Track saw kickback

[Chestnut]

Yeah it jumps a lot. It seems like every month or so they just go through their inventory. I haven't been able to detect a solid pattern but it seems like the last few days and first few days of each month has the most activity.

[Johnny4]

I’m just glad you’re ok. I would agree to just make the top narrower and cut off the damaged bits.

[Marvelmillwork]

On 12/1/2016 at 8:06 PM, bleedinblue said:

I just can't visualize how plunging could cause a problem.  Regardless, I need to be more mindful and slow down.  

I did make the remaining three squaring cuts on the tabletop without incident.  It's a bummer the table lost a couple inches and it's a bummer my 55" track is now 53", but whatever.  It could have been worse, and it was a lesson learned.

Plunging isn't a "problem" it just requires much more care and making sure the saw it tight on the track and the track is secured well. 

As you plug down the bottom of the blade is doing the cutting and the direction of force is straight back. <

If you plunge all the way down off of the material and come in from the edge . The front of the blade is doing the cutting and the force  is pulling the saw down onto the peice rather than pushing it backwards. 

 

 

 

 

 

[MeditationBenchEric]

I got my brand new Makita track saw yesterday, got it out of the box, read up on the instruction manual, did a few cuts great, but several times managed to produce a kickback that pushed the saw into the air and moved the track away from the cutline.

The last time, it put a horrible scratch in the track. First day! Arghhhhhh. I filed the edges smooth so it still runs fine, but cosmetically it's scarred for life--and I will be, too, every time I look at it! (I wanted a shorter track anyway. Oh well...)

That was when I remembered the little thing at the side of the track saw base. Push it in to lock the saw into the track, pull it out to lift off. Simple and easy to do. I just have to remember to do it! (I forgot just a couple of cuts later with no evil repercussions. So technique was improving.

Next, I started clamping the track down at both ends to make sure it wasn't going anywhere. Once I made a couple of cuts comfortably, I began clamping only the near edge. That seems like a worthwhile precaution when learning to use this lovely little gem. (Every video on the web makes it look so easy. Dang.)

Backing up slightly is one possible cause. (Thanks to the guys in this forum for that idea.) And maybe it wasn't up to speed. (I'll look for that in future.) But in my case, the kickbacks occurred when I was right at the edge of the panel--not 100% on, and not 100% off--so the blade was coming into the corner of the edge.

I suspect that had something to do with it. My plunge cuts went fine. (I like the idea of plunging to start the cut, so the tool is totally on the workpiece, instead of having to start off of it.) But every time I did that, there was half an inch or so of uncut material at the beginning of the line.

It was when I tried to eliminate that half inch that I began running into problems. I noticed that if the rear edge of the blade-change window is just off the workpiece, I could plunge safely and make a full cut. That was with a clamp in place, though. So next I need to practice on the ruined part of the panel, to see if that alignment trick works without a clamp--but with the anti-liftoff mechanism oh-so-definitely engaged!!

Update:
Yeah! Now we're cooking. The technique I described worked perfectly. Putting the rear edge of the blade-change window at the edge of workpiece gave enough to "bite" so it plunged smoothly, while at the making a complete cut at the start, instead of leaving a bit uncut. Make sure the blade was up to speed and plunging slowly was also key. On a couple of cuts, I did notice the far end move at bit off square. I was on a fairly short 22" piece, so I guess there wasn't quite enough rubber surface creating friction. Will need to clamp the far end in such cases! (I'm also engaging the anti-liftoff tab, until I'm totally sure of my technique. Thanks for helping me figure it all out!!)

Edited May 16, 2023 by MeditationBenchEric
Updated after testing the technique.