Micalle Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 Hello I’m new to this site as I’ve said in my bio. Part time woodworker with a older tablesaw. With that said my concern is safety with the saw I have. The saw has no kick back paws no riving knife or blade guard. Any advice on operation with this kind of saw that would make it safer to use. I know about push sticks I just bought the gripper which makes me feel a little more at ease around the blade. There’s a lot of experience just reading other post on this site. Hopefully I can get some advice thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beechwood Chip Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 I'd get one or two Grrrippers. I often take the blade guard off my saw and use Grrrippers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardA Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 Make sure you have good lighting on and around your saw, if you use the saw with the lighting low or off you can screw up a finger or two. Don't ask me how I know. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 If you plan to cut bigger stuff, build an outfeed table. Only attempt to cut flat, jointed material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Tom King Posted December 28, 2017 Popular Post Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 Absolutely NEVER put your hand over, or behind the running blade, or even anywhere close-NEVER, NEVER, NEVER!!!. Feel for what is going on as you push a board through. If there is any resistance, like the piece closing up on the blade, pull it back, or lift it off the blade. NEVER try to force anything through. If there is resistance, something is going wrong. This from someone who has operated table saws for over 50 years with no safety devices, and never had a kickback. Only run straight, flat pieces. If a piece is not straight, that's what jointers are for. I rarely rip anything that hasn't gone over the jointer first. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gee-dub Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 All good advice so far. Once upon a time I had an old 1970's Craftsman/Emerson contractor saw that lacked the typical safety features of newer machines. Things I did to promote safety outside of studying proper methods and techniques were shop made or bolt-ons. First thing I needed was a decent fence to assure good path control while ripping. Your fence may be fine, mine was an accident waiting to happen. I made zero clearance inserts with splitters. I chose the simple Micro Jig MJ Splitter that was offered at the time. The ZCI's are quick to make and I would make them in batches using the original insert as a template as they are a wear part. Being a contractor saw it was fussy to align the blade so I coughed up the $20 for a set of PALs. I see these are still available from Peachthree. I also upgraded my miter gauge as the one that came with the saw was not original, did not fit well and was not worth tuning up. I tossed a 90# bag of redi-crete wrapped in plastic into the bottom of the stand to add some mass and build outfeed and sidefeed tables. This may sound like a lot to throw at a saw however, not all of it is required and your saw may already be pretty good. If I had to short-list the things that make a tablesaw safe (assuming good practices like keeping your hands away from the blade, no over-reaching and so forth) they would be: 1. Proper alignment -- A tablesaw blade rotates on a fixed plane. To avoid kickback you want to do a couple of things; make sure the blade is aligned with the miter gauge slot and the fence and assure that material you cut is well milled. Getting a kickback while feeding irregular material across the fixed path of tablesaw is not an accident, it is misuse. Tablesaw statistics would change drastically if all "accidents" that were operator generated were removed from the numbers pool ;-) 2. A ZCI -- Small cutoffs that can get lodged in the gap between blade and insert can become dangerous tiddly-winks. Buy one or make your own but, save yourself the laundry-generating experience of this phenomena. 3. Splitter -- Again, anything that goes wrong when you make a cut without a splitter is no accident IMHO. 4. Material support -- Roller stands, outfeed tables, whatever. Wrestling your material past the blade almost assures a bad feed path and all the burning, fraying or kickback that goes with it. There's so much more but, these would be my top 4 ;-) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggers Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 Be sure to stand to one side out of the line of fire in case a kickback does occur. If you have concerns about how you're getting ready to cut something step back and think about it. See if there is a safer way to make that cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jussi Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 I highly suggest getting a splitter asap. Kick back is one (if not the most) likely cause of tablesaw injuries. I second the recommendation of the microjig splitters. I had it on my previous ts and it worked great. That type of splitter also makes switching out to a dado stack a little easier and faster as well as opposed to having a traditional splitter. I would also make a zero clearance insert. Good luck. Stay safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 I thought this video was informative. Also there is some good advice from other guys on youtube. My personal rule is my fingers never go farther than the front of the blade. Another good safty device is an out feed table. It doesn't have to huge either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 A MicroJig splitter & a zero clearance throat plate are good to have. Another thing is to clean and wax your cast iron & fence. Any rust or dirt on the surface just makes moving wood harder. Check your blade alignment to the table and fence to table & blade. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 When the guys mentioned aligning blade and fence, the standard practice is to reference the miter slot, since it does not move. Also, construct a tablesaw sled ASAP. A large percentage of table saw cuts are cross-cuts, and a sled that carries the workpiece AND the off-cut keeps everything aligned and your hands out of harm's way. For ripping, the Grrripper is a good push block, but does require a little adjustment for each different cut. I prefer to use a length of 2x6 with a short scrap screwed to the end to form a 'hook' about 1/8" below the edge. This makes a sacrificial push block that I can pass right over the blade as needed. The blade should never extend more than 1/2 a tooth above the workpiece for such cuts. Always keep the pushblock off the fence, and press the workpiece toward the fence as you cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 28, 2017 Report Share Posted December 28, 2017 Don't do stupid stuff like the guy in that video. Never get in a hurry. If you feel yourself getting in a hurry, turn the power off, put the tools up, and go to the house. When you use a push stick, use the right type of push stick for the job. They're easy to make, if you can't buy one you need. I have many, with some 2' long, but still will stop, and make one for something unusual. Make long ones for long pieces. Don't use a little thing on the end behind a long piece. The push stick needs to not only keep your fingers away, but it needs to be able to hold the piece down, and in control. I'll try to remember to take some pictures when I go to the shop. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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