# Unfortunate shop safety Reminder *Warning Graphic*



## Jagerheister (Apr 29, 2015)

I was making a furniture video, and I caught a table saw accident on film. It's crazy how fast things happen.


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## Ripper70 (Nov 30, 2015)

Oh man! I was holding my breath and my chest was pounding watching this video. I knew what was coming and was reminded of an accident I had years ago where I sustained similar damage to three fingers on my right hand. Kickback was the culprit in my case but it shows that you can't let your guard down for a second. As a result of my incident, though the wounds have healed, I never have fully gotten the feeling back in the tips of my fingers.

I hope your recovery is speedy and complete. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully, we can all learn from it.


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## Tony_S (Dec 16, 2009)

Sweet mother of wtf were you thinking!?

There's no such thing as a 'smart' table saw accident but there are degee's of dumbness….thats got to be one of the dumbest ones I've ever seen.

Sorry to be so harsh….no other way to describe what I just watched.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Totally unavoidable really isn't an accident, it's a choice. Using your finger as the push stick, falls into totally unavoidable. Especially when your fingers come that close to the blade. Something tells me you may now know this.

Thanks for posting though. If one person wakes up, it will have been worth the post.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Thanks for posting this reminder but…...

You are lucky you were not hurt worse but it was an accident waiting to happen.

No feather boards…

No push stick or something….


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## Jagerheister (Apr 29, 2015)

Look what is on top of my fence… Also, look at the previous clip in the beginning of the video.. I took the finger guard off, and the rithing knife, and I left the second push stick sitting 3 inches away from where it was needed to save me from this whole situation…

I hope this video spares someone from a similar accident.


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## Chashint (Aug 14, 2016)

Sorry you were injured. 
Since I have made some questionable cuts myself, I don't mean to add to the dog pile that's already started and is going to continue. 
Having said that, seeing the techniques being used right from the beginning really made me think this was going to be even worse. 
Under the best of circumstances (riving knife, tall feather board, out feed table, a single push stick to push both pieces through the blade) that is a difficult if not dangerous cut to make on the tablesaw. 
Doing a series of repetitive cuts (especially cuts like this) begs for additional setup. 
Thanks for posting the link to the video, perhaps others (and I know there are others out there) using similar techniques will reconsider and take the time to create a safer way to do this operation.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I've been there and it was also totally avoidable in my case. Was it a stupid mistake? Sure. I dare say there are very few, if any, examples of someone cutting themselves on a table saw that weren't stupid mistakes. But in the moment, I'd say you were focused on the fence side hand and not cutting it and keeping the piece tight to the fence to avoid kickback with the pusher and…. the human brain has a limited ability to focus intently on multiple things at one time. Glad it wasn't any worse than it was and appreciate your willingness to post it in the interest of others!


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## pottz (Sep 15, 2015)

yeah i was holding my breath all the way through this knowing what was coming.it was a situation weve all been in and most of us lucky to not suffer your fate.it's just that moments lapse of judgement and it's over.im not a saw stop preacher,dont even have one but that was a case where it would have prevented an injury.thank you very much for sharing this and taking the verbal beating,we all need to see this stuff.


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## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

Sorry for your injury. Thanks for the reminder to have good setups and safe practices.
I know I'm not immune to the stupids, so… I bought myself a Sawstop. And it's a hella-better saw than my old Rigid. I get glue-line rips now too.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

Don't stand behind the blade when ripping, don't put anything inline with the blade you want in one piece, *don't touch the blade*, and use a push stick when it makes sense.


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

Sigh… I chose not to click the video link. Ya, I'm a coward about this. I'll take your word for it that it's bad. I leave all my safety guards on my saw. Only remove them if I have to do a trench cut, and then I'm wary and super super careful. Twelve foot push sticks (joking here actually, but you get the point). 
I used to have a Delta/Rockwell and was very wary of a fast spinning blade with hooked teeth.
I also now have a Sawstop. Hoping to get an advantage someday should it happen.


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## ruger (Feb 20, 2018)

what scared me was your stock moving away from the fence as you were pushing the stock through.right before the accident.


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

While I think you made a bunch of mistakes, you are brave to post it here and be reminded numerous times about your mistakes. I am certain you have gone thru this in your mind a lot of times.

So, what changes have you put in place to prevent this in the future.

How bad was your injury. It looks like you may have nicked a bone and if so, not good. I bet it really hurts. I hope you heal quickly.

