Hi all,
My wife just bought me a nice table saw/router for Christmas, I set it up, but have never used a Table saw before, any safety tips ?
Also...any one have some simple plans to learn the basics?
Thanks, Darryl.
darryl snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com wrote: | Hi all, | | My wife just bought me a nice table saw/router for Christmas, I set | it up, but have never used a Table saw before, any safety tips ?
Stay focused on what you're doing.
Keep body parts well away from whirly sharp objects.
Wear your safety glasses.
Google for and read up on "featherboard", "table saw sled", "table saw kickback".
Congratulations on both the table saw and the wife. If she's willing to buy tools for you, she's definitely a "keeper"!
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
Never use the fence and miter at the same time
Use push sticks. Your first projects should be to make a few.
But a good blade. The one that came with the saw is mediocre at best. Good blades start at $50 and go up from there. Yes, it willmake a difference.
There are books on tablesaw use that will give you far more than we can do in a newsgroup post. You may also want to take a woodworking course at the local Adult Ed or a Woodcraft.
It takes a lot longer to regrow flesh than it does for the tablesaw to remove it and some of does not regrow.
A 1/4" dado blade will remove a 1/4/" section of your finger as easily as it will remove the same amount of wood. Fortunately, I only had it set at
1/4" height. Still I have a reminder from the knuckle of my index finger down around the end. Missed the nail though.Kickback is "DEADLY." It can put a piece through your navel in a heartbeat. Never, never use anything to keep the cut open on the far side of the blade (except a designed splitter). Saw an article a few years ago when someone used a screwdriver to keep the kerf open. A combination of several forces implanted it screwdriver in his forehead. You can guess the consequences.
Get a dust collector, with less than a 1 micron filter bag. You only have one set of lungs and emphysema is a nasty way to go.
End of horror stories.
Always observe the Golden Rule of any woodworking shop, "Begin with 10 and end with 10."
All of that said, woodworking is not dangerous "IF" you use common sense, keep alert and don't take short cuts with the machinery.
Wood (or is it Woodworkers Journal)magazine has an excellent set of jigs in its latest issue. The most valuable, at least to me, is one of the simplest to make. Just a little jig to do thin strips on the non-fence side of the blade. I made a couple of mods to the jig which made it even easier to make. Instead of putting dados and runners on the base piece, I overlapped the bottom piece with the top piece and placed the runners so they captured the bottom piece.
All the best. It is a wonderful hobby.
I thought some words from Nahmie would be appropriate:
"Before you use any power tools, let's take a moment to talk about shop safety. Be sure to read, understand, and follow all the safety rules that come with your power tools. Knowing how to use your power tools properly will greatly reduce the risk of personal injury. And remember this: there is no more important safety rule than to wear these - safety glasses"
For power tools and hand tools:
"Watch your follow through"
That is, pay attention to your body stance motion and balance as to move a tool or a workpiece. If something goes wrong (snags, binds, slips, breaks) where are your hands, or the rest of your body going to end up? if you have the tool aimed at your leg, or your hands aimed at spinning carbide, that is a bad thing.
Watch your followthrough, make sure that the tool and your body do not share that path.
-Steve
| Also...any one have some simple plans to learn the basics?
Usually I remember to throw in a plug for my shop web page. There are a couple of aids that I've found handy at the link below...
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
Read the manual.
Library or book store should be your first stop. Just for starters:
These are both dangerous tools and your wife may never buy you another tool if you injure yourself on something she bought you.
And should you get hooked on woodworking, that's not a good thing ...
