For the past fifty or more years I have been working with woodworking machines. One thing I have learned is that kick-back on a table saw can be serious. For fifty years I have taken extreme care to set up my cuts so the possibility of a kick back was minimized. Today, I experienced a serious kick-back. A small piece of wood caught the spinning blade and shot back at me like a bullet. Ouch that hurt! It happened as fast as a bullet too. There was no time to react. In fact I didn’t realize the kick-back until the piece hit my arm at the inner elbow. I thank God that it didn’t hit me in the head. I would have dropped like a rock.
Insurance companies are always citing that accidents will happen, and show the probability. It is not that you will never have an accident, no matter how careful you are, it is only a matter of when it will happen.
In my case this happened because I was too comfortable with the cut I was making. The piece I wanted to end up with was small, and I thought the time it would take to jig it to reduce the possibility was not worth the effort. I know now that I was wrong. If the piece is small the possibility of a serious kick back is as great as working with a large piece. Small pieces get sucked into the spinning blade and are shot back with tremendous velocity.
Today, I learned a valuable lesson. Slow down and take every cut as if it is the one than will kill you.
Accident Statistics
A National Consumer League (NCL) fact sheet reports even more disturbing numbers, “an estimated 33,400 individuals required emergency department treatment to address injuries caused by table saws. Of these 30,800 (92 percent) were related to the victim making contact with the saw blade.” (2)
NCL goes on to explain, “More than 4,000 of these injuries require amputations – an average of 11 per day.” (3)
A survey conducted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported the estimated total of table/bench saws related injuries treated in hospital emergency rooms for a two-year period was 79,500. This total represents 78% of the estimated total stationary saw injuries of 101,900. The numbers are based upon National Electronic Injury Surveillance System data. (4)
Filed under: Biography, Education, family, Hobby, Manufacturing | Tagged: Kickback, Table Saw, Wood working |
Yes, that was a very valuable lesson learning. Never, ever stand right in front of a spinning saw blade! Stand to the side out of the way! Being a Machinist for 22 yrs. I have always had respect for working machinery. Milling Machines, Saws, Lathes, & Drill Presses can be lethal tools to work with. Never, ever wear rings, watches, gloves, or loose fitting clothes around spinning machinery. Be darn careful. Know where your hands are at all times. Work safe!
Great advice, thank you.