Table saw Do’s and Dont’s

[Blakey]

Hi all,
I have just bought myself a dewalt table saw, and I would like to hear any advice on Do’s and Dont’s/ safety issues that I might need to know before I let myself loose, I have used many power tools, but never a table saw, I have seen a few u tube videos on kick back, and quite a few showing how not to use a table saw, and I have one question to start with, and probably many more to follow , If I want to rip a length of 4x1 to 3x1 do you set the fence to 3inches or 1inch, and is it the same whether you want to use the 1inch length or the 3 inch length.
Thanks in advance for all/any advice given
Blakey

[banjerbill]

I am no expert but I always have the meatiest portion between blade and fence. The blade is lined up so that the piece you are sizing is to the left of the line if you want a 3 inch wide piece and the right of the line if you want 1 inch.

Bill

[dewaltdisney]

This will make the safe police sh*t their pants. I have never had the blade guard or riving knife on my saws, they just impede a variety of uses that the saw can be put to. The riving knife is to stop possible blade pinch and kickback so you have to be aware when cutting lengths that you may have to slip a wedge in the cut line to prevent this. I think the guard prevents you from seeing what you are doing.

You can make a sled up to help you make cross cuts. This is a board with runners that fit in the table guide tracks and a stepped bridge to allow the blade to pass down the centre of the sled with a raised lip to hold the work on the back edge. Youtube has loads of videos on jigs you can make to do different jobs which make your saw as versatile as it can be.

Okay, you have to keep your wits about you with an unguarded blade and it should only be done for your own private use.

DWD

[Gadget]

Me too, I always remove the riving knife and blade guard, but like you say, it's only for my private use.

[oz0707]

I've clipped top of one of my fingers on a table saw. In hindsight I'm glad it occurred as it gives you more respect for the machine. I still use without guards and knife sometimes. Light detail work mainly. Ripping big 9x3 boards down then guards and knife are a must.

[kellys_eye]

DO - keep your hands well away from the blade.

DON'T - put your hands anywhere near the blade.

I think that just about covers it!

[fin]

ive got the dewalt saw too. use it a canny bit at work like. mine has the guard in place justcoz basically. i have taken it off before. its simple enough to do but i did have to watch a youtube video as its not exactly obvious on the dewalt saw.

at work on friday i think i came pretty close to my first table saw accident...... i was ripping down some off cuts from a stud wall to fit into the web of an rsj to carry the plaster boards.... ran the piece i wanted between the fence and the blade (to answer your question above) used the push stick for that. then went to get the next piece i was ripping down. the of cut was sat right by the blade obviously..... so i went to knock it out the way with my fingers........ and felt the wind off the blade haha.... what a Fuc$ing idiot

[Dave54]

These are well worth a look.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/woodworking/ripsaw.htm
https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/wis16.pdf

That's the official view, and generally the safest way of working IMHO.

One thing that a lot of people commonly miss is that (from the 2nd leaflet above fig 2a) "To prevent kickback, the front of the fence must be set no further than the base of the saw blade gullet at table level." A lot of saws have a full length rip fence, with no inbuilt provision to do this. You need to attach a false fence in this case.

You need to understand the rejection forces that are at work, and why the workpiece might "kickback".
The dangers of kickback is that a piece of wood might hit you, (and I've had a thin piece come off the saw like an arrow and leave an impressive dent in an oak board. My own fault!) also that it could make you lose control of the workpiece, possibly lose balance and come in contact with the spinning blade.
The top guard and riving knife are there to help stop kickback. You adjust the top guard to as near as possible above the workpiece. It stops the work getting "picked up" by the sawblade and running along the top. It's not just there to cover the blade, although it obviously does that as well.

I've used a saw bench, along with other woodworking machinery, for literally hundreds of hours. Never had a serious accident. I've (mostly) followed the rules. I've had one or two scares as well. When anything does go wrong it happens fast. You don't have time to think or do anything.

Be safe.

