For power tool woodworkers, the table saw is the beating heart of the shop. But it’s also the tool that causes the most injuries.
You don’t want to trifle with an exposed blade spinning at 3000 RPMs…
But getting your fingers sliced isn’t the only thing to be careful of.
Today, I’m going to warn you about 13 Common Table Saw Mistakes to Avoid — so you can stay safe in the shop while getting accurate cuts.
If you’re new to table saws, avoiding these beginner mistakes will go a long way in saving you from injury.
Andy Daoust
February 18, 2023
I had just read the blog. I haven’t had a kick back in decades. I use a 30 year old Bosch job-site saw. It’s a powerful and fairly accurate saw. I removed the guard when it was new as it was flimsy and always getting in the way.
Bosch sells a thin plastic zero clearance throat plate. It deflects quite a bit when a shorter board rides on it creating a hazard of the board twisting into the blade. It literally gave me goosebumps the first time I used it. It’s okay if the board is longer than the throat plate. I made zero clearance plates out of 5mm ply. It was a pain because it is 3D requiring many machine steps. It was very comforting the first time I used one.I also built a riving knife for it upping my comfort level.
As a previous poster stated, its aluminum and feather boards are difficult, although I use one when I can.
I cut a 4×4 piece off a 24” long board, the day after reading the blog, the blade caught it and shot it like a gun across the room. I was standing to the side so it missed me.
The moral of the story is that getting injured usually takes more than one thing to go wrong. I should have had a push stick to clear the off cut, but body positioning kept me out of the firing line.
Now I’m going to step up my timeline to build a crosscut sled.Or I’m going to buy a Sawstop job site saw. I became convinced after seeing Jonathan’s high speed video of it in action and the Bosch will be relegated to the shed and brought out for aluminum.