Prevent the blade catching the work and sending the piece, you, &/or the saw flying. The piece can lift and even rotate violently, Gou, or shooting it straight back in-line, gouging the hell out of the surface of the wood and possibly even killing you. Can happen on long thin pieces, or short, fat. When pushing a piece using the fence, and you come close to the blade coming through, you may be thinking, well if I just keep pushing from the corner closest to you, but farthest form the fence sort of at an angle it will keep the piece against the fence until its cut through. Just stop it from shooting back as it pushes through. A split second before the blades through, the gap between the two parts on the two sides of the blade will break away and bind the piece you are pushing into the blade, if you do not begin pushing directly forward on the the piece between the fence and the blade, possibly even guiding one or both sides as you finish. There is no split second allowance when doing this. Remember to never put your fingers in a position where if there is a kickback, they can be pushed towards the blade, which is easier said than done. If I am holding a push pad I never wrap my hand around the handle. But don't let it slip either. I always run things through in my mind, sometimes lower the blade and run through physically, especially if setting up a outfeed roller stand, which has to be not only the right height, but guide the piece along the fence perfectly as it rolls across. Micro-adjust by spinning the ROUND shaft to get the pefect roll with the blade all put down into the table, after having set the height with the shafts knob.
maybe I had this problem b/c I have yet to put any guards/guides on
Congratulations.
I think you should go to the public library and see what they have to offer. Also try to check out some books on stuff you might be interested in building. You might also want to go to a store like Woodcraft. You can get a decent table saw book for maybe $10-20... Actually, check out
I say this because a decent book is going to give you a lot more info than a newsgroup post.
if its cheap, like anything under a $500 TS is immediately a suspect, the stock miter guage/slider will probably bind very easily due to play, and this is a recipe for binding and disaster. You're gonna wanna make a crosscut sled and a miter sled, which is easy, exact, simple, cheap
Go buy yourself Kelly Mehler's "The Table Saw Book". A great first project would be his cross cut sled which I find invaluable at the table saw. His book will take you through the setup of the saw and right through how to use it properly and safely. I'm sure there are other books out there but this is the one I have and it's pretty good. Cheers, cc
Buy a copy of Ian Kirby's cheap little book "The Accurate Table Saw".
Also search on "kickback", which is a much bigger real risk than sticking your hand in the whirly bit.
Lots of good advice so far! One "golden rule" that I heard somewhere (probably on this NG), that applies to just about any power tool and some hand tools, is as follows: Where would your hand (or any other body part) end up if the workpiece slipped or disappeared? i.e. don't push a workpiece directly towards a blade or bit with just your hand, be sure to use appropriate pushsticks, guides, etc. Also, I'd agree that a crosscut sled would be a wise investment of time (and materials, if you don't have enough scrap lying around), and that a good book or a few would be a good idea. And as others have said, find safety glasses, ear plugs or muffs, and a mask that you'll actually wear, and wear them. Good luck, stay safe, and have fun, Andy
This sounds like a troll.
My advice is to go to the library and check out a book on tablesaw use. Authors who come to mind are Kell Mehler, Cliffe, and (not sure of spelling here) Cristofero. They will cover safety and operation much more thoroughly than you can expect from usenet posts.
you're going to hear about "kickback" so here's more than you probably want to know about it.
Leave the shop with the same amount of blood as you entered with.
Leave the shop being able to count to ten on your finger tips. (OK so technically the thumb isn't a finger).
Leave the shop being able to SEE your finger tips - with BOTH eyes.
Leave the shop being able to HEAR yourself count to ten.
Leave the shop being able to count to ten out loud - without any coughing, wheeeeezing or sneezing
Don't let anything that's red, or has red on it, in your shop. Then, if you see any red - check yourself for leaks - immediately. Pain is often a delayed "notifier" - blood notifies you NOW!
charlie b
Good day Darryl. You are getting a lot of good advice today. I have used power tools since I was about 10 years old. My dad taught me how to use his power tools and I now have a garage full of my own that do not see enough use -- for my tastes.
Yes, I get a lot of harassing from my friends but with the hearing protection in I don't hear them anymore. :)
Also, practice bevel cuts with your blade. You will need to learn how to adjust your saw for this. That is the purpose.
Also practice making some dado cuts with a regular blade, dado blade, and a router bit. This will teach you that a 2x4 is realy 1.5x3.5 . This should also teach you that a typical saw blade is about 1/8th of an inch thick.
I am not big on routers. I have one but it does not see much use. I should use it more.
30 years of sawing wood and still have all 10 fingers. Not a bad record. My dad nearly cut one of his fingers off a couple of years back. But he is over 70 and that was is first major mishap. I think my family has a good track record of safety. -GHomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.