I had a good cabinet saw, and several years ago, bought a Sawstop PCS just for this kind of potential accident. While I try to be very safe, getting a bit older, I just do not want the risk. My wife was behind this purchase completely.


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

> Sigh… I chose not to click the video link. Ya, I m a coward about this.


If watch the video from the 1:15 mark to the 1:30 mark you can see what happened without seeing any blood or gore. All you see is him jerking his hand away quickly.


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## Firewood (Dec 4, 2013)

I started to watch the video, but like Craftsman, chose to stop it before the moment of truth. The first 30 seconds was sufficient to see what happened and why. I've taken risks in the past - most of us probably have. But if something doesn't feel right when your ready to push that piece through the blade, then I assure you it isn't right and it's time to step back and revisit what you're about to do.

I appreciate your honesty and boldness to post a video that shows what could have been a life-altering event. (even if I stopped short of watching the whole thing). Hopefully we can all learn a valuable lesson.


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## Jagerheister (Apr 29, 2015)

- Redoak49

This is an interesting question. I've gotten comments ranging from; sorry that you cut your finger to, you deserve what you got because you were being stupid. lol

This happened around 2 months ago. I've had a while to think about it, review the video, watch other peoples safety videos.

The obvious one is to actually use the second push stick that was sitting right there on my fence. Im never going to attempt to cut something that thin in that orientation with out using a push block again.

I was looking at the saw after all of this happened, and It dawned on me that the throat plate is painted red as a reminder that you are in the blade threat zone. I now use this as a visual halo that my hands do not cross… It's pretty obvious, but unless you commit this procedure, its easy to creep too close to the blade.

You may have noticed that I pulled the rithing knife out in the second clip. That was because I was using a thin kerf blade to rip. The rithing knife was too thick for the blade that I was using, which resulted in a lot of force being required to feed material. I ordered a rithing knife that is sized for my blade width.

I also took my saw apart and leveled it. I've had it for about 7 years, and after setting heavy work on the side feed table, a step developed between the iron and the side table. I was able to get the table perfectly flush which helps facilitate a feed.

I also had some surface rust, crud, and pitting that was creating feed friction. I cleaned the surface with WD 40, acetone, and then polished the top using steel wool, and then a polishing wheel and rouge. I used paste wax at the end to smooth things out and seal for rust. I also squared the fence with the blade to make sure that I wasn't side loading material into the blade. Now I can feed material easier with little force.

The biggest thing is that this experience kind of reset my respect for the machines that I use. The biggest contributor to this event is just getting too comfortable being close to the sharp parts of my tools. Like I said, I've had this saw for 7 years or so, and use it regularly. I was in a hurry, doing repetitive cuts, listening to a pod cast, thinking about other things, and I just got too close.

As far as my injury, there is almost no signs of an injury at this point. I have some nerve damage at the tip that results in sharp pain under pressure that makes it difficult to play guitar. Im rehabbing it to try to get the sensitivity to subside. Virtually no loss of sensation. I got off really lucky.


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## Kazooman (Jan 20, 2013)

> I started to watch the video, but like Craftsman, chose to stop it before the moment of truth. The first 30 seconds was sufficient to see what happened and why. I ve taken risks in the past - most of us probably have. But if something doesn t feel right when your ready to push that piece through the blade, then I assure you it isn t right and it s time to step back and revisit what you re about to do.
> 
> I appreciate your honesty and boldness to post a video that shows what could have been a life-altering event. (even if I stopped short of watching the whole thing). Hopefully we can all learn a valuable lesson.
> 
> - Firewood


Nope. You need to see it all, or at least up until the finger to blade impact to understand. The early parts show ripping some stock where there is a good three inches on the table. Much more that the depth of cut. Stable workpieces, and the push stick near the fence did its job. The problem arose when the pieces were flipped on their sides with a smaller footprint on the table and a higher height for the piece. Unstable without any fingerboards, etc. Then the blade was sticking a huge amount above the piece of stock. Not necessary, and ultimately dangerous. The width of the cutoff piece was so small that his fingers were close to the blade. Etc., etc., etc.. Several issues at work. I also applaud the OP for posting what had to be a hard to face, humiliating video to share with others just how easily you can be lulled to complacency and have an accident.

Added later: Oh yeh. Get an out feed table. The constant reaching for the workpiece dangling over the end of the saw scares me.


