dalee

i'm a 70 year old woodworker. i have a General 650 table saw which was manufactured prior to the addition of riving knives. i am considering getting the the General "add on kit", but am balking a little at the price. i always work without the blade guard, although i have a shop made guard i use when doing a lot of ripping and i use a shop made sled rather than miter guage for most cross cut work. guess what i have all my appendages and i plan to die that way. a table saw is a dangerous piece of equipment and should be used with respect and caution. i won't exhaust you with my usual work regimen, but i use push stick, splitters etc. mostly i use care and common sense. the closest i've come to an injury was from a kick back. fortunately i, like always, was standing where i should have and the only injury was to my shop refrigerator. alas, people are always trying to save us poor woodworkers from ourselves. they realize that we are not the best and brightest. if we were, we would be driving while talking on our cell phones, or better yet, texting. come to think of it wouldn't it be better to stop people from doing DUMB things that can hurt someone else and let us do with ourselves what we will.

the idea that safety equipment can make you safe when using machinery is ludicrous on its face. i'm an amateur woodworker, 68 years young and was taught in all building skills from my youth. he cut off the end of one of his fingers, my brother in law, a residential contractor, cut of his thumb. i never us a blade guard and have never had any accident or even close call. it all has to do with respect for your tools. at least 95% of my cross cut activity is done with shop made sleds which i design with care to promote safety. i use a micro jig splitter when crosscutting. how have i wracked up such a safety record in the face of all of the safety advice i don't follow. one word. RESPECT!!!

when working with electricity, my father taught me to always work is if the circuit was live. good advice in all fields of endeaver. i never work when fatigued, an advantage amateurs have. i never put my hands anywhere close to the blade until it completely stops. i am currently upgrading my general 650 cabinet saw with a riving knife retrofit kit. i do see the merit of riving knives. i not opposed to attempting to make equipment safer, i think adding a blade brake on table saws could be profitable, but safety is more about individual aditude and focus than gadgets.

the wood worker who dies with the most fingers and thumbs wins. i plan on placing first in that contest.