Be careful out there.

[RonB1957]

Obviously there was no splitter in use. Yes? The reason for cut off fingers/ kick backs, etc. is over overwhelmingly the lack of a splitter in use. Glad to see your fingers are all intact.

[KSMike]

Bill Holt said:

---

I had a board that looked just like that! You don't forget'em.

---

I had a small cutoff bind on the back side of the blade once. In the next instant I was on the floor with ear muffs and glasses knocked off and the side of my face bleeding (it would've been my ear if not for the muffs). That little cutoff sits on my table saw so that I have to move it (and therefore see it) before every use. I can't imaging giving up my TS - but the danger is real.

[gMike]

tim_leo said:

---

A few years ago I stopped using my table saw and put it in storage in the crawlspace. I haven't missed it yet. I have a bandsaw that is a lot quieter, less messy, and serves all my needs.

I don't miss that table saw.

---

I went the other way. I gave my bandsaw (Delta 14" with riser) away to my kid. I had very little luck with it and didn't like it at all. I resaw on the tablesaw and don't miss the bandsaw at all. To each his own, I guess.

[Guest]

That's the reason I sold my Unisaw and bought a Sawstop. Yes, I know that the Sawstop technology isn't designed to prevent kickbacks, but most serious cut injuries from a tablsaw occur when something unexpcted happens (like a kickback) and jerks the user's hand into the spinning blade. that's when the flesh-sensing technology shines. I've been a tablesaw user for many years and always thought of myself as prudent and careful. A bad kickback several years ago left me shaken with a big, deep bruise in my abdomen. I realized that it can happen to anybody, including me, and it could have been much wose. At that point, trading my Uni for a sawstop was a no-brainer. I may have another kickback at some point, even with the riving knife on the Sawstop, but I won't lose my fingers or hand if it happns.

[Scoony]

I have done that twice, once with a hardwood panel, and once with plywood. Both times, the splitter was not installed.

Took 2 times to learn that lesson, splitter stays on.

[Stwood_]

Scoony said:

---

I have done that twice, once with a hardwood panel, and once with plywood. Both times, the splitter was not installed.

Took 2 times to learn that lesson, splitter stays on.

---

+1
I don't like those plys in my face. No splitter, I don't turn it on.

[Steve N]

Tony (Charleston, WV) said:

---

---

Scoony said:

---

I have done that twice, once with a hardwood panel, and once with plywood. Both times, the splitter was not installed.

Took 2 times to learn that lesson, splitter stays on.

---

This bears repeating

For the best impact this thread should probably be in woodworking. Those of us who are blended woodworkers will see it there, where some who are power tool only may be scared of coming into where the knuckle draggers hang out

Probably the actual set up of the saw as it was when the kickback occured would help, and an explanation as to what was going on. Just looking at the piece of ply it looks like a freehand cut was attempted, and it got a little sideways on the blade, causing the kickback.

But at the end of the day no splitter is likely the major cause.

[Carl Grover]

Lil

I'm glad to see that piece of wood doesn't have blood all over it.

I wonder if that Hop Ox fence has some close-in that pinched in the kerf and initiated the launch sequence?



carl

[Tony (Charleston WV)]

All:

Although the set up details are hazy (serious belly pain with a Vicodin chaser will do that). I agree that "no splitter" was the culprit. (No shortage of splitters in my shop--a snap-in version, and two inserts with Micro-Jigs installed.) I'm pretty sure I was doing a rip cut with the fence, and would guess that I didn't hold the ply in tight to the fence as I finished the cut. I also think I probably was standing too far to the right. I don't know if the picture bears that out.

It's a bit ironic I suppose, that by trying to keep my use of a table saw to a minimum (it's used mostly as another place to put tools and stuff, with masonite laid on top-which means no splitter), I may have increased the danger of an accident. By that I mean that the lack of practice/use might have reduced the effectiveness of what I think was formerly a pretty good and consistently used mental safety check list.

I'm going to keep the saw as a work table after cutting off the cord so I don't get stoopid again (sell it eventually), and go with the Laguna bandsaw I bought a couple of years ago, (light years better than the 14" Taiwanese model I had before), and a Festool track saw. I'm not a purist and will continue to do some of my prep with electrons, but I have too many hand saws, including a new one from the German lawyers, to hang those up. (Pun intended.) Plus, I could use the exercise. Thanks for all your comments and concern.

[Bill Wilson]

Tony (Charleston, WV) said:

---

All:

I agree that "no splitter" was the culprit. (No shortage of splitters in my shop--a snap-in version, and two inserts with Micro-Jigs installed.) I'm pretty sure I was doing a rip cut with the fence, and would guess that I didn't hold the ply in tight to the fence as I finished the cut.

---

That would be my guess. I had a similar incident, but mine was when I was cutting a 1/4" x 1/4" dado in a 10" wide board. My splitter is attached to the guard, so since it was a dado cut, the guard/splitter were removed. I didn't maintain constant feed pressure against the fence and/or down against the table, allowing the wood to shift/lift. When the blade caught, I ended up with a piece that looked very much like the one in your picture. Happened in a split second (don't they all ). Fortunately, other than a ruined piece, no other damage done, but it certainly was a wake up call for me. I keep the scarred piece of wood next to the TS to remind me to be careful.