Tablesaw Kickback - "Intentionally videotaped"

[MBAtarga]

I just saw this link on Garage Journal this morning and have to share. I know a few of us Pelican's are members over there, but others are not - and any woodworker or wannabe needs to watch this video. I was amazed. The imbedded video on the link is down near the lower left of the page.

Kickbacks! - NewWoodworker.com LLC

[Talewinds]

He does REALLY turn the block of wood into the blade though...

[R K T]

That's how you can lose a finger, or worse, in a fraction of a second! Hope this vid helps someone not make that mistake....

[gassy]

That happened to me about 6 months ago. The piece of wood flew into my stomach and dropped me to my knees. It's the hardest I've ever been hit in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of me big time and left a really nasty bruise on my stomach. Who knows how close my hands were. Scary stuff.

[J P Stein]

Back when I was an apprentice I noticed that prolly 50% of the journeymen were missing a digit or 2 (or more), As time went on I found a mentor......he had all his digits. We were running 18 X 18 X 48 inch blocks thur a band saw about the size
of a truck on end........the sweat was running down the crack of my ass.
The sum***** sounded like a locomotive on highball.

Part way thru a cut he reached up and shut the thing down......he was pushing & I was catching. I gave him a WTF (respectfully). He said the blade was cracked, did ya notice the blade was jumping just a bit?......well ......yeah.
He says when it snaps this blade (about 4 inches wide & 30ish feet long) will come
out of there big chunks at about eyeball level. Sure enough the blade was cracked about 1/4 of the way thru. Iza't why so many of your buddies are missing fingers I sez. No this thing will take off an arm....or your head. Thus began my education on running power equipment. My digits have some scars but they still are all there.

BTW, I would no more use a push block like the one the guy used in the vid than I would sit on that blade. Mine are all about 15 inches long and made from wood.
I've never had a kickback (knock wood) but my push sticks get remade regular like. Like my mentor Lloyd said :"Them guys were stupid."

[rfuerst911sc]

I worked in a millwork shop for about a 1 1/2 years and witnessed a guy running the palm of his hand over a 1/2 dado blade on a industrial table saw. It threw his " hand meat " all over the shop not a pretty sight. He was very lucky as all he lost was a trough of palm, just missed tendons and the good stuff. That just reinforced what my dad always said you have to have your head in the game at all times running any power equipment, it only takes a second for potential disaster to strike.

[PFFOG]

Thanks,

I am ordering a Riving knife or my saw. Been playing with this stuff for 45 years, but the video is pretty compelling that even anticipating stuff, you have little control.

[Superman]

Yeah, uhh.......be careful with kitchen knives, too.

[porsche4life]

That happened to me about 6 months ago. The piece of wood flew into my stomach and dropped me to my knees. It's the hardest I've ever been hit in the stomach. It knocked the wind out of me big time and left a really nasty bruise on my stomach. Who knows how close my hands were. Scary stuff.

Saw this happen to my dad once when he was cutting a piece of hdpe.... Left a nice mark.

[Talewinds]

This device has been out a couple of years and now there are some competitors....

SawStop Hot dog Video - Saw blade retracts within 5 milliseconds of accidental contact - YouTube

[intakexhaust]

Oh boy... I'm a metal head and also been into woodworking most of my working life, both as a career building and hobby. Operated many machines but since were talking wood, try some two-man chainsaws with 5 ft bars or 4 ft. diameter circular saws turning 540 rpm mounted to the back of a tractor hitch. Also have done many projects on a tablesaw with cutting very tiny pieces. Most of the time have run tablesaws without guards, splitters, riving knives including many vintage saws. Some would call that not having common sense. Never had an incident and have all my limbs, digits and eyes.

1- Machines have no feelings but if you don't feel good about the machine, don't use it. Its up to you only, not the maker, the employer, or a lawyer.
2- Know the machine AND the stock... type, grain, moisture, etc.. This is a lengthy topic but some examples: verify the rip fence is exact parallel to the blade, read the wood if it's bowed, knots, etc...
3- Don't be anywhere near an idiot running a machine.

That link... was that guy free hand feeding the stock and then he lifts, releasing pressure? He's clearly not confident, and instead could have used a longer board to rip and then cut his length. No wonder and don't get me started!

