Posted on 08/13/2017 7:09:35 AM PDT by upchuck
Every day, more than 10 Americans suffer amputations on what is by far the most dangerous woodworking tool: the table saw. Regulators in Washington, D.C., are moving closer to adopting a rule that would make new saws so much safer that they could prevent 99 percent of serious accidents.
But even after more than a decade of study, and the existence of a proven technology that all sides agree works astoundingly well to prevent injuries, it's unclear whether the Consumer Product Safety Commission will finally pass a rule requiring all new saws to have an active injury prevention monitoring system built into them.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Egad! I would have to read that while eating brunch!!
Bingo.
LOL
I have a customer whom I frequently have the misfortune of witnessing using a chainsaw.
I keep my cellphone on 911 speed dial. He scares the hell out of me. No matter how many times I’ve called attention to his carelessness, its met with a harrumph.
Chainsaw cuts don’t close up. Another guy I knew lost a kneecap from one. Yet another on a highway crew got a chain in the face while working overhead.
Had a customer give me a brand new Homelite (1981) after she watched her husband use it the first time.
“Just put this in your truck and get it out of here”, she said. LOL
Rule #2: Never cut freehand on a table saw.
Exactly right. Learned proper use from my dad just like all other tools, never even a close call. Fail to observe safe practices and you risk injury in any endeavor. Saw Stop is impressive technology but the market has spoken.
Imagine substituting “gun” for “table saw” and some of the comments here!
I got rid of a radial arm saw because I knew eventually I’d get hurt. They are no where near as versatile as advertised.
[Table saws are about the only tool, I have never bought and never will.]
I remember the old Rockwell “Unisaws”. Cast iron frame, stationary. You could barely hear them running. But man, they were a helluva saw.
I, too, am paranoid of the spinning blade. Being a lifelong musician, of piano and guitar, I value my fingers. I keep the blade down, until needed. Keep the hands as far away as possible, and always use a push stick. For close work, I use a hand saw, or a coping saw.
I don’t use one much, but occasionally - when I do - I’m well aware of where my hands are...the saw doesn’t move toward your finger, the finger have to move to the saw. If I control me, the saw is only doing what it does...CUTS.
In my day, the safety technology was called a “push stick” made from scrap wood. Yes, I still have all 10 digits.
And “Oops! is no substitute for knowing how the buzzsaw works!” — Lazarus Long
Be very afraid.
1. Use guards and riving knives if at all possible.
2. Use push blocks and feather boards.
3. Never trap cross cuts between blade and fence.
4. Learn how to cut thin stock to the outside of the blade.
5. Never reach over spinning blade for any reason.
6. Keep saw top clean and waxed.
I use stop blocks and hold downs in T-slots so that my hands are *never* inside the sled when I make a cut.
Just another form of rent-seeking.
And bet you 6 to 10 that the saw wasn’t being used safely , like many of us wear taught in shop class and lectured by our /dad’s!!
Myself, I'd likely get one with it. I'm not going to make my woodworking neighbor pay extra if they don't want it.
Having spent considerable time around construction sites and renovations, I’ve never seen any carpenter leave any of those “safety devices” installed.
(myself included)
They simply get in the way of being able to see your cut line and manage a consistent feed of material.
Use the fences as intended and use a push stick to maintain control near the blade.
Table saws are not as dangerous as band saws, especially for your thumb. Band saws have always given me the creeps.
Yeah, but today Johhnny has two Mommies and the school board replaced shop class with gender studies.
Sometimes I am VERY glad I’m old.
They shouldn’t require it, but it should be an available option
Requiring it is fascism.
I paid extra for the cool Jaegermeister dispenser on mine.
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