[wes56]

Blakey,
You would be best advised to find a pro woodworker eg a college lecturer, who would be willing to teach you the fundamentals of table saw safety, and not to rely on bits and pieces of safety advice from a DIY web forum like this - or from you tube (I've seen pretty bad practices on you tube vids by fools who imagine that they know what they are doing).
You need to be shown the safe practice of ripping and cross cutting, and then observed doing it.
You also need to understand the basics & capacity of the machine itself.

[Blakey]

Thanks one and all for your tips and advice as always, I never gave a thought to there being any kind of training available for using a table saw, but after wes56’s post I’ve googled it and there are one day courses available purely on the use of table saws, no mention of price, so I will make a few phone calls tomorrow and see if there are any courses available near me that look informative and worthwhile attending.

[Nos]

Here in France most of the farmers are certifiable they use petrol power circular saws, blade diameter up to a meter no guards nothing, they cut up meter long lengths of logs into 50cm or 33cm they stand in front of the blade and just lean forward two hands either side of the blade, there has been accidents, they use chainsaws the same way

[APDIY]

Take GREAT care of your thumbs.

[Chippo1]

I don’t usually use a guard on my DW 746 , but invariably the riving knife , there are times when I remove that as well , as DWD says that my choice at home.

I also have and use a couple of plastic finger boards purchased on e bay which are effective holding the workpiece against the fence with out risking fingers

I avoid bits if me going onto the table , use push sticks ect once work piece is on table

Had a couple of kickbacks nothing serious

My dust extraction is inadequate , festool MIDI , and no top guard means it’s fairly dusty , but I don’t use saw all day every day. If cutting loads of timber then I will use a dust mask especially recently cutting in region off 150 metres of treated 9 x 2 . Also been sawing up PIR insulation which is spooky because it’s to fast if that makes sense , using an old blade as this stuff seems to blunt the TCT tips or at least takes the edge off.


Lots of u tube videos about table saw safety , from the yanks the likes of Stumpy Nubs

[Job and Knock]

WARNING: Long post - do not read if you are easily bored, have a goldfish's attention span, think you are Superman or the Flash or immune from the Laws of Physics. Contains actual H & S advice

The two main dangers using table saws are kickbacks, where the rising teeth at the back of the blade gain purchase on the material and eject it towards the operator (at up to 120mph - so faster than you can react to avoid it if standing directly in line), and physical contact with a spinning blade, either a body part tool, or a timber offcut

Some recommendations based on more than a few hours at the front of a table saw (from a DW745 to a 3.2 metre sliding carraige panel saw plus a few in between):

1. Use the crown guard and riving knife whenever possible. The riving knife greatly diminishes a pinch kickback (where reaction timber attempts to close in around thd back of the blade after it has been cut), the crown guard not only gives you a visual indication of where the dangerous bit (i.e.the blade) is, but also prevents the saw from throwing the timber upwards, potentially into the operator's chestvotr face in the event of a kick back (it can still launch backwards, but at least your dentures will stay intact)

2. Use a short rip fence, as Dave says. If your saw has an American through fence (like some DW745s) fix a piece of plywood, Tufnol, etc to the face of the rip fence plate which stops at the front of the blade - 18 to 25mm thick ideally. This mimics the modern European short rip fence. Otherwise if you are rip sawing reaction (stressed) timber and the timber parts away from the riving knife as it is sawn, it can end up getting trapped between the rip fence and the blade, at which point it can kick back

3. Make up a couple of sacrificial plywood or softwood birsdmouth push sticks (like the design on thevHSE web site) and use those to finish the cuts as you near the end of the cut. Your hands should never be closer to the blade than 16 inches. It doesn't matter if you damage the end of a push stick - it'll be less pain to replace hhst a finger. Don't run your hand, even with a push block, past the blade (it breaks the 16in rule), and avoid those stupid American Gripper type pushers

4. Don't stand behind the work piece as it goes through the saw, stand to the left so a kickback can't get you in the crown jewels.

