"Basic Box Making" by Doug Stowe. Shocker!

[Phil Pascoe]

Knowledge. The knowledge that what you are about to do is inherently dangerous makes it safer. Most accidents happen when someone goes into something dangerous without a second thought or a care in the world.

 

[transatlantic]

.......
Our Jacob is a big push stick crusader, and he's not wrong about it at all. I've seen two major-ish and a lot of minor accidents on the table saw and both of the major ones (thumb cut down the middle, palm of hand cut open) could've been totally avoided with proper use of push sticks rather than hand feeding.

Push sticks reduce to near zero the chances of getting a cut. Everything else can go wrong of course but you don't lose any fingers.
But in fact everything else goes better - push sticks give you more control and a longer reach. Takes a bit of time to get used to them but they become second nature.
The next biggest safety measure is to use a crown guard - firmly fixed to the riving knife, not mounted in any other way.
Third is to get into the habit of letting go - if things look as they they are going wrong don't press harder and closer, instead stand back, hands off and let it fly.
And practice switching off with the emergency buttons - hands free with your knee etc.

I know I know you disagree with this, but I still think push sticks give you less control. Much less control than with your hands, both in terms of grip and applied force.

And yes - I do use two push sticks on every cut! as I would rather have less control of the work piece and damaged that, rather than damage a finger.

 

[Jacob]

.....
I know I know you disagree with this, but I still think push sticks give you less control. Much less control than with your hands, both in terms of grip and applied force.

And yes - I do use two push sticks on every cut! as I would rather have less control of the work piece and damaged that, rather than damage a finger.

I mean the standard push stick with a birdsmouth, not just any old stick. With practice you can push down, inwards, lengthways, all together, just as you would with your hand with curled fingers and thumb, same shape as the birdsmouth. You also get extra reach - can push stuff through without hand going near the blade, of hold stuff close to the blade, and so on. Just practice - gets better! I wouldn't be without them, ditto fingers!

 

[DBT85]

I blame Norm.

As an aside, as learned from a fellow member in the "I bought a tracksaw thread", maybe take our wedding rings off to save a finger.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I cut the back of my wedding ring and rounded the ends - I've ripped off three and lost them, but the finger is still there.

 

[sunnybob]

I did "metalwork" at secondary school, back in the days when 13 year old kids actually DID the metalwork :shock: .
Training counts for a lot and I have never worn a ring, or any jewellery since. I never wore ties either when I worked machinery. I knew a few people who couldnt count to ten using both hands.

I have the 745 saw, and am still learning its use, but after a lifetime of working with machinery that was trying to kill me, the terror has subsided to merely "very cautious"

Another good video on table saw safety is stumpy nubs (good pun, huh?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSbS5zhH7cE
There are 5 videos on safety.

 

[ScaredyCat]

- Always adjust your blade to be a little above the depth of the piece (adivce on just how much varies), so as to expose as little as possible

I was under the impression that the gullet should be just at the workpiece height. That seems a lot more than 'a little above'.

.

 

[DBT85]

- Always adjust your blade to be a little above the depth of the piece (adivce on just how much varies), so as to expose as little as possible

I was under the impression that the gullet should be just at the workpiece height. That seems a lot more than 'a little above'.

.

Most things I've seen seemed to suggest about 3mm over. It's what I used when I used my tablesaw.

I now use the same on a tracksaw.

 

[Trevanion]

I tend to believe the best way is as Scaredycat said, the bottom of the tooth gullets lining up with the top of the timber. Any less than that and the workpiece will want to creep up over the blade, especially with a dull one as there is so much surface (teeth) contact with a shallow cut. I don't tend to pay too much attention to exact heights but just crank it up and down to what I'm comfortable with.