safety #1: stupidity in the shop

holy crap!

glad to see that you’re well enough to post here… hope for a quick recovery (just don’t tell the mowing crew).

curious – do you have a riving knife on the table saw ? or a splitter? or none?

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

Smitty,

Man, I hope you will not need surgery. What a scary time this must have been. Take it easy, mend and keep us up to date.

I’ve had the same thing happen to me a couple times. My biggest problem is that my table saw is up on a rolling frame and just a hair too high for me, and I did not have the wheels locked, I lost control of the piece. I was lucky that it did not hit me, but the first time, it threw a 1/4” piece of plywood and hit my wife who was standing about 10 foot away. She was not happy…for a day or two. The second time, it caught a piece of 3/4” plywood and chunked it out the shop door and into the yard about 10 or 15 foot away. I was lucky that I was not standing in the direct path, but off to the side. I’ve since changed the wheels on my caddy to make it lower to the ground and I’m working on a positive brake before I cut anything else. Because I have the Incra LS fence system, I din’t have the blade / kickback guard installed, but I do have a splitter that I am going to install. before I do anything else.

Good to hear you are ok…Sharing your story makes me definitely want to wait until I get my saw properly outfitted for work before I make another cut.

Thanks for sharing and I wish you a speedy recovery.
Kelly

-- He who dies with the most tools wins!.....Just wait, I'm going to win!..ERR my wife will at least.

afterwards I took inventory, and found that I have at least 3 devices that I could, ( should) have been using, I have a splitter, I have the roller wheels to attach to the fence and another fence attachment I could have used, but I have had too many changes to make in set ups lately that I overlooked these devices, but I should know better than to release one hand to reach across to move the cutoff, it would not have hit me if the blade had caught it anyway.
the problem now with taking it easy is, that I have 3 clocks that HAVE to be done by the 12th of Sept. at least the milling portion is done, maybe I can get the sanding and glue up, then the finish on in time.

-- Smitty!!!

Wow!...Thankfully you are ok….

Just goes to show why safety is not something to take for granted…..Safety in this hobby/profession is ultimate….and it is stories like this that remind us everytime we go into our shops that we need to take the time to make sure we are being as safe as we can…and even then we need to maintain high vigilence…

Thank you for the reminder…and get well soon…

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

thanks to all of you!!!

-- Smitty!!!

wow…that’s quite a story! Glad you’re doing ok! This is part of the reason I move farther and farther away from power tools.

-- "That which has in itself the greatest use, possesses the greatest beauty." - Unknown Shaker

Hope you feel better, and hopfuly you get to keep your parts… =)

-- Martina, Houston, TX

Ack, that hurts! This is my bobo from over a year ago…

the board bounced off of my hip, back onto the TS the blade grabbed it again and hit me in the same spot…time elapsed…about 2 seconds…still have a nasty little scar. That was through a Denim Shop Apron, a leather belt, jeans, and my drawers…. that is right over my hip bone…

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

Thanks for sharing this harrowing ordeal.. reminds me of when I was cutting some scribe and my pushstick was a little too worn out to hold onto the piece.. the saw shot it out with such a force that it shot across the room and completely went thru a 3/4 solid oak board.. COMPLETELY THRU!! if that had hit me or my co worker..one of us would be seriously hurt..

So your ordeal needs to be a reminder to always use extra caution.. Again..thanks for sharing and thank God your ok..

-- Randall Child

Wow I sure hope everyone gets well from their accidents soon. I know I had a wake up call yesterday with my router and it trimed the end of my thumb nearly off. I have to see a hand doc in a couple of days but dont think its going to be anything to major. I sure can tell everyone an accident can happen in the blink of an eye. Mine sure has me thinking of ways to make my shop safer, which I will do as soon as I am ungrounded from my shop by my wife. haha

-- Carlos

After almost getting the home vasectomy treatment myself the other day I understand completely. Makes me a little gun-shy using the table saw now. I try to stay away from the back of the blade if possible.

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

I empathize with you.
Glad you are ok mate.

-- Drink once, cut twice. New website up.... lazylarrywoodworks.com.au

I’m glad It’s not worse. I hope no further medical treatment is necessary.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

thank you all for your concern, I checked today and the board went around more than 360deg, more like 400deg, there was a place on the edge that was slightly rounded, that had to be where it hit me, the odd thing is I have no bruising (on the outside at least) still some muscle soreness, anxious to get back to work in the shop.

-- Smitty!!!

Smitty,

Reading your hospital emergency situation made me think of how poor our local hospital is. (They med-flight everyone out to minimize their mortality rate.) I was angry that you had to wait 3.5 hours to be transferred, but God knew what was right and it all worked out for the best. It would have been terrible to have to go through surgery and maybe even have your spleen removed. We’re pleased to hear that you are on-the-mend now.

It can be a hard reminder of shop safety when we have an accident. At least my latest one was only hair.

-- "But godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6

scary stuff…good reminders for all of us…

-- Matt, Napa, CA...fun is beautiful...just trying to have some fun...

Wow, that’s crazy. I think most every woodworker has had a kick back now and then, but not a mule kick back. I’m glad to see your ok.

-- Dennis Zongker

Smitty,
Man that’s scary! I’ve seen something like this happen years ago, no one hurt thankfully. Glad to hear you seem to be doing ok.

I do have a question for you, and anyone else for that matter. I have what I think is an under powered table saw (1950’s era Craftsman w/1 1/2 hp) and have been considering moving up to a 3hp model. Does a higher HP saw have a greater tendency or ability or whatever to kick back like this? I havn’t had any major problems with my current saw but have seen times when I thought I was giving it all it could handle. I do keep clean, sharp blades on it and always try to stay out of the “kick Back” area when possible, but now I’m thinking if or when I upgrade, I’ll stay with a lower HP model. Stories like yours makes me think I should take up knitting.

-- Sawdust looks better in the garage than cars, explain that to your wife!

God watches out for fools, drunks and us, I think. It’s hard to stay conscious of safety every second, but that is an absolute must. I work on a lathe a lot, and it does not give a damn if you pay attention or not. It will grab you in the blink of an eye and you could either be dead or if your lucky just missing a finger. Hope you heal soon.

-- Mike. mwurm13@yahoo.com

thanks Mike, I am feeling better, I also ordered the mag switch and board buddies to add to the safety margin, my old wheels are worn out, and they slip, they are from Leichtung, and I can’t find replacements, so I’ll try the Board Buddies.

-- Smitty!!!