5. Avoid leaning over the blade or reaching over it , guarded or not

6. Push timber through the blade - do not pull it from the back - if you accidentally wiggle the piece that can cause a kickback

7. Before using your saw, and periodically afterwards, check and if needs be adjust the rip fence scale. If correctly set up there is never a need to remove the crown guard to see if you are cutting to the line

8. Support the work adequately: easy on the infeed side, but what about the back? You either need a take off helper (remember, no pulling!) or some form of take off table so that 60% or more of the length of the work is supported. If it isn't the timber can drop to the floor at the rear of the saw, catch on the rising teeth of the blade and voila, kickback! Avoid trying to pass full sheets of plywood, etc across a small table saw - even a portable rip saw snd batten are a safer way to do your initiak break down

9. Don't wear gloves (other than possibly close fitting fingerless ones), rings, loose clothes (especially sleeves), etc when sawing. Long flowing manes of hair and ZZ Top length beards need to be restrained in a hair net, beard net, etc

10. Wear glasses or goggles when sawing - getting hit in the kisser (or worse an eye) by a flying piece of wood, such as a rock hard piece of knot, is no fun

11. Do not leave materials, offcuts, tools, cups of tea, etc on the top of the saw. Vibration from the motorcan cause items to walk across the saw. If they contact the blade, they are instantly turned into a fast bowled projectile coning in the direction of the operator. Similarly waste offcuts should be cleared immediately (push stick, not the hand!)

12. Select the appropriate blade for the work. Rip cutting solid timber calls fir blades with a low tooth count and enlarged gullets (24 to 36t on a 250mm blade) with a heavy hook angle (15 to 20°). Cross cutting timber requires more teeth (48 to 72t on 250mm blade) but reduced hook angle (5 to 10°) but with more side set (e.g an alternate top bevel or ATB style. Sheet materials such as MFC, etc require even more teeth, typically 72 to 100t on 250mm and can sometimes have a negative rake angle. When blades start to dull get them sharpenef

13. Switch off the machine when not in use. Always electrically isolate when changing blades (i.e.unplug)

14. Even though the manufacturer supplies a mitre gauge, think carefully about using a rip saw (which is primarily what table saws were originally designed as) - a mitre saw, if you have one, is faster, safer and more accurate way to cross cut and mitre cuts maller sections of timber

15. Try to get dust extraction on your saw - your lungs will thank you

16. Do not use a tabke saw when you are tired, inebriated, on some medications (prescription or otherwise) or emotionally under stress (e.g.having just had a ruck with the missus over hie much the damned saw cost). Remove excess distractions (mute the radio, turn off the phone and lock the door - nothing worse than having someone tap you on the shoulder when hslf way through a cut).

A lot of that is readily apparent when you start usi g a circular saw.

Take no notice of people who talk about "Health and Safety Nazis" whilst blithely disregarding safe practice and recommending patently unsafe practices - in particular view American DIY saw videos on YouTube with healthy scepticism. Just because some of those guys haven't had their accident just yet doesn't mean there isn't a Darwin Award out there with their name on it. Trade practices are indeed not mandatory in a home workshop, but if all you need to use a table saw is common sense why is it that many medium to large workshops now require table saw users to be qualified wood machinists and follow the HSE rules. It isn't because they are employing idiots.

I do sometimes (rarely) use a table saw without a riving knife or guard, but in general for the vast majority if cuts it is unnecessary as there are often safer ways to do things

As an aside, at one time I briefly had a partner who was so lax in terms of machinery safety that, due to incompetent set up (of a radial arm saw, by him)
combined with me not paying attention, I ended up with a 4mm deep groove carved across one of my knuckles. It left a permanent scar, and was painful for weeks. Later on, after we'd hone our separate ways, he got so over confident with his table saw (dans guard) that he now sports a big toe instead of a thumb on of his hands. It's amazing what surgeons can achieve - but TBH I'd rather they practiced on someone else

Hopefully you got to the end, and I've mansged to make e a few germane points

[Chippo1]

I totally agree with DWD and his observations and recommendations.