Handedness of table saws

[Mad Dog]

For many years I've got by with an 8" B&D table saw. Certainly got my money's worth out of it! The fence-locking mechanism is such that you can put the fence to the left or to the right of the blade.

Recently I upgraded to one of those 10" Craftsman cast iron jobs. Here, the fence is on the right of the blade. This means, if you want to stay out of the line of fire, that you position your body also to the right of the blade. This means that you must use your left hand on the push stick. This is a little awkward for me, being a right handed person.

I've found that I'm tending to use my right hand, thus exposing the beer belly to kick-back and my arm has to pass over the blade.

I thought right handers were about 90% of the population so why did manufacturers favor the southpaws?

Just wondering...

 

[ptt49er]

My fence is on the same side of the blade as yours. But I still stand to the left of the blade. The danger zone for kick back is the area between the blade and the fence. I've never had any issues doing it this way.

 

[Trent Mason]

My fence is on the same side of the blade as yours. But I still stand to the left of the blade. The danger zone for kick back is the area between the blade and the fence. I've never had any issues doing it this way.

+ 1

You can always rebuild the table on your TS to fit your taste using counter tops, etc. :icon_thum

 

[Gofor]

I am right handed, and my fence is to the right of the blade for most cuts. True, my arm is over the blade when I push through with the stick, which is for narrower boards, so anything kicked back will go under my arm (and into the garage door!!), not into my gut. Ripping wide boards are pushed by hand and with a large push block, but if they kick back, it doesn't much matter where you stand. No different than using a panel sled.

The fact that my arm is over the blade is not of major concern because I use a blade guard, put the angle of push over the table, not into the blade, and make sure I am balanced and have solid footing (which means I frequently sweep up small chips and sawdust).

To me, the blade guard is the most important piece of this puzzle, and I am extra careful when working without one when dadoing, etc.

I personally think it is safer to ensure the rip piece is being pushed tight to the fence than to worry about which hand uses the push stick, so it doesn't matter whether the fence is right or left of the blade, you are still pushing slightly across the blade toward the fence with your off hand.

I am a firm believer in feather boards, and to me the one keeping the work flat to the table is the most important in keeping the work from riding up the blade and getting tossed back.

All that said, I now have a left tilt saw, and feel a right tilt (with fence to the left) would be safer for miter cuts for a right hander.

JMTCW

Go.

Disclaimer: My saw is about 1.5 hp (13 amp Ridgid, about max for 110 volt) and I have no experience with the higher powered saws. With mine, I can greatly over-power the saw when pushing through large items like plywood panels and splitting 2 x 8's, so the saw will quit before it can push large items back at me. I might find I have developed some bad habits if I ever upgrade to a 220 volt 3hp saw.

 

[petebucy4638]

For many years I've got by with an 8" B&D table saw. Certainly got my money's worth out of it! The fence-locking mechanism is such that you can put the fence to the left or to the right of the blade.

Recently I upgraded to one of those 10" Craftsman cast iron jobs. Here, the fence is on the right of the blade. This means, if you want to stay out of the line of fire, that you position your body also to the right of the blade. This means that you must use your left hand on the push stick. This is a little awkward for me, being a right handed person.

I've found that I'm tending to use my right hand, thus exposing the beer belly to kick-back and my arm has to pass over the blade.

I thought right handers were about 90% of the population so why did manufacturers favor the southpaws?

Just wondering...

One of my friends was ripping some purpleheart a few years back. He was using new 3hp cabinet saw with a fence that was not correctly aligned. It kicked back a 1 1/2" square cut that dented his garage door so badly that he had to have that panel replaced. If he had been standing in front of it, my guess is that he would have been badly injured.

Pete

 

[Dean Maiorano]

I agree with those specifying the technique over the saw's setup. If you prefer to rip with the fence to the left you should be able to do that with a little reorganizing. If there is an extension on the right side and not the left it should be re-mountable to the left side. The fence mounts/slides should also be movable (although repositioning any integral measuring tape on them might be more involved).

I'd also agree with any comments about power of the saw and a tendency to develop bad habits where a saw is on the weaker end of the spectrum. Have you considered fingerboards on top of other safety measures?

In the past I ran a shop with 3 phase equipment and in that environment 'kickback' was almost a misnomer. 'Shot-back' or 'catapulted-back' would have been more apropos terms. We used the Feed Safe™ Hold-Downs to provide additional safety. They are annoying to some and can require a bit of set up time but I liked them.

(http://www.mlcswoodworking.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/smarthtml/pages/accessorysafe.html)

 

[Travis Porter]

Going a bit off here, I am beginning to think using a bandsaw with a rip fence you have to put the fence to the right of the blade and not the left to be comfortable. Up until recently I have always put the fence on the left side of the blade, and it has always seemed "uncomfortable" to me. This week, I have tried putting the fence to the right side and it feels better, and I seem to have an easier time keeping the stock tight to the fence. Anyone else tried or done this?

