4 ms·

Table Saw Accidents

jcims 8y ago
No discussion about table saw accidents is complete without SawStop! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3o0VGUh50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3o0VGUh50
- diggernet 8y ago
  Nor is it complete without an opposing viewpoint... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18523073 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18523073
  - fingerlocks 8y ago
    Those arguments are kind of weak. I’ve owned a sawstop for several years and never triggered it, nor have I met anyone that has. It’s an event equivalent to losing a finger on a regular saw. Furthermore, Sawstop replaces the brake for free if it wasn’t triggered by wet wood or metal. And regarding the patent issues, can you really blame them? That’s the entire point of the patent system. Patent expires in a year or so anyway, and then the market will be flooded with knock-offs.
  - IshKebab 8y ago
    Bosch or someone like that made a non-destructive version. Unfortunately they were found to be in violation of the SawStop patents so I don't think you can buy it.
abraae 8y ago
I inherited a very grunty table saw from my father in law. The lights dim when its started, and it takes two men to move it. It frankly terrifies me somewhat. I have always been very respectful of it, and had had no incidents in a couple of years of use. However one day he watched me using it and said I needed to use a pusher stick to push the piece in, rather than the tips of my fingers as I was doing. I switched to the pusher stick, and things felt...safer! I felt more casual I guess. And then, some months later, I contacted the blade with the pusher stick which disintegrated, with a piece flying past my face. My learning was that sometimes having safety equipment can make one less careful, with a commensurate increase in the likelihood of an accident. (A secondary learning was that table saws are just plain dangerous, and I wouldn't want a job that involved using one all day long - statistics would catch up with me one day).
- jdietrich 8y ago
  Aside from using pusher sticks or blocks to keep your fingers away from the blade, the other critical element of table saw safety is understanding kickback. In the wrong circumstances, the saw blade can suddenly grip the workpiece and launch it back at you; the sudden change in force often causes the user to push their hand into the blade. Fortunately, kickback is a predictable and avoidable phenomenon if you understand the physics involved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f8VWwtaudU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f8VWwtaudU
  - swsieber 8y ago
    My wife knows someone who was almost impaled by a kickback projectile - they were only saved by a lucky placement of their belt.
  - quicklyfrozen 8y ago
    Absolutely -- don't stand directly behind the piece when ripping, and use a featherboard in addition to push sticks.
    - abraae 8y ago
      Thanks! Somehow I've never come across a featherboard.
- war1025 8y ago
  My grandpa owned a welding and machine shop back in the 70s / 80s. When it closed down (I assume this is where we got it from), we got an old cast iron table saw that was originally powered by one of those overhead shaft and belt systems, retrofitted to use an electric motor. Don't know that I ever used it myself. It had a ~1/2" deep channel for the push block to slide through though, which seems like it would maybe help to keep you from doing something stupid with it. As a side note, wasn't Johnny Cash's brother killed in a saw mill accident? Seems like a saw mill is basically a very large table saw from what I've seen of them.
- billti 8y ago
macjohnmcc 8y ago
My right hand pinky is the result of a table saw accident. That one accident was enough for me.
- csours 8y ago
  I heard a story of a carpenter missing half of three fingers. Someone said: Wow, that must have been quite an accident to lose three fingers! Carpenter replies: Well I lost this one 3 years ago, this one a year ago, and this one 6 months ago... Some people never learn. --- When I was a kid I met an old man with half a pinky finger. I asked him how he lost it. He said he was picking his nose one day and zoop, it was gone.
sowbug 8y ago
I honestly can't tell whether the "MANSCAPED #1 IN BELOW-THE-WAIST GROOMING" banner ad is targeted terribly or perfectly. https://i.imgur.com/OrCwd0U.png https://i.imgur.com/OrCwd0U.png
beams_of_light 8y ago
This is one of my favorite kickback demonstrations. Since watching this, I have made sure to keep my push block/stick close to the blade & applying pressure toward the fence, instead of closer to the fence & applying pressure toward the blade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifjjacjLBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifjjacjLBE
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
alphabettsy 8y ago
I didn’t realize the accidents were so common and while I’m not sure brakes should be required it appears some in Congress thought the CPSC should be stripped of that authority anyway. https://www.npr.org/2017/08/10/542474093/despite-proven-technology-attempts-to-make-table-saws-safer-drag-on https://www.npr.org/2017/08/10/542474093/despite-proven-tech...
simondelacourt 8y ago
It amazes me how in America the cabinet style table saw is still favoured above the European Slider. I own a European slider, and it allows me to have my hands further away from the blade, it allows for easier support of the workpiece... In my opinion it's just way safer, especially if you keep the safety guard in tact. The other culture difference I've noticed with American furniture makers is that they use the table saw for many more operations than we europeans do. For making rabbets, we generally use a shaper. Shapers can be daunting machines, but used with the safety equipment they come with they can be a blessing to work with. Things like kickback if you try to create a rabbet are prevented. It just feels strange to see that difference between these two continents, maybe OSHA is just way more lenient, or the idea of the importance of employee safety is something totally different..
- quicklyfrozen 8y ago
  Never even heard of a European slider before; it looks clever, but a bit large for a home shop. Also, these tools last a long time, so even if something better comes along, it's going to take quite a few years to make inroads into existing shops.
IshKebab 8y ago
It would be nice if they distinguished between riving knives and blade guards somehow.

