Lee Brubaker
Established Member
In the first early days of using my RAS I learned to listen to the saw which quite clearly would tell me that the lumber I was ripping was starting to pinch the blade. Since that time I have kept handy on the outboard bench an assortment of long handled shims. Shut the saw down & press in an appropriate shim to spread the kerf. Back the board off slightly, restart the saw & finish the cut. Clean the cut up on the planer(jointer) which you would have to do anyhow if building up panels.
I think many people that get a kickback on a RAS are attempting to rip too short a piece. You can always tell that this has happened when you see an RAS blade guard with a chunk broken out of the nose of the guard & Ive seen several that have suffered this damage. The piece was too short to be caught by the kickback device at the rear of the guard.
Another potential kickback situation is trying to rip a narrow slat off a board by sawing it off the wrong edge of the board. Namely, the edge that is against the fence instead of the outer edge of the board. The slat is too narrow to be caught by the kickback device & when the cut is finished the blade fires the slat forward with considerable force.
Like any piece of machinery, it can be used safely, but you have to be focused on what your doing and not daydreaming about the next step of the project.
Lee
I think many people that get a kickback on a RAS are attempting to rip too short a piece. You can always tell that this has happened when you see an RAS blade guard with a chunk broken out of the nose of the guard & Ive seen several that have suffered this damage. The piece was too short to be caught by the kickback device at the rear of the guard.
Another potential kickback situation is trying to rip a narrow slat off a board by sawing it off the wrong edge of the board. Namely, the edge that is against the fence instead of the outer edge of the board. The slat is too narrow to be caught by the kickback device & when the cut is finished the blade fires the slat forward with considerable force.
Like any piece of machinery, it can be used safely, but you have to be focused on what your doing and not daydreaming about the next step of the project.
Lee
