Miter Saw Mishap : WEAR SAFETY GLASSES

[Travis]

I bought a new Freud Avanti 12" thin kerf blade yesterday from Klingspore. On the fourth cut the blade abruptly plowed into the saw itself throwing metal shavings toward my face which cut my nose, check and embeded into my lip and neck. The injuries were like scratches but I hate to think what pieces might have reflected off my safety glases.

How it happened is a mystery to me except to speculate that the metal blade guard that was damaged moved position. This is highly unlikely because the screws were very tight and you don't mess with that part while changing blades. The other strange thing is that the instance occured after the peice was cut. The picture shows the final position of the saw. It was quickest fast stop, face, blood, upstairs to the mirror and wife for pampering. Here are the pics of saw and the damaged blade.

 

[Glennbear]

I am glad you escaped with only minor injuries and thank you for the strong visual reminder to wear safety gear

 

[DaveO]

I think that you just invented the SawStop miter saw
Wow, something had to come loose. To bad it happened right after you put on your new blade. Glad to hear that it resulted in only minor injuries :icon_thum


Dave

 

[Glennbear]

I think that you just invented the SawStop miter saw
Wow, something had to come loose. To bad it happened right after you put on your new blade. Glad to hear that it resulted in only minor injuries :icon_thum


Dave

My curious nature has been piqued, was the previous blade a full kerf ? Perhaps there was enough accumulated gunk on the shaft to prevent the blade from seating properly and it moved after vibration/stress of a few cuts :icon_scra With a 12" diameter blade it would not take much movement at the center point to move the tooth edge out quite a bit.

 

[Robert Arrowood]

Glad to hear you are ok and the most damage is to your pocket. "Buy more bandades, fix saw,and don't forget the fruit of the looms:rotflm:. I was wondering the other day how everyone stores their safety glass. I clean mine after each use wrap them in a CLEAN rag then put them in a small box up on the shelf. That way there ready to use when I need them.

 

[Rob]

That's what I'm thinking, blade came loose enough to wobble. If you look, it hit the side of the guard first.

 

[TracyP]

Thanks for posting that. We all need safety reminders! Glad you are ok though, that could have easily went a lot worse.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

A great big YIKES!!!

I concur about wobble being a possible cause- how is your shaft? any run-out? bad bearing? was the blade spinning as you reset the angle and hit something causing the blade to deflect?

If that piece of metal were a finger, it would no longer be attached to your hand!

 

[McRabbet]

Travis -- TOO close for comfort, dude! I'm certainly glad that you were not seriously injured, but like others, I strongly suspect the blade was not installed correctly. Most mitersaws have a raised portion of the arbor for the blade to sit onto while the outside washer and retaining bolt sandwich the blade against the back of the arbor. Since mitersaws also employ motor circuitry that slows the blade rapidly, reverse torque is applied that may have loosened the blade locking bolt and it just spun itself out, causing it to hit the blade guard and fence. I do not think that it being a thin kerf had any effect. It is a miracle you were not hurt, but it sure alerts all of us to check our MS blades for proper tightness!!

 

[Bas]

Ouch! Good to hear you wore those safety glasses, every time I'm tempted to relax my standards a post like this gets me back in line! Having to replace a new blade stinks, but in the grand scheme of things, that's not too bad.

Thanks for the reminder.

 

[jeff...]

Glad your OK that's the important thing - what kind of saw was it?

 

[Canuck]

So sorry 'bout that new blade!!!! Even more thankful that you are (for the most part) ok!!!:eusa_danc

Safety gear certainly has a way of keeping us safe!

Thanks for the post! I need to replace my blade soon and will definitely be on the lookout for any anomalies!

Please stay safe!

Wayne

 

[Gotcha6]

Glad you're okay, Travis. You definitely win the Fruit of the Loom award for the month. From the first pic it appears the blade has some galling around the clutch area near the arbor hole. Do you have fairly flat face washers? If the saw has an automatic brake it has to absorb a lot of momentum on a 12" blade, as they will weigh up to 44% more than a same thickness 10" blade - and it's all at the periphery of the blade. Was the blade 'dry spun' before you began to use it to be sure it didn't hit anything? Just some things to ask in general.

 

[mburke911]

WOW! Travis, Glad your ok. That could have been very very bad.

Mark

 

[PChristy]

Glad that you are ok Travis - thanks again for the reminder - sorry that thinks like this happens to get us back on our toes about safety - stay safe everone

Phillip

 

[cptully]

Travis

Glad to hear that you escaped any major injuries... and THANKS for the reminder!

Many years ago I worked in a lab where safety glasses were required. Unfortunately then I discovered that generic safety glasses give me headaches.:no: The company paid for me to get prescription safety glasses:widea: (no correction, just better quality optical plastic lenses) which I still have but have been extremely lax about wearing.:eusa_doh:

Another part of my objection to safety glasses is that speed with which they fog over. This has lead me to consider getting a face shield to us instead. Any thoughts on face shields versus safety glasses?

Chris

 

[TBone]

Glad to hear everything is still attached to Travis, if not the saw. Blades are replaceable (too bad it was new though), eyes are not. Thanks for the reminder about safety glasses. With glaucoma, sight is something I don't take for granted. Be careful out there!

 

[junquecol]

You made four cuts and this happened as the saw was braking on the fourth cut? Sounds to me that the blade wasn't properly seated on the arbor. On most miter saws, the outer flange is "keyed" to the shaft, so as to prevent it and the bolt from being spun out. Was the arbor bolt tight after the incident? If blade isn't too crapped out, I would send it to Dynamic Saw. They offer "Smithing" (hammering) for $8 that will straighten most blades. Oh yeah, what size of FOL's do you wear?:dontknow:

 

[Rob]

Travis

Glad to hear that you escaped any major injuries... and THANKS for the reminder!

Many years ago I worked in a lab where safety glasses were required. Unfortunately then I discovered that generic safety glasses give me headaches.:no: The company paid for me to get prescription safety glasses:widea: (no correction, just better quality optical plastic lenses) which I still have but have been extremely lax about wearing.:eusa_doh:

Another part of my objection to safety glasses is that speed with which they fog over. This has lead me to consider getting a face shield to us instead. Any thoughts on face shields versus safety glasses?

Chris

I use a face shield when turning, I've had a chunk fly off and hit it. Had I just been wearing safety glasses, sucker would have taken out my nose.

Safety glasses with everything else in the shop, including sanding. I hate wood dust on the eyeballs.

 

[Sully]

I'm betting the puckerfactor was pretty high on that one. Glad to hear you okay!

J