Accurately cutting small squares of wood

[conny]

Nope. One local guy had a loud bang, and that was enough for me. The flying bit didn't hit him, but I was shaking.

See my post above yours, number 9.
Obviously, the local guy hadn't checked the piece he was cutting for embedded foreign material, such as heavy nails/screws etc, or he was misusing it beyond its capabilities. Maybe by forcing it through the blade, rather than letting the blade do the work as he slowly fed it through.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with a table saw is to try and push the job through quickly instead of letting the blade cut through at its own pace. This can cause the blade to heat up, which in turn will expand the teeth, which in turn makes it harder for them to cut, resulting in them blunting very quickly. When this happens, people have a tendency to push harder to get the cut done before the teeth become too blunt, but they are just exacerbating the problem. Patience is the keyword to all safety aspects of working, be it working with high powered tools or simple hand spanners/screwdrivers.

 

[chirpychippy]

I own a table saw, it's a portable jobby by Dewalt and sits on a stand that has wheels, albeit when stood up, the wheels are dysfunctional, other wise it would just roll away!!

I took the guard off of it, I use it for all manner of stuff and yes I am terrified of it, this fear makes me guarded and respectful of the danger I am whilst using it.

 

[chirpychippy]

Any way hand tools are dangerous aswell, I once slipped using a utility knife, after it skidded across the top of my thumb it came to a halt blade entirely embedded in my hand.

I drove myself to A&E inspected by a Doctor whom made a phone call and said you are expected at the orthopaedic unit in Tunbridge you have managed to slice through your thumb tendon.

Mrs E took me, three months of rehab followed. I use scissors now.

 

[cdbe]

Guard and holder cut off mine - it does a 50mm cut but I regularly turn the workpiece over to achieve a deeper cut. But I treat it with extra respect.

I use a lot of power tools and try to remind myself regularly that complacency breeds contempt.

 

[conny]

Any way hand tools are dangerous aswell, I once slipped using a utility knife, after it skidded across the top of my thumb it came to a halt blade entirely embedded in my hand.

I drove myself to A&E inspected by a Doctor whom made a phone call and said you are expected at the orthopaedic unit in Tunbridge you have managed to slice through your thumb tendon.

Mrs E took me, three months of rehab followed. I use scissors now.

First rule we were taught in school.
ALWAYS keep your hands behind the blade!
We even had a big sign over the teachers desk. No excuse if you cut yourself.

 

[DiyNutJob]

See my post above yours, number 9.
Obviously, the local guy hadn't checked the piece he was cutting for embedded foreign material, such as heavy nails/screws etc, or he was misusing it beyond its capabilities. Maybe by forcing it through the blade, rather than letting the blade do the work as he slowly fed it through.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make with a table saw is to try and push the job through quickly instead of letting the blade cut through at its own pace. This can cause the blade to heat up, which in turn will expand the teeth, which in turn makes it harder for them to cut, resulting in them blunting very quickly. When this happens, people have a tendency to push harder to get the cut done before the teeth become too blunt, but they are just exacerbating the problem. Patience is the keyword to all safety aspects of working, be it working with high powered tools or simple hand spanners/screwdrivers.

I get the shakes even just posting this link. When it comes to table saws, just say no is my policy.

 

[opps]

I get the shakes even just posting this link. When it comes to table saws, just say no is my policy.

I watched the video, with the audio off. It looks like he doesn't use the blade cover because it may obstruct the flow of pushing the timber.

I have never owned a table saw. I do however have a Rubi wet tile cutter, you can raise the height of the blade cover to suit the thickness of the tile. Can you not do that with a table saw?

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

First rule we were taught in school.
ALWAYS keep your hands behind the blade!
We even had a big sign over the teachers desk. No excuse if you cut yourself.

I once ran a portable electric saw, down the tip of my right index finger. I was trimming the long edge of a door down, with it balanced on trestles, Mrs B was supposed to be keeping the door steady, me using the saw with my left hand, for better reach.

She wasn't holding it tight enough, it moved, I tried to make a grab for it with my right - The blade went partially up my nail, and chipped the bone. The only driver, I wrapped it in tissue, and drove myself to the hospital. Xray, stitches and a few weeks to heal, plus loss of feeling for many years afterwards, but lucky to get away so lightly.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

@opps Yes you can and should do, the guard is set slightly higher than the top of the blade, so as you raise/lower the blade the guard goes with it so I'm not sure why so many seem to remove the guard. I do find it kinda does get in the way sometimes but not sure if that's because I have a cheapy saw (Titan) and the guard is a bit cumbersome (it seems like it is) or I'm just not very experienced at using it. You would need to remove the guard to make a rebate though on the Titan the top of the riving knife is set higher than the blade so not possible even without the guard, a bit of a poor design feature I think, it also prevents you from doing really thin cuts between the fence and the blade though as he demonstrates in his video that's fairly simple to overcome.

The video is OK, he highlights many of the common things people do wrong and I'm pleased I don't seem to do any. Watching all those youtube videos on table saw safety before I bought one must have lodged in my brain somewhere! But I'm not complacent, I don't really like using it.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

I don't possess a table saw, I have a couple of portable electric ones, a chop saw, and a sliding mitre. Chop saw just has a button you need to press, before it will go down to cut. Mitre has a button to press, to also get it to go down, and as it goes down, the guard rotates out of the way.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

First rule we were taught in school.
ALWAYS keep your hands behind the blade!
We even had a big sign over the teachers desk. No excuse if you cut yourself.

Should have been preceded by "always use the riving knife and crown guard" and followed by "always use a push stick to ensure that your hands are at least 16in from the blade, and never push past the blade with your hand"

 

[Deleted member 174758]

I have never owned a table saw. I do however have a Rubi wet tile cutter, you can raise the height of the blade cover to suit the thickness of the tile. Can you not do that with a table saw?

That is what you are supposed to do, yes.

I'm not sure why so many seem to remove the guard

A commonly given reason is "so that I can see the cut" - but if the rip fence is set-up correctly it will guide the cut and there really is no need to watch the blade closely.

I do feel that a lot of the cheaper table saws I've seen over the years have really horrible crown guard/riving knife set-ups and are awkward to mount and remove from the saw, which discourage users from keeping them on the saw as a norm

 

[Deleted member 174758]

As to the safest tool? A table saw, but properly guarded and with extra guides to direct materials away from the back of the blade after cutting to length and a very short set rip fence (and used with push sticks) would be good - however ripping the timber into parallel strips (or getting the merchant to do it) then cutting to length on a chop saw with a length stop would be more practical. Just remember to keep the blade in the down position at the end of the cut and to stop the saw blade before lifting it - that way you won't get a face full of timber square

 

[Tigercubrider]

A decent bandsaw with a good guide should be accurate.