Musings of a newbie.

[MrA]

Thank goodness for the internet.

Being a sawdust novice the internet has proved to be a mine field of information that has helped me stay safe whilst I build up my skills and confidence in the garage "workshop". I bought my first table saw last year and within two days I experienced a kick back from a 600x600 panel that dented the metal garage door to such an extent I had to replace it. After reflecting that it could have crushed my oesophagus and left my writhing in my death throes for hours before being discovered by my coffee and doughnut bearing wife, I decided not to touch the saw again until I watched every YouTube video on table saw safety, read all the blogs and articles on the net and took a lesson from the joiner at work. I've applied that principle to every power tool that I've bought since.

What safety tips if any do forum members have for us newbies that post and more likely lurk?

 

[Jacob]

The main thing is to work out what went wrong with your panel and then work out how not to do it again.
I guess you should have retracted the fence to close to the front of the blade so that there was no chance of the work jamming against it and getting slung out. Basic stuff.
Mind you the doughnuts aren't good for you either.

 

[MrA]

It was a Triton work centre. I set the fence on the piss, more narrow at the rear and tried to force the panel through when it got tight. Now if it was a doughnut being pushed through I'm pretty sure it would have enough flexibility to make it, although I may not have fingers to eat it afterwards.

 

[Lons]

What safety tips if any do forum members have for us newbies that post and more likely lurk?

Too general a question imo MrA. Which machines, handtools, workshop practice? some practices are common but many are very specific to the individual tool or machine and what you are trying to achieve with it.

You seem to be doing the right thing now, lucky you discovered that machines need the operator to be proficient BEFORE use. As you said, you could easily have suffered major injury.

Watch and read everything applicable you can get your hands on, talk to knowlegeable people (shows are good) and ask specific questions here. Do a search first as many subjects have been exhaustively covered. See if there are any courses available locally. You can get as much info from others attending as the course itself, sometimes great long term contacts and even friends can be made this way.

my coffee and doughnut bearing wife

How did you manage that? :lol:

Bob

 

[MrA]

What safety tips if any do forum members have for us newbies that post and more likely lurk?

Too general a question imo MrA. Which machines, handtools, workshop practice? some practices are common but many are very specific to the individual tool or machine and what you are trying to achieve with it.

You seem to be doing the right thing now, lucky you discovered that machines need the operator to be proficient BEFORE use. As you said, you could easily have suffered major injury.

Watch and read everything applicable you can get your hands on, talk to knowlegeable people (shows are good) and ask specific questions here. Do a search first as many subjects have been exhaustively covered. See if there are any courses available locally. You can get as much info from others attending as the course itself, sometimes great long term contacts and even friends can be made this way.

You're right, before I start on something new I do the research and pester the work joiner and he lets me practise, so I'm quite lucky. I'll ask specific questions as they arise as sometimes advice on the net can actually contradict each other.

my coffee and doughnut bearing wife

How did you manage that? :lol:

Bob

Wearing trousers and being an in charge kinda guy sorts that out, she knows what side her breads buttered....... She's not likely to read this forum either..... Hopefully.

 

[Lons]

Wearing trousers and being an in charge kinda guy sorts that out, she knows what side her breads buttered....... She's not likely to read this forum either..... Hopefully.

Yeah right :roll: The last few words say it all. - you're the boss when she's out then :wink: :lol: :lol:

 

[Woodchips2]

The router is the tool that makes me most nervous because of its ability to ruin a piece of work is a fraction of a second if not used properly. By the time I'm thought how to clamp the workpiece, checked the clamps three times and donned all the protective gear I'm sure it could have been done quicker using hand tools :lol: . Even when used in the router table I find I am constantly tightening the clamps because that tiny bit of tungsten carbide spinning at 20,000rpm seems to make everthing come undone (hammer) .

That said if nothing goes wrong the finish is really good!

Regards Keith

 

[andersonec]

The main cause of a 'kick back' is the lack of riving knife (do not watch any Amerivan videos on table saw use on youtube)

There is one American who is trying to teach the proper use of a table saw, check this video and it may explain where you went wrong.

http://videos.americanwoodworker.com/vi ... -table-saw

Andy

 

[Hardwood66]

Kickback comes from the natural movement of the wood when it's being cut and pinching the blade and as they spin towards you it normally throws it towards you, can happen even with a properly fitted riving knife

Russ

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Best safety tip?