 

[Matt Schnurbusch]

Kick back doesn't just have to be from big or long stock...I was clipping some 1" corners off from some 3/4" plywood a few weeks ago. No fence involved, just small wood and a miter gauge. In any case one of the corners, without being bound slid back, caught the blade and kicked back at my thumb at something like mach 4-million. Busted my thumb nail, instantly had a blood blister, and bruised the tip of my thumb, making it virtually unusable for two weeks. All that in about half a nano-second.

My advice, do what you have to do to make your saw comfortable, and more importantly SAFE!!!

 

[Mad Dog]

Thanks for the replies!
Reminds me when I was working at a woodworking outfit many moons ago that made "country" furniture. The operations basically involved taking 18 wheeler loads of pine boards and cutting them up into smaller pieces. There was zero safety at this place. For instance, the staining was done in the back room by filling the sink up and dunking the wood in. The ventilation system was opening the back door.
My first week involved sanding - you can imagine how much fun that was. They had a funny nick-name for me because I arrived with my own face mask, safety glasses and ear defenders. The next week they put me on the table saw - no blade guard, splitter, feather board or push sticks. It was a Craftsman "3" hp cast iron job (just like the one I recently picked up). Within 30 minutes I had 2 accidents - a piece of stock got stuck between the blade and fence and shot back into my, as yet under-developed, beer belly. Didn't hurt all that much but it shocked me. Then an off-cut vibrated along and into the spinning blade. It shot into the back wall and made a big dent in the plaster. No one gave a hoot - in fact, for kicks they would sometimes fire up this saw and toss pieces of scrap woood onto the blade.
Then I graduated to the radial arm saw. The boss (who kept saying "Hurry up every chance you get!") would say, for example, "OK, I need 120 pieces, 18 inches long" That was quite fun and I actually felt productive - cutting the wood up avoiding bad knots. etc.
Every Thursday the truck arrived with more pine and there was a big rush to unload it. There seemed to be an unsaid contest to see how many pine boards you could hold at your end. You know what guys are like.
They were a decent lot and I left with all my fingers so all's well.
Anyways, back to the table saw - I took another look at it and I think I can move the fence rails to the left, as suggested. I think I discounted this at first because the tape wouldn't work any more but I could always buy one that runs in the other direction.
Here's the thing though - if I done this, the plug wouldn't reach to the wall socket. The nearest outlet would be the one in the ceiling that runs the garage door. Could I just run an extension cord from this outlet or would I loose an appreciable amount of power?
Guess I should try it and find out!
Anyways, thanks again for the responses - it has got me thinking more about safety, which is a good thing.
Cheers!

 

[Matt Schnurbusch]

You should be able to run the saw with a 12 gauge cord without a problem. The voltage drop would be nominal unless you are running it a few hundred feet.

 

[Mad Dog]

OK, Matt,
Thanks for the answer.
Cheers!

 

[Dean Maiorano]

...in fact, for kicks they would sometimes fire up this saw and toss pieces of scrap woood onto the blade.

Sounds like you've worked in the same kind of places I have. We had guys do exactly the same thing. The kids at the shop I managed also liked to turn on the 5 hp overhead router/shaper and throw boards into that too. Boys (and men that still act like them) will do the craziest things.

Good luck with your saw MD and stay safe!

 

[Mad Dog]

Thanks Dean.

Just for the sake of completeness to this thread:
This Craftsman table saw was NOT designed to switch over to a left side fence.
Apart, of course, from the fence tape, there isn't enough mounting holes in the table top for the fence-rail .

In the factory, right-handed set up, there are 2 holes (and the L bracket on the end). This ensures the rail is level and at the correct height for smooth fence sliding and locking down.
Switching sides, there's only one hole in the back rail and the one in the front does not correspong with any of the numerous holes or slots in the front rail. Also, using just this one hole and the L bracket results in the rail bending slightly when the fence is locked down - meaning it is not as secure.

No big deal but just wanted to warn folks that its not a simple matter of unbolting, moving the rails to the left and bolting back up.

The reason I've gone ahead is that I will be to the left of the fence - away from the stock and any off-cuts. Also, my arm won't be over the blade - even more annoying if you have opted for an overhead blade guard, where you are fighting the overhead trapezium, or whatever it's called. Now I can push the stock with a push-stick in my good hand and have my left hand in position to turn the saw motor off. (I put in an extra spacer between table edge and the rail to stop it bending when the fence is locked down)

Anyways, I think I've beaten this to death so onward and upward!
Cheers!