Actually I had an unpleasant kickback experience ripping 1/4″ thin particle board – smashing against the fingers so hard it cut some skin. I am pretty much healed and lucky. The stupid thing is I had my blade guard and those spring mounted anti-kickback doodads that connect to the bladeguard assembly off because I was previously cutting thick wood.
My question is this, watching David Marks’ Woodworks program on DIY, he routinely ripls plywood with an open blade and no antikickback devices – is this for TV production sake – so we can see better or is this an acceptable method of cutting wood for the more experienced folk?
I think where I went wrong with my cut, besides not having the safety equipment attached is I turned the piece to get that last inch finished instead of pushing it straight through and I think that had the effect of pushing the piece to the other side of the blade against it, causing it to launch. It was a good wake up call for me to anticipate trouble and get some pointers on avoiding similar mistakes in the future.
Replies
Tom,
I had problems cutting 1/4" ply almost every time...until I started to attach a piece of melamine to the fense that went all the way down to the table top....that way the ply could not get stuck under the fense...and I could not turn it into the blade. A splitter helps too...along with good push blocks..
Tom,
When I had a cantractors saw I seldon used the splitter/ guard as it was a PITA. If you have a one piece splitter guard design I would recomend looking for an aftermarket quick release splitter and seperate guard. Then you will use it more.
Glad you weren't seriously hurt,
Mike
BG's point about a "to-the-table" face for your fence is an important one. My junky Jet fence (old contractor's saw) has an enticing gap between the bottom of the fence and the table.
IMO, one of the best gizmos for ripping-process hold-downs is the Grip-Tite magnetic featherboard with the little rollers. They attach to your fence magnetically (steel fence face provided if you need it) and the little rollers pull the stock firmly into the fence. A flexible fin holds the stock down.
However, when in a pinch you can clamp a hold-down board to your fence. Even if it's not a featherboard, at least it would keep the stock from flipping up as it tries to shoot backwards.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Another proud member of the "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)
"....I turned the piece to get that last inch finished instead of pushing it straight through...."
If I were a betting man (and I am if the odds are right - lol), I would say this little turn caused the kickback.
I turned the piece to get that last inch finished instead of pushing it straight through
I don't understand. Ripping on a TS, you always push straight through to get a clean cut. Why would you try to turn a piece you are ripping? Not only is it almost guaranteed to cause kickback, it will usually cause burning and tearing on the edge of the cut piece as it gets trapped against the fence.
"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." A. Einstein
http://www.albionworks.net
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