Always take your time, think what you're doing, work steadily and methodically. If you find yourself rushing, stop and have a brew, calm down, start again. A very large proportion of accidents happen when people rush things.

 

[baldpate]

Kickback comes from the natural movement of the wood when it's being cut and pinching the blade and as they spin towards you it normally throws it towards you

That's certainly one reason for kickback, but it's surely not the only one? As the demonstrator in the video linked by andersonec shows, and the opening poster's experience confirms, kickback can happen even when cutting man-made panels (where 'natural' movement can't be the cause).
I presume that the OPs saw has a riving knife, which is certainly confirmation that a riving knife isn't a complete protection against KB.

 

[marcus]

Agree with Cheshirechappie that being aware of rushing is key. And when you find that rushing mindset coming on, don't just try and slow down. Stop. Have a cup of tea and reflect how nice it is to have a fully working set of limbs and digits.

Also remember that every machine, even the most docile looking ones, are waiting to bite you. I sanded the top of my finger off once because I wasn't treating what seemed like quite a small and innocuous disc sander with respect (and I was rushing). Hurt like hell and couldn't work for two weeks. Ouch.

 

[woodbloke]

Best safety tip?

Always take your time, think what you're doing, work steadily and methodically. If you find yourself rushing, stop and have a brew, calm down, start again. A very large proportion of accidents happen when people rush things.

+1...absolutely. Making something is as much an intellectual process as a practical one. Stop and really think through the processes involved - Rob

 

[deserter]

The best safety tip I ever learnt was from a college tutor I had "Never put your hand anywhere you wouldn't put your crown jewels".

A few others I've picked up along the way;

Machines can't differentiate between oak and flesh.

On our planer at work is a notice stating "At full working speed the cutting block makes 16 slices in 1/10th of a second, humans have 7 layers of skin".

There is normally only one cause of accidents and near misses: The Operator.

Remember just one of these and you'll be safer in the workshop.



~Nil carborundum illegitemi~

 

[samthedog]

Mind you the doughnuts aren't good for you either.

I would rather have a doughnut thrown at me than a piece of wood

My biggest tip for workshop safety... Imagine that every machine and tool is trying to kill you, and they are waiting until you are too tired to fight them off. People make the stupidist and most costly mistakes when they are mentally fatigued.

A career as a firefighter - EMT has taught me this.. as has an event that left me with 9 toes.

Paul.

 

[bugbear]

The main thing is to work out what went wrong with your panel and then work out how not to do it again.

With potentially fatal accidents, I would recommend finding out how to avoid them BEFORE you've had an example.



BugBear

 

[AndyT]

One simple, widely applicable safety tip, whether working with hand tools or machines - from time to time, STOP, go out of the workshop, come in again and look at it afresh - then tidy up.

Not only do you avoid accidents from sharp edges concealed by offcuts, things dropping and breaking, but you also get that important pause for your subconscious mind to come up with better ideas.

 

[MrA]

Kickback comes from the natural movement of the wood when it's being cut and pinching the blade and as they spin towards you it normally throws it towards you

That's certainly one reason for kickback, but it's surely not the only one? As the demonstrator in the video linked by andersonec shows, and the opening poster's experience confirms, kickback can happen even when cutting man-made panels (where 'natural' movement can't be the cause).
I presume that the OPs saw has a riving knife, which is certainly confirmation that a riving knife isn't a complete protection against KB.

The saw did have a riving knife, that's what confused me at first, I learned that if there's too much pressure at the rear of the blade then a kickback is likely, I also learned to check and double check set ups before proceeding and to take my time.

As for treating everything as though it would kill me, seems a bit drastic I'd never leave the house .

 

[MrA]

Wearing trousers and being an in charge kinda guy sorts that out, she knows what side her breads buttered....... She's not likely to read this forum either..... Hopefully.

Yeah right :roll: The last few words say it all. - you're the boss when she's out then :wink: :lol: :lol:

I'm the boss ALL the time, .


*cough*

 

[MrA]

Anybody use bench cookies? I saw them on youtube and thought they looked great, before I buy them and then suffers buyers remorse I'd appreciate any feedback.