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Smawgunner
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:09pm
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It's been 30 years since I took wood shop,...but if I have a 2x4 and let's assume it's 4 inches wide. I want to cut off 1/4 inch. Do I measure 1/4 inch from the fence to the blade or do I put the larger part (3 3/4) between the fence and the blade?
Thanks
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Scott G
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2014 07:10pm
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Larger part next to fence.
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bldginsp
Member
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2014 08:42pm
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Either way, but if you put the fence 1/4" from the blade, use a push stick to push the thin piece through.
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:45pm - Edited by: MtnDon
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IMO, one should use a push stick anytime your hand might get close to the blade. I have an assortment of push sticks and pads that I use all the time. I used to be more 'daring, but have seen the results of two guys who received serious hand injuries because their hands got too close to the blade and then the wood pinched or whatever and the wood and hand guiding the wood got "sucked" into the blade. One guy lost 2 fingers with 2 different accidents years apart. Slow learner, I guess. The shorter the piece being ripped the more the danger. A good table saw with a riving knife is also safer when ripping.
When you depend or count on your finger pressure or grip to control the wood there is an excellent chance that will cause your fingers to follow the path to the blade if the blade catches the wood.
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Scott G
Member
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2014 09:49pm - Edited by: Scott G
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I had a close call with kickback too. Real close call. Wood coming back at you is serious danger. Great recommendations here.
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fasenuff
Member
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# Posted: 15 Dec 2014 11:34pm
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If the blade guard is still on as it should be trying to place the fence only a 1/4" away will be hard to do and put it too close to the blade if it has any side to side movement to it. Also that 1/4" piece jammed between the fence and blade could become projectile. best to rip the board with the larger piece between blade and fence using a push stick to keep it from coming back at you...
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Don_P
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2014 08:26am
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Generally I'm ripping with the dimension I'm trying to produce between the fence and blade. For the bottom supports on the plant trays that I seem to make dozens of at a time the rip is a 1/2x1/2 square. I clamp a finger board or a straight top board to the fence and use 2 push sticks, one for side pressure and one for feed. If the stock is consistent width you can also use a fingerboard for side pressure as well as the one for top and you only need to provide feed. Generally if it doesn't feel right, it isn't, back up and jig it up better.
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creeky
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2014 03:03pm
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1/4" is way too narrow to go between the fence and the blade. Fat side in.
There are some good push paddles you can buy. I have both home made and my plastic with rubber grips Lee Valley special. I also have feather boards (what we call 'em up here). The one's that put side pressure on a board.
I pinched a board early in my woodworking life. I was working in a cold workshop and I had a fairly heavy coat on. The board caught just a piece of my chest. then ricocheted across the room and punched through two cardboard packing sheets. I had a good bruise and some minor bleeding. Kickback is something to be real careful about.
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bldginsp
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2014 06:07pm
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Table saws do have the potential to do some real harm. In the woodshop I used to work in, we made the mistake of letting a very nice but somewhat klutzy guy work in the shop over the weekend. On Monday morning we literally found a trail of drops of blood from the table saw to the bathroom. 10 stitches, but he lost no fingers.
In a lot of ways what you do is a function of your experience and confidence. With many years experience on large table saws and other machines I would not hesitate to rip 1/4" material against the fence or even thinner, but I'd be sure I was safely set up for it. At the same time that's the last thing I'd suggest a beginner or relatively inexperienced person do as they are learning. If you are at all hesitant or unsure, do it some other way.
The thing about ripping thin pieces against the fence is that it is the most accurate way to ensure uniform thickness of the ripping, if that's what you need. But as pointed out above its also a good way to make a rocket shoot at you if the piece becomes free between the blade and fence and the blade catches it.
The main rule of safety I used was to never take your eye off the blade during the cut. So long as you are watching the cut, you will instinctually keep from running your fingers into it. After nearly two decades of machine tool use, I still have all my fingers, thank goodness. Be safe.
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 16 Dec 2014 06:58pm
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My old man taught me to run a table saw when I was ten. Grandpa was a master and taught me the tricks and wood.
With many years under my belt I fed the tip of my finger to a saw in my 30's making finger joints with a shape blade. My hand was a full two feet away from the blade but my finger was overhanging the board when the blade caught a knot in the hardwood I was cutting and zing. I was lucky in that I still have 97% of my finger but it is a tad shorter.
I would say my table saw is easily my most dangerous tool but most rewarding. Knowing what blade to use for what purpose improves function. Always beware of kickback and hand position. Chicken(push) sticks are vital. Most guards are useless and the anti-kickback features are useless so don't trust them.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 17 Dec 2014 06:56pm
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why is it that the guards are the first thing to disappear. i think i know where mine is. pretty sure. kinda sure. okay. no idea.
like all the workshop shows. "guards are removed for filming clarity" lol. they don't know what happened to 'em either.
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creeky
Member
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# Posted: 17 Dec 2014 07:00pm
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this is the push stick I use
URL
kreg has one that looks good too
URL
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Phillip
Member
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# Posted: 4 Jan 2015 09:30pm
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Here's a link to a video showing just how dangerous kickback can be...even while using a push block.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7sRrC2Jpp4
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rmak
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# Posted: 7 Jan 2015 07:46am
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My rule of power equipment is always have a second of fear when you turn on the machine. That makes me pause and think about what I'm about to do. Even with that I've had a number of, thankfully small, accidents with saws, etc. over the years because of momentary lapses of attention. I give the respect to these dangerous things that they deserve.
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Don_P
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2015 09:10am
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We haven't mentioned Saw Stop tablesaws in this thread. I worked extensively with one of their cabinet saws this past year, very nice machine, heavy, stable, accurate, plenty of power, the equivalent of an old unisaw in every respect. They sense the impedence of flesh, if you contact the blade the saw immediately kills power, throws an aluminum block into the blade and drops the blade below the table. You will likely need a band aid but that's it. The saw is not cheap but having lived with a roomate whose thumb had to be reattached, with all the bills and lost time, it would have been short money.
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Smawgunner
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# Posted: 8 Jan 2015 03:16pm
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That is unbelievably cool!
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