I am a new professor in a tech studies program and I have inherited a nice wood shop and the lab classes that go with it. I am a self taught woodworker, and I am trying my best to instruct the students in the proper and safe use of the machines. On to my question…
The lab has a cabinet saw with a biesmeyer fence and a retractable blade guard that can be lowered over the blade – and no splitter. My main question concerns ripping a board with the blade guard in place. I have noticed that when I use the technique shown by Kelly Mehler in his Tauton Press DVD the board has a tendency to rotate away from the fence (and toward the blade) when I am completing the cut with the push stick. This concerns me with respect to kickback and accomplishing a clean cut. I have not run into this problem in my home shop – but I might note that I don’t use a guard.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Replies
I attended Seattle Central Woodworking, part of the SEattle Central Community College several years ago. We never used a splitter but we had overarm beismeyer blade guards. I do want to say that I had a kickback which was my fault in some ways. I think I used the table saw immediately after another person and for some reason the fence was unlocked. I was trying to cut a small piece of plywood and it kickbacked. I almost had to go to the hospital. Another time a student using a router turned it on the switch on the table leg bending down and the router turned on and fell on his back, luckily the bit did not hit him. Personally I have really liked a splitter, and also dont use a guard. But I always use a pushstick.
I think the splitter is much more important than the blade guard. Since there are several aftermarket splitters available I get one and install it as soon as possible.
TCNJ,
Under no circumstances should the saw ever be used to rip wood without the splitter and blade guard in place. In my opinion you have an absolute responsibility to teach your students that it is the only acceptable way to rip. The potential for kickback cannot be overstated, nor the danger that kickback represents.
This subject has been one of the most discussed on this forum. There are many threads with hundreds of messages.
The typical "splitter" available on your saw and the saws available in North America is significantly inferior to that usually fitted to saws manufactured or used in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Saws there use a riving knife and crown blade guard as the principal "anti-kickback" equipment. In Australia, New Zealand and many places in Europe it is illegal to operate the saw in a commercial or educational facility without the riving knife and crown guard in place. (The design of the riving knife allows it to remain in place for all sawing functions. It is never removed) That is the degreee to which safety is carried there.
Become familiar with these issues and start your students along the right path with regard to this most often-used woodshop machine.
With regard to your ripping technique - any time the wood rotates toward the rear rising teeeth of the blade, there is significantly increased potential for kickback. Your feeding technique should not allow this to happen. (And you need to have the splitter in place, that is NOT optional). Many workers set the rear of the fence about 1/32 out of parallel with the blade (away) to aid in the process.
Rich
One of the things I REALLY dislike in woodworking is the simple push stick, mostly because of the lack of directional control as you mention.
I was lucky enough to see, and then have the good sense to buy a good push handle early on. This design makes way more sense and to me, shojld be the standard for moving wood through a table saw.
See the link below for my story on pushsticks in general.
I also think we need to be using the splitter far more than most of us do now. I went through a period when I used my table saws without the guard or splitter but have returned to leaving them installed for most cuts. The obvious exceptions are dados and some grooving but other than those, having the guard and splitter installed does not make anything more complicated but certainly does make life safer.
Tom Hintz
Because there is always more to learn!
You'll probably want to check with your school's insurance agent about safety requirements in your shop. I would guess that splitters, guards and all other safety devices are required during operation of any machine your students use, along with qualified supervision at all times. Best of luck and enjoy your new teaching adventure.
Since you are not just a private citizen using your own saw on your own property, there is a reseanable standard level for you to meet. Tools can be dangerous if used improperly.
The table saw is one of the most dangerous tools in the shop, and it needs plenty of respect. This means tuning up the saw and using appropriate safety devices and jigs. For tune up, you must aligning table-top and fence to blade. Also, be sure to have a sharp blade, good belts, good bearings, etc. For safety devices, a spitter and anti-kickback paws are necessary for rip cuts and a blade guard is necessary for all cuts. For jigs, there are any number of devices that can make operations more safe (feather boards, etc.) and these should be employed when it makes sense to do so. I always use a feather board when ripping.
