When I was in shop class years ago they drilled into us always have the blade guard installed on your table saw. This prevents kickbacks and wood flying up in-your-face and only take it off when dadoing and other special operations. My question is every time I looked at books or see people on television using table saws the blade guard is usually off. Is taking off the blade guard and operating the table saw without it a stupid idea that will put me in a dangerous situation when working my table saw?
The reason that I asked is it seems to be a pain in the butt using it .It gets in the way of cutting small pieces a wood and sometimes just cutting wood in general. If it's a major safety feature I well just put up with. Thanks John