No discussion about table saw accidents is complete without SawStop! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3o0VGUh50 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3o0VGUh50

diggernet 8y ago
Nor is it complete without an opposing viewpoint... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18523073 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18523073
- fingerlocks 8y ago
  Those arguments are kind of weak. I’ve owned a sawstop for several years and never triggered it, nor have I met anyone that has. It’s an event equivalent to losing a finger on a regular saw. Furthermore, Sawstop replaces the brake for free if it wasn’t triggered by wet wood or metal. And regarding the patent issues, can you really blame them? That’s the entire point of the patent system. Patent expires in a year or so anyway, and then the market will be flooded with knock-offs.
- IshKebab 8y ago
  Bosch or someone like that made a non-destructive version. Unfortunately they were found to be in violation of the SawStop patents so I don't think you can buy it.

abraae 8y ago

I inherited a very grunty table saw from my father in law. The lights dim when its started, and it takes two men to move it. It frankly terrifies me somewhat. I have always been very respectful of it, and had had no incidents in a couple of years of use. However one day he watched me using it and said I needed to use a pusher stick to push the piece in, rather than the tips of my fingers as I was doing. I switched to the pusher stick, and things felt...safer! I felt more casual I guess. And then, some months later, I contacted the blade with the pusher stick which disintegrated, with a piece flying past my face. My learning was that sometimes having safety equipment can make one less careful, with a commensurate increase in the likelihood of an accident. (A secondary learning was that table saws are just plain dangerous, and I wouldn't want a job that involved using one all day long - statistics would catch up with me one day).

jdietrich 8y ago
Aside from using pusher sticks or blocks to keep your fingers away from the blade, the other critical element of table saw safety is understanding kickback. In the wrong circumstances, the saw blade can suddenly grip the workpiece and launch it back at you; the sudden change in force often causes the user to push their hand into the blade. Fortunately, kickback is a predictable and avoidable phenomenon if you understand the physics involved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f8VWwtaudU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f8VWwtaudU
- swsieber 8y ago
  My wife knows someone who was almost impaled by a kickback projectile - they were only saved by a lucky placement of their belt.
- quicklyfrozen 8y ago
  Absolutely -- don't stand directly behind the piece when ripping, and use a featherboard in addition to push sticks.
  - abraae 8y ago
    Thanks! Somehow I've never come across a featherboard.
war1025 8y ago
My grandpa owned a welding and machine shop back in the 70s / 80s. When it closed down (I assume this is where we got it from), we got an old cast iron table saw that was originally powered by one of those overhead shaft and belt systems, retrofitted to use an electric motor. Don't know that I ever used it myself. It had a ~1/2" deep channel for the push block to slide through though, which seems like it would maybe help to keep you from doing something stupid with it. As a side note, wasn't Johnny Cash's brother killed in a saw mill accident? Seems like a saw mill is basically a very large table saw from what I've seen of them.
billti 8y ago

macjohnmcc 8y ago

My right hand pinky is the result of a table saw accident. That one accident was enough for me.

csours 8y ago
I heard a story of a carpenter missing half of three fingers. Someone said: Wow, that must have been quite an accident to lose three fingers! Carpenter replies: Well I lost this one 3 years ago, this one a year ago, and this one 6 months ago... Some people never learn. --- When I was a kid I met an old man with half a pinky finger. I asked him how he lost it. He said he was picking his nose one day and zoop, it was gone.

sowbug 8y ago

I honestly can't tell whether the "MANSCAPED #1 IN BELOW-THE-WAIST GROOMING" banner ad is targeted terribly or perfectly. https://i.imgur.com/OrCwd0U.png https://i.imgur.com/OrCwd0U.png

beams_of_light 8y ago

This is one of my favorite kickback demonstrations. Since watching this, I have made sure to keep my push block/stick close to the blade & applying pressure toward the fence, instead of closer to the fence & applying pressure toward the blade. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifjjacjLBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fifjjacjLBE

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

alphabettsy 8y ago

I didn’t realize the accidents were so common and while I’m not sure brakes should be required it appears some in Congress thought the CPSC should be stripped of that authority anyway. https://www.npr.org/2017/08/10/542474093/despite-proven-technology-attempts-to-make-table-saws-safer-drag-on https://www.npr.org/2017/08/10/542474093/despite-proven-tech...

simondelacourt 8y ago

It amazes me how in America the cabinet style table saw is still favoured above the European Slider. I own a European slider, and it allows me to have my hands further away from the blade, it allows for easier support of the workpiece... In my opinion it's just way safer, especially if you keep the safety guard in tact. The other culture difference I've noticed with American furniture makers is that they use the table saw for many more operations than we europeans do. For making rabbets, we generally use a shaper. Shapers can be daunting machines, but used with the safety equipment they come with they can be a blessing to work with. Things like kickback if you try to create a rabbet are prevented. It just feels strange to see that difference between these two continents, maybe OSHA is just way more lenient, or the idea of the importance of employee safety is something totally different..

quicklyfrozen 8y ago
Never even heard of a European slider before; it looks clever, but a bit large for a home shop. Also, these tools last a long time, so even if something better comes along, it's going to take quite a few years to make inroads into existing shops.

IshKebab 8y ago

It would be nice if they distinguished between riving knives and blade guards somehow.