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10
Specific safety rules for table saw
For Your Own Safety Read Instruction Manual before Operating Saw
1.
Wear eye protection.
2.
Use saw-blade guard and spreader for every operation for which it can be used, including all
through sawing.
3.
Keep hands out of the line of saw blade.
4.
Use a push-stick when required.
5.
Know how to reduce risk of kickback.
6.
Do not perform any operation freehand.
7.
Never reach around or over saw blade.
8.
Make sure the work piece is supported at all times while sawing.
9.
To properly understand all safety warnings, be familiar with the following safety terms and
equipment:
Featherboard
- A block with “fingers” that hold the work piece against the fence while
sawing.
Through-sawing
- A cut made from one side of a board to the opposite side, without
stopping.
Ripcut or Ripping
- A cut made parallel to (along with) the grain of the wood.
Crosscut or Crosscutting
- A cut made perpendicular (at a 90º angle) to the grain of the
wood.
Push-stick
– A narrow strip of wood or other soft material with a notch cut into one end
and which is used to push short pieces of material through saws. It provides a safe distance
between the hands and the cutting tool. Must be narrower than the cut width to prevent contact
with the blade.
Freehand
- Feeding a work piece through the saw without using a fence or guided support
to guide it.
NOT A SAFE METHOD
.
Kerf
- The gap made by the saw in the work piece.
Kickback
- A sudden reaction to a pinched, bound, or misaligned blade, causing an
uncontrolled work piece to lift up and out of the saw toward the operator.
Spreader
- A metal plate that follows the saw blade to keep the kerf (gap) from closing on
the saw blade. Spreaders, except riving knives, must be aligned to the blade after blade
adjustment to prevent binding.
Riving Knife
- A spreader mounted on the same mechanism as the blade. Generally more
effective than simple spreaders
10.
As noted previously,
Kickback
is a sudden reaction to a pinched, bound, or misaligned
blade, causing an un-controlled work piece to lift up and out of the saw toward the operator.
Kickback is usually a result of tool misuse and can be limited or avoided by following the
precautions below:
•
Fence must be completely parallel to the saw blade.
•
Work piece must be free from flaws (such as loose knots) and from foreign objects
(such as nails and screws).
•
Support large work pieces along their entire length. Large work pieces tend to bend,
grabbing the blade.
•
Do not use a dull, damaged, or pitch-covered blade.