Be Careful Out There

[RonB]

I got a call from my son last night with a scary and disturbing story. An old college bud of his got his degree in wood technology and works for a furniture operation in Southeast Kansas. Apparently the fellow was cutting some long, thin, hardwood stock on a large industrial table saw and got a kickback. The stock entered his abdomen and by the time it stopped; about five feet of it was protruding from his back. The stick narrowly missed his kidneys but he is in ICU being treated for the effects of intestinal damage, infection and blood loss. Survival was iffy for a time.

The fellow admitted to brain-fade causing him get himself behind the blade plane. I experienced a pretty severe kickback years ago that sent a piece of wood through the sheetrock wall in my garage but never imagine someting like this could happen.

Food for thought!

[Tina]

I was working at a place that had a molding shop next door and the manager was feeding the wood in the machine, machine had all the safety guards on it but a piece splintered off and it landed in his thigh (nice size splinter)....he wasn't hurt that bad but stuff does happen even with all the guards on....

Tina

[Dave in Fairfax]

RonB wrote: snip

more snip

I remember that from a shop safety movie some 40 years ago. Used a tubafor as I remember.

Dave in Fairfax

[George Max]

Do they make aprons containing those ceramic bullet proof plates that can be used for table saw operators (and others)?

[woodworker88]

I haven't had experiences similar to this one, but I have been ripping

8" lengths of 1" laminate scraps into triangles. The laminate did catch, but it merely broke, rather than kicking back. Had it been hardwood, it would have rocketed across the shop.

[George]

One of the first things I was taught, and I taught, was to stay the hell clear of the firing line. I took it to heart, and to the lathe, too. It was an automatic "D" for the day to activate/operate in the throw zone. Automatic "F" to use the equipment when someone else was in it.

Won't find me anywhere in that disintegration zone on the lathe, either. I also try to remember that a shaving _cut_ from a piece falls. One _torn_ from a piece flies.

[Lee Michaels]

Amen Brother.

I was cutting some thin strips off some wood on the tablesaw in my basement shop once. This was in a house that was shared with others So we had folks drop over that were walking hazard zones. I was very focused on the cut, knowing full well that this thin peice could shoot out the back with considerable force. Luckily, there was an old, ugly door that was heavy and armor plated. Anything that hit that thing just bounced off onto the floor.

Needless to say, I was well out of the way of the trajectory of any unintentional missile. This wise move on my part was because once I did NOT stand out of the way and recieved one of those missiles right in the gut. That changed my ways forever more.

Any way, I was cutting and noticed, just as the cut was being finished, a shadow moving right into the "firing zone". I pushed the board through and swung my fist back into the intruder's chest, knocking him onto his butt. He sputtered his protests as he landed. And then the thin strip that had been dancing between the blade and fence shot out and hit the door with considerable force.

He stared at this and began trembling. He then began to thank me for saving his life. And he never entered my shop ever again.

[Dave Hinz]

Sounds like the same type of person who gives my friends who are "horse people" the same problem.

[Lobby Dosser]

One point that has not been mentioned: in addition to positioning yourself

- and others - out of the line of fire, position the saw such that a kick back does not impale someone in another room or even outside.

My shop is in a garage off the family room. The saw is positioned so that a kick back has to penetrate a shelf full of stuff, sheetrock, insulation, and siding before it gets Outside the house. If I have stock too long to saw entirely in the shop, I position the saw so that a kick back will hit a concrete block wall backed by dirt.

[Ba r r y]

Coming soon to a Woodcraft store near you:

Kevlar wooddorking aprons. Suitable for both wooddorking and usenet.

Barry

[Ralph]

WOODDRORKING?

[J. Clarke]

Don't laugh too hard. Tires are notoriously difficult to hole with handguns--the sidewall is not too difficult but the tread with its multiple layers of steel, fiberglass, and/or Kevlar, is pretty nearly bulletproof.

Then there was the cop who was outrun by a one-legged purse snatcher on crutches.

[Andy Dingley]

There's a quote from Ernie Conover

"Never turn in a jam chuck anything you wouldn't mind being hit on the head by"

[Upscale]

Yup, Kevlar has it uses. My wheelchair tires are Kevlar. I figure if the cops are ever chasing me, they won't be able to shoot my tires out. :)

Last time I point that out to a cop on the street, he started laughing so hard I could have removed his gun and shot him in the foot and he still would have been laughing.

[Leo Lichtman]

"Ba r r y" wrote: (clip) Kevlar *wooddorking* aprons. (clip)

***************** They'd better rename them if they expect them to sell.

[Ba r r y]

Have you ever seen "Reno 911"?

Barry

[Ken Grunke]

I always knew there was a good reason to use an old Craftsman table saw with an underpowered motor and a loose belt. I can rip a tubafor with it no problem, as long as the blade is sharp. Now, where did I put my hamafor??

Ken Grunke