Blade Guard on a Table Saw?

[fredfighter]

You are correct if you suppose I have no first-hand knowledge of any such suits.

That's cool.

[Leon]

Precicely. I do not want to rotate the blade at all. Typically the blade wants to return back to the previous positiion after you let go and you are back where you started. Its just an extra step that I do not widh to take.

I ease the wood up to the blade and watch where the blade "begins to cut" in relation to the mark. If it is not where I want it, I simply move the board left or right and proceed with the cut. Not totally unlike using a portable circle saw and beginning the cut. I never use any thing but the spinning blade to align the start of the cut.

[Doug Miller]

Oh, come on, I do that all the time. It takes five seconds, max -- and you're leaving the blade guard off because you don't want to take that "extra step". Do you leave your seat belt off when you drive, too, because it takes too long to buckle it on?

So in other words, you're:

(a) leaning over a spinning, unguarded blade so you can see where it's hitting the board -- because that's the only way you can see where the blade actually contacts the leading (bottom) edge of the wood -- and

(b) adjusting the position of the wood back and forth while directly adjacent to said spinning, unguarded blade

because you don't want to take the "extra step" of rotating the (stopped) blade a couple of teeth to make a static alignment.

A static alignment that you will *not* have to readjust when you start the saw.

Think it through. You're *not* saving *any* time at all. And you *are* increasing the hazard.

[Leon]

Correct.

Correct.

Correct.

Correct.

Yes, saving time and the hazaed does increase. I can live with that.

[Larry Kraus]

If you have to move the board left or right after the blade "begins to cut", you have already mis-cut the board.

[J. Clarke]

Geez, how much time does it take to rotate the blade 20 degrees or however far you have to to get a tooth set in the right direction exposed? It's not like they're set in random positions--they'll either be alternate left and right or left, center, right so you don't have to rotate more than teeth worth.

[Swingman]

He did not say that he moves the board _during the cut_ ... furthermore, you can argue the method, but you can't argue with the results once you've seen any of Leon's work.

[Leon]

What does it matter how much time it takes. The blade spins back to where it was when I let go. I'll do it my way, you do it yours.

[Nova]

It the unplugging/plugging in the saw to rotate the blade that eats up the time.

[Leon]

Exactly.... ;~)

[B A R R Y]

I see the wisdom in Leon's method, but I don't unplug the saw to rotate the blade when I need to reference a blade tooth to line up a cut.

I use a full, or nearly full-length, wooden pencil's eraser to move it into position. The same eraser is also awesome for clearing small cutoffs away from the blade and additional light support for small parts in my various sleds.

This is why I don't like mechanical pencils.

[J. Clarke]

Damn, must be nice to have such loose bearings. Or maybe something needs balancing?

Enjoy your fingers while you have them.

[J. Clarke]

Geez, you people are nuts.

[Leon]

That would be the set in the 3 belts.

[lwasserm]

So tell me, how does this work out for you when you are ripping a sheet of plywood? :)

[CW]

Ever seen Leon? He stands about 12'6" and weighs in about 500. He's from Texas you know:)

[Leon]

LOL,,, I use the cursor on the fence to set the width. The days of measuring from a tooth are long gone EXCEPT when I have the dado blades on my saw. It being a left tilt requires this old way of doing things.

[Doug Miller]

Do you think that's wise?

Do you think that's wise?

Ah, good, I'm glad you agree (though I suspect you didn't mean to say that!).

But you're right, that *is* correct: a properly made static alignment does

*not* need to be readjusted when the blade begins to spin.

Doesn't sound like a good tradeoff to me -- especially since you're *not* saving any time. You're increasing the hazard in exchange for no benefit at all.

Do you think that's wise?

[Doug Miller]

Come on, now, don't be ridiculous -- how hard is it to hold the blade still for the three seconds it takes to line your pencil mark up?

[Doug Miller]

Link belts do a pretty good job of reducing that problem.

Or you could adjust the belts from time to time so that the sets in the three belts don't line up with each other...