Table saw safety

[Sgian Dubh]

With all that table saw nonsense aside, can I ask on what the best way to sharpen a plane blade would be?

You're just looking for entertainment, aren't you? I'm not telling. Sorry to be unentertaining ... not. Slainte.

 

[BucksDad]

Warning, injury photo coming up.
Ive been using table saws safely for years, and here was so lucky that I didn’t touch bone. This is after a hospital visit and 10 days healing time.

This is current, I did it about 12 days ago.

How did it happen?

 

[Stanleymonkey]

I recently visited our local mens shed to drop off some tools & woodwork related books i have no use for, I know the guy who runs it quite well. Nice bloke, very well meaning & the shed is going well. Before the lockdown he was trying to get me to help out there.
On my latest visit a guy was using the bench saw & in two cuts you could see the wood trying to climb the blade & how he avoided a kickback i do not know. No guard, no riving knife.
I pointed out straight away what i thought. the reply was "Two of the blokes are ex industry & said its ok to remove them as they get in the way". This in a place & situation where people who are often very inexperienced are using said machines.
I have told the organiser my view that when there is an accident, whoever took the guards etc off is liable, followed by the organisers or shed committee. Can you honestly see an insurance company paying out if guards are deliberately removed?
I hope they take it on board, otherwise somebody is going to get badly hurt.
Having spent 15 years in the education sector where safety around machines was paramount I find some attitudes hard to get my head round.

That's quite a frustrating situation to deal with.
"There is an accident about to happen"

"It's fine because - some knowledgeable people told me it was okay that way"

I know I'm over simplifying the conversation but why does someone value one person's opinion over another's. Is it first opinion is the best? Is it not understanding the complexity of it the machine? Is it out of respect for those who told him it was fine?

I'm not trying to stir anything up. Just to find a good way of dealing with similar situations when I come across them.

 

[Adam W.]

The answer is - these things are fitted to saws for a reason.

 

[shed9]

The answer is - these things are fitted to saws for a reason.

Pretty much this ^.

Keep the safety equipment on, no mater how inconvenient it is. The biggest safety issue I find myself with table saw users is complacency, that and a woeful lack of understanding of basic physics. (Edit: and no, I'm not suggesting I'm immune to that sometimes either).

 

[TRITON]

Warning, injury photo coming up.
Ive been using table saws safely for years, and here was so lucky that I didn’t touch bone. This is after a hospital visit and 10 days healing time.

This is current, I did it about 12 days ago.
View attachment 133090

Can we have an breakdown analysis of how you actually managed to do it ?. For academic purposes.

 

[Spectric]

that and a woeful lack of understanding of basic physics

maybe also biology because otherwise they would realise flesh versus blade is not good for your health and it is a biological function that hands the flesh over to the blade and not the tablesaw chasing the flesh!

 

[Jacob]

With all that table saw nonsense aside, can I ask on what the best way to sharpen a plane blade would be?

Rub it up and down on a piece of stone.

 

[Keith 66]

I'm not trying to stir anything up. Just to find a good way of dealing with similar situations when I come across them.

If you come across such situations it is best to be tactful, especially if as i was, not a member of the shed! If i was visiting a private individuals workshop I doubt i would get involved especially as their level of competence would be more readily apparent & its their business if they choose to work unsafely.
In the case of a Mens shed the very nature of the place means you will tend to have a high proportion of guys (members) who are inexperienced amateurs, many of whom will have zero experience with machines of any kind never mind circular saws.
This lack of knowledge & experience coupled with enthusiasm means the risk level is increased anyway. Add in safety equipment being removed & the risk & likelyhood of an accident rises drastically.
If you are involved running such a place you really need to think about what happens as you have a duty of care towards the other members. Duty of care nearly always follows best practice. So its no good saying "we are not a workplace so dont have to comply".

A yacht club i belong to owns a Crane, it is very old & really should be in a museum. It is owned & operated by the members & rightly is severely restricted as to what it is allowed to do. It gets inspected every year but im sure the inspector treads lightly. Only the other day one of the guys was saying "It only lifts masts" So i said "what about so & so's 4.5 ton yacht it lifted a month ago?". He didnt know or had conveniently forgotten about that. In the case of a crane if the thing breaks or falls over serious injury or death is highly likely, you can bet your life that Hse & lawyers will look at it as have they adhered to best practice & not "Its a club so we can get away with it".

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

How did it happen?

Truth is, I don’t know. I was cutting the mitres for a picture frame and using a jig, it happened in a micro second and I believe the blade was slowing to a stop. That’s all I remember.