Todd
I'm going to joing in and say use a splitter. If you have a guard that comes down over the board, look at the microjig splitter. It mounts into the zero clearance, and has variable settings based on configuration. I love it. when I have to get it out of the way it just pops out. I need it, bam it's back in. Not expensive at all.
http://www.microjig.com/MJ%20Splitter.htm
I would recommend the use of the splitter and the guard. You would need to show how to properly use both and WHY they are used. When you are in a position of "expert" dispensing knowledge you have a responsibility to do so. I am a school teacher and we are required to demonstrate and give an exam on safety for each and every machine/tool - students are required to obtain 100% to be able use the machine. I am sure that I demonstrate proper, safe, procedures when I work on the machines and tell the students when safety precautions can not be used on different setups (dadoes, cove cuts, etc.). The short of it is would I let someone teach my kids the way I teach others. The liability issue is very big, even if you cover everything, accidents still happen and you need to make sure that you did everything in your power to teach, demonstrate, model and monitor for safety.
There is a local college (Keene State College) here in NH that has a Safety Studies program and teach Safety Awareness and Industrial Safety as well as Legal Aspects of Safety, and the things that you are not aware of or don't see as issues are very scary. I have sat in on workshops and seminars on liability and it made me be a better teacher for it.
It is very different in a home shop as compared to a school/industrial setting or even letting someone borrow a personal tool from a home shop opens up a lot liability issues.
I guess in the final outcome use the splitter and the guard (where able to), and TEACH, DEMONSTRATE and DEMAND safe procedures. Aside from the liability issues, you don't want something that you could have done/taught better or more completely to cause and injury that you have to live with (or that matter a student) for years to come.
Donkey
Even though most woodworkers at home dispense with the cheap, poorly made, badly designed, unsafe, pain in the ..... neck blade guard that comes with their saw in favor of a decent splitter, your real issue is that of legal liability.
If you don't provide and INSIST, and VIGILANTLY require that the saws in your classroom only be used with the supplied blade guard and splitter, someone will be hurt on the saw, and you can count on a lawyer viewing that as an assured payday for himself and his new client.
They'll sue your school, and if you or your family has a dime, they'll sue you.
Hello TCNJ.
Stop over ( Edison NJ) and take the ez smart woodworking class.
... and you never have to worry about dangerous tools.
If you're going to teach kids, teach them the Dead Wood Concept.
Here is one of the most dangerous cuts in woodworking.
A tapered cut on narrow piece of wood.
View Image
http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=430574#post430574
Good luck.
YCF Dino
Eurekazone
Edited 9/8/2006 11:12 pm ET by dinothecarpenter
In the years I have taught I have never had a student hurt on a power machine. I used the HTC 10A-L Brett-Guard Table Saw Guard on all of the table saws. One is found at
http://www.amazon.com/HTC-10A-L-Brett-Guard-Table-Guard/dp/B0001LQW7S
When I had the students rip long pieces I had them turn the board end for end so they never had to use a push stick. The only time a push stick was necessary was when the pieces were short or their fingers had to be close ot the blade.
TCNJ,
It looks like a lot of suggestions & opinions have been expressed, but it doesn't appear that anyone addressed your actual question. I don't have access to the video, so I don't know what technique Kelly was using, but I'll take a shot at answering the question. Being a person who swore that he was going to use the splitter/guard properly when he upgraded to a cabinet saw and then ended up throwing the factory furnished item in the trash after spending 3 hours trying to get it properly aligned, I may have experienced your problem. But then again, I may be guessing wrong.
(saying this w/o pictures is going to be hard, but I don't have any drawing programs on this computer) I think the answer lies in the type of push stick used -- or how it's used. With the straight push sticks with a notch on the end, there is little ability to control the board in any way. With the ripping operation, the forces on the board, friction from the table, the force of the blade against the board & the pressure from the push stick create a torque which naturally wants to rotate the board away from the fence & into the rear of the blade. Until near the end of the cut, this torque is usually compensated for by the left hand pushing the uncut portion of the board against the fence. As you finish the cut, with just the push stick against the board, the torque causes the far end of the board to rotate away from the fence. With the L shaped push sticks, in addition to providing the longitudinal force needed to move the board thru the blade, you can generally apply enough torque to "average length" boards to keep them from rotating away from the fence. Basically the push stick needs to be able to apply forces at two different points, or all along it's length, in order for the operator to exert sufficient torque on the board to overcome the natural tendency for the board to rotate. (Hope that makes a little sense!)
I'm guessing the overhead blade guard would make it difficult to use the L shaped push sticks, esp. w/ narrow boards. If you can't use the L shaped push sticks, it would seem to me that the need for a splitter would be even greater since there is no way other way to counteract the torque created by the forces on the board.
On the other hand, if you are using the L shaped push sticks, perhaps you need only to try apply a little torque with the stick as you finish the cut.
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