Today's safety tip - Don't back-out of a stopped dado cut on the table saw

the best thing to do,
for stop cuts ,
is to hold tight ,
and turn off tool !

readjust for next cut ,
and repeat .

tools and wood ,
can be replaced ,
body parts are harder to come by !

be safe !

-- david ,new mexico ,allheart

Ouch!! At least it wasn’t worse. We have all done that sort of thing. Hopefully we learn from it.
Thanks, maybe you’ll help someone else because you shared this.

-- Kent Shepherd * The goal is-----More Tools!

the title can be simplified – Don’t Back-out of ANY cut on a table saw while it’s running.

like patron said – hold down wood, turn off tool, take part out… rinse and repeat – just make sure you have a firm hold on the part (featherboard would be a good choice, or similar – not your body parts).

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Ouch!! Greg, we all have done something similar to this at one time or another, especially when we get in a hurray or just don’t want to take the time to change the set-up, and generally get by with it. I am just glad that you were not hurt any more seriously than you were. Accidents like these are just “gentle” reminders that our tools have the potential to inflict serious damage not only on the pieces that we are judiciously working on but also on our body parts that are in proximity to the saw blade.

I am glad that the piece is salvageable as well. Hopefully by posting this you will help someone else avoid the same dilemma.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Glad you’re OK.

I have a question for the “hold tight” responders. Do you increase burn rate on woods if you hold tight and turn the machine off? Just curious, because my cheap table saw LOVES to char nice pieces of wood.

Thanks Greg for posting and keeping us all mindful of the simple errors that could be disastrous.

-- Measure, cut, curse, repeat.

99.9% of the time I’d have known to just stop the saw and remove the piece. As always, I was tired and in a hurry which is a bad combination with power tools.

McLeanVA – You’re almost guaranteed to burn the wood a bit using the hold and stop the saw blade method. A good quality blade and saw will help, but it still happens. Most dadoes are hidden, so a little burn on the side of the cut shouldn’t be a big deal.

-- You're a unique and special person, just like everyone else.

This blog brings back a memory of a good friend, and the superintendent of the lumberyard where I do business with..

He was trying to cut a dado into the bottom of a handrail that he made for his mother.. He wanted a stopped dado so the end would look concealed.. He tried to cut a 1” wide by a 1” deep dado in one pass!!!.. That dadoblade.. Grabbed the maple handrail with such a force..it threw it across the room..and took 3 of his fingers practically off his hand..yes..you read right.. Off his hand in a blink of an eye..he said he was shocked.. Felt stupid..knew better.. Has been a woodworker for many years..and couldn’t believe he did something so dumb and and now has three nubs for fingers.. This incident has sent shudders all up and down my spine and seeing blogs like this brings back memories of things I have done that I KNOW I shouldn’t be doing..
Everyone will experience a kickback now and then.. And I can attest to the severity of that personally.. When I was cutting some cherry scribe molding one day and my shop..my pushstick was worn out and the blade caught the molding that was 9 feet in length..it hurled that piece with such a force that the molding shot across the room and completely went thru a solid red oak board that was standing up 30 feet away.. Had this molding hit my gut or worse my helper..it surely would have impaled him or me..

The one thing I always tell myself and everyone else..the saw is NOT your friend.. Use it with utmost caution becase you might get away with it a few times..but eventually it will catch up with you in the end..

-- Randall Child

Thanks for the photos and the safety tip.

-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †

Yikes! That could have been way worse…
I used to back out of dado’s all the time when I worked in the cabinet shop…..never thought twice about doing it….I will now!

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

We all hate to see these thing happen but I’m glad that we post these mishaps, it keep us all aware that we play with loaded weapons. Stay safe LJ’s ….Blkcherry

That’s when I get into trouble. In a hurry and not paying enough attention.

-- Bruce from Central New York

Thanks for sharing

-- Billp

Title and photos say it all .Turn the table saw off just like David said. Title could have been called “table saw vasectomy”

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon