Tablesaw injury with pic. Not too bad though

[hockey1]

Typically I am a person that lurks in the shadows but feel compelled to have a quick safety minute with everyone. Although this is not a bad injury and only got the tip of my finger it is still an injury that could have been prevented. On the flip side to that, this was a good awakening moment for myself when using any machinery. :BangHead:

Quick story of what happened. I was in a hurry and all I needed was a small strip of poplar. So there I was cutting a thin strip of poplar without the use of a zero clearance throat plate (which happened to be neatly nestled in the corner of a cabinet). Next thing I knew WHAM! The tablesaw had pulled the thin strip of material and my push stick in between the blade and the opening of the throat plate. Consequently my outstretched finger on the push stick kissed the spinning blade.

Things I could have done to prevent this was to use my zero clearance throat plate, use a proper push stick (longer), I should have put the blade down about a quarter inch more, and most importantly I should have slowed down. Had I just slowed down I would have noticed that all of these things were out of whack.

All is well. I just hope everyone else can get a little something out of this. :gar-Bi

 

[CDPeters]

Glad you escaped with just a nick Jesse! Though we all (I hope!) have a healthy respect for our power tools, it never hurts to be reminded.:thumbs_up

C.

 

[Russ Denz]

I'm sure everyone who reads this will be glad it was such a minor injury. While I don't have any statistics, I'm also (pretty) sure your circumstances are the cause of most tablesaw, if not woodworking tools in general, accidents.

Namely 1) being in a hurry 2) been there done that...before, with no problem, and
3) taking a shortcut. Let's all learn from this and realize none of us are as tough as a spinning blade. and all God's children said....
Amen

 

[Trent Mason]

Sorry to hear about your injury. :tinysmile_cry_t: But I'm VERY glad that it wasn't worse. Thank you for posting this. You're right. We all need reminders to be safe. :thumbs_up:thumbs_up

 

[Bill Clemmons]

Been there, done that, Jesse. Some years ago I caught the tips of four fingers when my hand slipped. Today I consider myself a "safety nut", but even so, I still catch myself doing dumb things. Really glad your injury wasn't any more serious that it is. Be safe, and thanks for sharing this. Every reminder helps. :thumbs_up

Bill

 

[Jim M.]

Jesse,
Sorry to hear about your accident, glad it wasn't any worse. Search table saw accidents on the site, you'll see quite few posts with the same theme. Haste and short cuts are the most common causes it seems, including mine. Jim

 

[gazzer]

Real happy to hear that it was not worse. Thin strips are troublesome for a number of reasons. For me I just can't figure how to use a push stick effectively with the guard. Thick pushers support the strip well but jam up on the splitter. Thin pushers jam between the fence and guard plates (yeah, and that's a real comfortable feeling!)

I generally rip so that the thin strip is on the blade side opposite the fence, but when you need multiple strips it's easier to cut the other way.

I have seen a push device that rides over the fence and supports the strip as it pushes; however I haven't got around to making one. Has anyone tried one?

-G

 

[Canuck]

So sorry to hear about the incident Jesse, but glad it wasn't worse.

I've had a few close calls with the stock insert, so I now keep my zero clearance insert in at all times.

I have seen a push device that rides over the fence and supports the strip as it pushes; however I haven't got around to making one. Has anyone tried one?

-G

G.

Our own jigmaster (Joe Scharle) came up with this one that I now use whenever I need thin strips.

I did add some rare earth magnets to the ramp base which helps to keep it steady on the TS top...

It doesn't actually straddle the fence, but is very effective and removes the :elvis: factor.

Wayne

 

[peteb301]

That darn poplar - Had an 'incident' myself last Friday. Removed the splitter on the saw in order to cut some dados, and of course needed to cut a small piece of poplar - without the splitter being on. The inevitable happened - My "kickbackStop" saw didn't stop the flying poplar.
Caught me in the gut and left a fair bloody impresion where it landed. OUCH !!!!

Now to remind me, I have posted that cute little scared piece of poplar In a predominent postion
on my cabinet door for everyone including me to see - to remind me every time I see it - USE the guards that came with the saw and slow down. :BangHead::BangHead::BangHead:

 

[ehpoole]

I'm very grateful your injury was no more severe than a nick. If you have to learn a lesson, that is the best way to learn -- a couple weeks of healing and a lifetime of remembering with no lasting injury! :eusa_doh:

I have to confess that I generally only use my splitter/guard during rip cuts when the kickback risk is greatest. For crosscuts I have a very nice Incra miter gauge/fence setup that's good at keeping my hands out of harms way.

I make liberal use of featherboards, both table-referenced (located in front of the blade) and rip-fence referenced (typically in front and behind the blade) whenever necessary to ensure positive control is maintained throughout the cut. I have roller-stands behind the table saw to catch ripped boards so that they don't dip toward the floor resulting in my trying to catch them (never try to 'catch' a board around a running tool!). Soon, I will build a proper offcut table behind my saw as well (probably 2ft deep with a 1ft flip-up extension). Of course, I keep push sticks and push blocks within reach of my table saw and make a point to use them if my hands/fingers are to come anywhere near the blade (or if I think there is a chance that kickback or some other force might result in my hand coming near the blade).

I also keep the blade no more than 1/4" higher than than the workpiece is tall -- much safer than having 3-1/2" of blade above the surface (as I have often seen others do). I always take time to think through my cuts before I perform them. If I can't safely perform the cut on a tablesaw -- even with jigs on hand -- then I can often turn to my bandsaw, jigsaw, circular saw, or even the jointer (for rabbeting). Most importantly, I never work with power tools -- or sharp hand tools -- when I'm tired or distracted. Woodworking is just a hobby for me, as such there are no deadlines worth risking injury to achieve!

Still, though, I have considered upgrading to a SawStop (Pro or Industrial) one of these days -- we all suffer momentary laps in reason! I love their saw, though I am troubled by their politics. :dontknow:

With luck, and hopefully good judgement, I hope :eusa_pray to remain among those woodworkers whom never suffer a major injury -- though, as I already mentioned, we all make mistakes.

 

[ScottM]

Jesse sorry to hear about the accident and glad it was nothing more serious.

 

[Glennbear]

I am glad your injury was not serious and thank you for the safety reminder. :wsmile:

 

[Littlejon]

Glad to hear you are OK and that this wasn't too serious. I think we have all suffered the effects from one or more of the conditions you listed.

I had a teachable moment with my oldest son one afternoon while ripping some 1x4 cedar. I got in a hurry and was pushing it through the table saw while trying to get him to do something else. I didn't notice the kickback arm had not dropped down on my old saw and I also forgot to side step from behind the board. Well, it grabbed just right and shot the board back into my chest, leaving a small gash and a real nice bruise. My son looked at me like I was about to die, scared to death that I was really hurt. As painful as it was, it could have been worse, but I used that moment to teach him about all the things I failed to do that would have prevented it.

 

[hockey1]

To all, thank you for not chastising and shaking the preverbial parental finger in my direction. All of the kind words and support are the main reason I frequent this forum. I do like the jig as posted above and will probably build it in the near future. Here soon I'm gonna have so many jigs and no place to put them. :help:

 

[erasmussen]

Glad to hear it not too bad
I use a homemade "U" shaped piece that rides the fence 1/4" on 1 side and 3/4" on the other side and a notch on the bottoms to push the wood.
I just had too many close calls with push sticks.

 

[LeftyTom]

Sometimes, being left-handed comes in handy, as I have to think some things through a lot before I can decide if I really want to try that. If I keep hearing that voice in my head nagging, "I forgot something," it is a good clue that I am getting ready to do something I will regret.

 

[Bob Carreiro]

Glad to see that's all it was in that it could have been a lot worse. Seems like you learned a good lesson. Thanks for giving it to us too!

 

[lwhughes149]

I must confess that I don't have a zero clearance insert in my shop. Guess I have been very lucky. I will set about to correct that asap. Glad you came out of this situation well.
Lorraine Thanks for the reminder to us.

 

[Bob Carreiro]

"I must confess that I don't have a zero clearance insert in my shop. Guess I have been very lucky. I will set about to correct that asap. Glad you came out of this situation well.
Lorraine Thanks for the reminder to us."

Yikes... neither do I! Just never wanted to spend the 25-30 bucks, or take the time to make 'em, I guess. I'm so in the habit of doing things the way I've always done them that the "need" doesn't seem that great (whether that's right or wrong thinking?).

Knowing that strips can fall thru the finger plate, as soon as an inch or two passes the back side of the blade, I reach over and with a second push stick (or sometimes, just my finger), apply
pressure so the trailing side can't fall thru. Doing this, I've never felt unsafe or out of control. I think my need (as I see it) for a zero clearance insert has been to minimize tear-out along the kerf.

Thx for sharing,
Bob