Danno

First, in the example, it seems to me that you could use a center punck or something intended for such use, held against the miter gauge instead of a ball peen hammer.

Second, another poster said that a brick chisel is hardened steel and no one was ever hurt by a shattering brick chisel. True, but as far as I know, only the edge of the brick chisel is hardened--the striking surface is not. Even so, chisels that have "mushroomed" have been know to have pieces fly off when struck. I guess the moral of the story is to at least always wear safety glasses.