj says it sounds like you may have been cross cutting using the fence as a stop. That is a big nono with tablesaw. Quality miter gauges or crosscut sleds are the proper way to perform that operation. Using you Miter saw is also a solid possibility assuming if it is decent quality and properly adjusted.
Now to restore your comfort with your tablesaw. I strongly recommend the JessEm saw guides as one of the best anti kickback devices you can buy and we'll worth the cost. I also suggest a heavy leather apron which can absorb a lot of the energy of a kickback making them much less painful.
Johanna, sounds like time may have encouraged complacency! Were you ripping or crosscutting? If ripping, make sure you have a riving knife or splitter, and a push pad/guide or vertical feather board on the fence side of the cut. If crosscutting, use a sled!
You may have created a trapped off-cut unwittingly! Good luck!