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## PaulDoug (Sep 26, 2013)

So true,,,,,, it happens. Just like you say. Been at it for years,,,, this was the result of a recent kickback….. just last month.. Very lucky, scraped a tendon,,, but did not cut through it.


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

https://www.amazon.com/GRR-RIPPER-Advanced-Pushblock-Jointer-MICROJIG/dp/B0037MEJ2I/ref=asc_df_B0037MEJ2I/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309811990469&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=14937103235809957508&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9016618&hvtargid=pla-387338688892&psc=1


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Not a fan of those because they force you to remove your guard to use them. Once someone get's used to taking it off, instead of a few cuts that require no guard, you are using it much more often. I've seen the injuries from them too, like any injury they happen from a moment of not thinking, with the guard gone, and that little pusher getting torn up, it's you and the blade.

I'm probably not the average guy, but 90+ % of my saw cuts on the TS can easily be done with a guard on. For that 10% you can do them in a way that does not require your hand over a spinning, unguarded blade. Push sticks are safe, when your hand isn't in the line of fire.


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## PaulDoug (Sep 26, 2013)

I own two Grippers, but I did something stupid, this one time I didn't use them. Just a quick, simple cut…. no need this time.. And do not try to kid me most have those moments.


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## CWWoodworking (Nov 28, 2017)

Does the guard allow for 1/4" cuts? I honestly don't know.

What the OP was trying to accomplish, this seems like the tool for the job. I wouldn't use it for normal cuts.


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## WoodenDreams (Aug 23, 2018)

Sorry about the injury. But Using your finger and or thumb as a outer push-stick is not a accident. It's a mishap from lack of safety. Seeing how your pushing your wood to or away from the saw blade, Your asking for this to happen. It's a matter of when this will happen when you throw safety aside for convenience or speed. This video shows why to use a push-stick similar to a Gripper on the passes before you even injured yourself. A friend of mine shorten his thumb a 1/2" in his shop last year, sending wood through the table saw like you did in your video. His mishap prevented him from riding his Harley all last year. Keith said he has been passing wood through his table saw for years the same way you did in your video. He didn't call it a accident, he just said he did it for years and didn't have a problem. Again Sorry for your injury, Thank you for sharing what can happen,


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## doubleG469 (Mar 8, 2017)

I feel your pain here, can't bring myself to watch the video. I too pulled a stupid moment making cutting boards and almost cut my middle finger off. Now it's just numb with a massive scar, still hoping to get feeling back in it someday. This is something that happens to us ALL. We get comfortable with the risk and forget how fast and how bad things can turn.

There truly is no reason to pile on other than to make yourself feel superior. Like I have always said about riding motorcycles, it's not a question of if you're gonna lay it down only a question of when.

Heal quick.


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## Barkley (Jun 28, 2019)

Oh man! I'll be puckered up for a month. Hope everything heals up nicely for you. My accident happened so fast I didn't really didn't see it happen. I hope every time someone has a workshop accident they post it on here. Maybe it will keep us more focused. I know I need ALL the help I can get!!!!


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## rockusaf (Feb 13, 2018)

Accidents happen no matter what you do. I'm sitting here with a busted pinky from using a torque wrench to tighten a nut while working on my wife's car. I basically punched the concrete sidewalk at about 85 ft lbs…twice. Pretty sure I messed up the tendon but I can't figure out how I could have done anything different to avoid it. It slipped off the nut (go ahead and laughh it up), while tightening a bracket. Point is that accidents happen and we all need to be as careful as possible but there is no way to avoid every accident.

Rock


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## anthm27 (May 12, 2015)

> I was making a furniture video, and I caught a table saw accident on film. It s crazy how fast things happen.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well done for posting it mate, the sledging your getting from some here surprises me.

Kind Regards
Anthm


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## clin (Sep 3, 2015)

Thanks for posting. It always helps to drive the point home and get us all to pause and think about safety. Of course you made a mistake, else it wouldn't have happened. But, just because something was avoidable doesn't make you stupid. NO ONE is perfect 100% of the time. And anyone who thinks they are, is just kidding themselves.

Our judgement can fail us, just like our eyes, ears, balance etc.. Most of us get lucky and nothing bad happens when we make the mistake, but sometimes, bad things happen.

And glad it wasn't worse than it was.

Lot's of ways to make that cut more safely. For me, I'd use my magnetic feather-board and one or both of my Microjig Grippers.


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