Blade Guard on a Table Saw?

[Locutus]

I use the guard & splitter whenever the cut permits it (which is about 99% of the time)

[bigegg]

I don't use one.

The reason the book says otherwise is because putting it in print, with your name on it, is a good way to get sued into destitution.

[Locutus]

The reason the book says otherwise is because it's the right thing to do.

[bigegg]

Well, *obviously*. Except when it's not the right thing to do

The simple fact is that it's up to the operator whether he uses a guard or not - his choice, his risk, and his responsibility.

Unfortunately, some people make the choice, take the risk, then try to make someone else responsible - hence any media (whether Norm with his "safety guards are removed for photographic purposes only" (even whilst cutting dadoes) and "there is no more important safety rule than to wear these: safety glasses" (when they plainly aren't, since they have no side guards), or the OP's book which insists on using guards "whenever possible") will always cover itself to remove the risk of being held responsible.

[CW]

Yes, it's the right thing to write to keep from getting sued.

[upand_at_them]

I...ummm...don't. But after reading Nigel's post I'm going to.

Mike

[zap]

The first time that you put your finger or hand into the spinning blade, it will make a lifelong believer of you to use that blade guard.

I was a young and stupid teenager when I did it, and the only thing that saved me, and only left me with a scar, was that I had just as stupidly put the blade on backward.

Remember this, it is not a question of IF, it is a question of WHEN!!!

Zap

bigegg wrote:

[CW]

The sure way not to get cut is not to stick your hand in the blade.

[fredfighter]

Uh, by 'freehand' do you mean without using either fence or miter?

If so, I daresay that is a feature, not a defect.

[marc rosen]

When I had my Craftsman I always used the guard for through cutting and would have preferred to have a suspended guard for dado/grooving, etc. Shortly after upgrading to a Unisaw I added a Uniguard and I use it for all types of cutting. I really enjoy the "security" a blade guard offers - even for non through cuts - but I don't let my own guard down and become careless. As a side note, several weeks ago I posted a message about a potential accident that occurred when my basket guard caused the table insert to lift due to some adhesive that got stuck from a previous cut. I was able to shut off the saw before the blade made contact with the insert. This just adds to the fact that you need to be careful and mindful of everything when using a table saw, irrespective of the safety devices and guards that it is fitted with. Marc

[Doug Miller]

Quite true -- and keeping the guard in place makes it less likely that you will do that.

[David]

I'll side with Mortimer and Nigel. As a hand surgeon, I've probably cared for close to 1000 table saw injuries in my career. (At least one or two a week for the last 15 years.) So far, I have NEVER seen a table saw injury in a woodworker using a guard. The cuts that are hard to do with a guard (such as freehanding on the tablesaw - mentioned above) ought to be rethought. (Some exceptions are dados on guards with a built in splitter, and some thin rips.) I've heard every excuse -- "the power was off and the blade was coasting", "I saw the blade but not the teeth", and "I was just trimming a little bit. . . "

While few of these injuries are life-changing (although I've seem my share of those), all are lifelong -- stiffness, cold intolerance, barosensitivity, nail deformities, decreased sensation, regional pain syndromes, cosmetic abnormalities, etc. In most patients they improve with time, but do not always go away.

Needless to say, I use the guard user whenever possible. When not possible, I look to other tools, or exercise even more care than usual.

David S.

Nigel Burnett wrote:

I caught my the first finger of my left

one small artery. After two hours

functional. It goes up and down but

learned the word 'kerf'.

lot as the circulation is buggered up.

socialised medical system.

[EWCM]

When I rode motorcycles, we used to say there were two kinds of riders, those that crashed and those that were going to crash. Use saftey equipment whenever possible. Jack

[CW]

Mine is in place. Far end of the shop, top shelf.

[zap]

Well My Friend, There are some who can, and will, learn by what others have experienced, but there are always some who insist on learning the hard way, insisting that they just have to do it their way.

Every one of us who got cut up on a saw, or banged up on a motorcycle was sure that it would not happen to us, we were just too good and careful.

Have fun in the Emergency Room of the hospital, and when you come out, please write and tell us about your blade guard and if it is still on your shelf gathering dust.

I myself have no problem with you leaving your blade guard off, It's not my fingers that will be gone, it will be like my son who lost his finger just that way. Thought he could work faster without the blade guard, but now is slower just because he is trying to make the other fingers (which were damaged) still work. Well you have had enough warnings, now go ahead and have your accident. It's your privilage to do so.

Zap

CW wrote:

[Samson]

Thanks for all the replies. I haven't used a guard for years, but after reading the posts, I'm going to start using one.

Samson

[Dave Jackson]

I've never used a guard, but I bought a new saw recently and thought I'd at least try using the guard. Well, after two cuts or so, the guard was removed, and there it sits. As in the past, I felt more comfortable without it. That said, I really want to find a blade guard that works. It seems there are so many different styles of guard out there, that one shouldn't have any excuse why they're not using something! Anyway, I recently acquired an Excalibur overhead guard and just got it installed yesterday. I haven't tried it out in use yet, but I do like that the guard can be moved out of the way and returned easily without removing it from the saw. This is a step in the right direction for me - being able to keep the guard attached to the saw means I'm more likely to use it! --dave

[Mike Marlow]

With all due respect to your profession, skill and experience David, I find the above statement to be beyond belief. Saw guards are far from fool proof and if you truly have seen that many table saw injuries, I find it very hard to believe you've never seen a hand injury on a saw with a guard.

Likewise, I was a paramedic for 12 years in a rural area. In all of that time I never took in a single patient from a table saw accident, though there are plenty of table saws in garages and basements around here. For you to attend 1-2 per week for 15 years, your experience is at the very least, contrary to my own. Must be these people drive themselves in for treatment?

That I can believe. Isn't that the way that accidents go though.

[Doug Miller]

[Curious here, not argumentative] Why? How can you be more comfortable without the guard than with it?

[Upscale]

I'd guess that some feel more comfortable when they can see the blade as compared to a guard that partially obscures seeing the whole blade.