And about that Sawstop. Wonderful intention and invention BUT I CAN"T STAND individuals pushing for a law for the benefit and monopolize of a product and exactly what the inventor is doing. This guy is using BIG BROTHER GOV pushing it onto every saw maker.

[MBAtarga]

Originally Posted by NotaBRG

That saw stop is cool, but it doesn't do a thing for kickback.

Yes - exactly. I'm well familiar with the product. I talked with the company founder for almost an hour at the IWF show here in Atlanta (maybe 6 years ago?) where it was introduced. If your hand or fingers were to touch the blade during/after a kickback, (as almost occurred in the video) I'm sure the SawStop mechanism would trip and minimal damage would occur. That doesn't stop the board flying towards your body/head though.

[Hugo930]

He shouldn't be concerned with the table saw
He should be concerned when the doctors remove his feet
Diabetes ain't pretty

[johnco]

I've seen that before. many times, live, in person and up close

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

verify the rip fence is exact parallel to the blade, read the wood if it's bowed, knots, etc...

I am in my 50's and have only used a table saw a dozen times. Man, I have been lucky after reading this thread and seeing that video.

I mean, I eyeball if it is parallel but I am confident with a cheap table saw (and fence) it would be easy to cock it a little.

[skunked]

respect the tools!

I worked in a custom cabinet shop for a few years and was lucky enough to keep all my fingers. I remember vividly I was being warned about the table saw by an old timer that had been there for a long time, he showed me a 10" scar across his belly from a table saw incident.

Shapers scared me more when I was working at the shop.

[HardDrive]

Let me ad this: Don't iron your shirt stark naked in front of the ironing board. It is possible to burn your Johnson. As me how I know!

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by skunked

respect the tools!

I worked in a custom cabinet shop for a few years and was lucky enough to keep all my fingers. I remember vividly I was being warned about the table saw by an old timer that had been there for a long time, he showed me a 10" scar across his belly from a table saw incident.

Shapers scared me more when I was working at the shop.

You got that right, every time I heard that industrial shaper crank up it got my attention. Swinging a large cutter just scared me.

[Zeke]

For most of the last 25 years I've used a table saw several times a week, sometimes for hours on end. I've been hit just below the belt, but above my johnson one time; one of the few times I was not standing off center. Turned me black and blue all the way to the tip.

Man was that ugly but that's not all. Try explaining it to your wife.

The guy in the video was extremely fortunate he didn't lose most of his hand. I'm fortunate as well because I've had a few close calls. What's worse is that nowadays I don't use my power tools too much. Contrary to what you might think, that frequent use might breed carelessness, it's more of the opposite.

These days I have to go over safety with myself before I fire a tool up. I have to force myself to think about and remember what can happen. That saw don't care how many years of experience you have.

[slodave]

Originally Posted by intakexhaust

And about that Sawstop. Wonderful intention and invention BUT I CAN"T STAND individuals pushing for a law for the benefit and monopolize of a product and exactly what the inventor is doing. This guy is using BIG BROTHER GOV pushing it onto every saw maker.

I disagree with this. SawStop originally tried to invent a product that could be adapted to already produced table saws, but none of the makers would go for it. The three owners of SawStop then decided to make their own table saw with safety device. That was 2005. Europe once again, is far ahead of us with table saw safety. They created laws back in the 90's dealing with mandatory riving knife and other devices to minimize risk.

My dad has a SawStop and has triggered it twice, though neither was because of direct contact. It had to do with a aluminum miter-gauge and failing to readjust the fence as the angle was changed. The saw worked as advertised and as far as I know, the saw blade was sent back to Forrest and they were able to straighten and resharpen the blade and is still in use today.

I'm all for America and the freedom, but it's time to make the industry safer and if laws need to be created to do so, then so be it.

There was a good article on table saw accidents and a timeline of when certain safety features were introduced both here and Europe. The complete article does not seem to be online, but here are two smaller articles that talk a little about it. I will try and scan the timeline from the article later.

Tablesaw Safety Goes Under the Microscope--Again - Fine Woodworking

More Details on the Carlos Osorio Tablesaw Lawsuit - Fine Woodworking

I also have a feeling safety devices would save a lot of people money in the long run as well. About 38,000 accidents a year on table saws alone. The lawsuits that come out of these accidents cost millions.

Table Saw Accident Stories and Statistics