I was cutting some 1/8x1/8 strips. I knew they would kick back pretty good so I got anything breakable out of the way.
One hit the wall 8' back and then bounced 15' nearly hitting the opposite wall. I wonder what kind of velocity is necessary for a trick like that. The other 5 were less dramatic.
Yeh, I know I could have avoided it by cutting them off, rather than cutting them; but the saw was setup perfectly from cutting them to width.
Not kick back, but a similar incident on the SCMS yesterday cutting triangular shaped 1/8" paduak wood for accent. One piece shattered, sending slivers around the shop like shrapnel ... one 3" sliver speared me in the bottom lip and I had to pull it out. It would have gone right through an eyeball
... "and there is no more important safety device than these, safety glasses."
Take Norm's advice to heart.
I don't get it. Why did you even attempt the cut? There are ways to handle this but not very common.
Bob
With a proper push block, you could have cut them all day long with no hint of a problem. You know something's not going to work and you do it anyway. Bright.
Cutting something knowing it will kick back is just not smart. You really should find a way to cut that eliminates or at least significantly reduces the chance for kickback. Not sure if you were using a table saw but if it was set up correctly, you shouldn't have this problem. Cheers, cc
I will take issue with Norm's dictum about the most important safety device. It is the stuff between your ears......your brain. If the cut seems a little scary, it probably is!
I'm with you on that one, Dave. Another reason I NEVER, EVER have a beer before, or during a WW session.
Dave
A push block to handle a 1/8" cut? Holding the cut-off and accepting the kickback seems safer. It worked just fine. I got my 1/8x1/8 pieces, no harm was done, and I got an interesting show.
Yes, a pushblock. If you know how to make them, they keep complete control of both pieces. Kickbacks don't always go were you think they will. You'd look kind of funny with a piece of wood sticking out of your neck.
Lots of comments on the OP's technique so far, but no one answered the question.... LOL.
The answer is (suprisingly) not that much velocity. Depending on what type of strip it was (bendable and heavy is better, hickory better than balsa :) ), and what type of wall it was (stiff is better), the collision of strip to wall was very close to perfectly elastic. In english, this means the strip bounded back with only slightly less velocity than what it came in at. And it would not take much velocity to send a strip as described back across a 15ft shop (way under 50 feet per second or 30 miles per hour) -- durn near anyone could throw something like this WAY more that 15'.
So if it came off the saw at 60 miles per hour, this could easily happen. You don't need gunshot velocity or anything even close. Just suicidal tendancies...
Try this sometime -- get a 1/4" dowel 3' long and bounce it on a concrete floor. It bounces quite nicely, and can be pretty fun to try to get a straight bounce.
Matthew (who is always fascinated by crap like this)
If you have a brain, you follow Norm's "dictum".
How does a piece of wood that tiny hit a wall and not break all to pieces instead of bouncing? Must be damned tough wood?
An 11" long piece of walnut. Only one of the six bounced more than a few feet, but none were the least bit damaged.
There's no reason for a piece that short to have ever been introduced to the back/top teeth of the blade. Raise the blade all the way, cut in half way, back out, cut from the other end. If you don't pass the back teeth I believe backing out is safe. Safer than intentionally allowing a kickback anyway. Keep a push stick pushing down close to the front of the blade to keep the stock from chattering, both as you make the cut and as you back out. I cut small stuff like that all the time this way, but I have learned to never let anything that small near the back of the blade, unless you enjoy having little splinters come flying towards your face at high speed.
-Leuf
I suggest you rethink the level of safety in which you feel comfortable working. Why would you not take 60 seconds to build a thin strip cutting jig? They are safe, simple and when the saw is set, you don't have to move the fence for each cut.
Do not raise blade all the way up (3 inches), you will surley be asking for trouble there.
I think everyone is over reacting to this, think about it the blade is only
1/4" out of the table and only 1/8" above material. Assuming the gap between the blade and insert is 1/16" or less a push stick is very acceptable for this cut. Although saftey glasses are a must reguardless what you are cutting.Just my .02
Kevin
I just had an "almost" this weekend. Was ripping some purpleheart on my ancient saw and it started warping shut behind the blade. Got it a ways back behind the blade and carefully wedged it open, then finished the cut.
I need to either figure out how to put a splitter on that saw (didn't come with one, no room on the insert behind the blade) or else get a new saw.
Chris
Yep. The main body lays flat on the table. Make it about 8" wide and decently long with a handle in the middle.
Cut a bit less than 1/8" off one edge, but leave a bit of a tail on it to hold the stock.
Chris
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