*graphic warning* Saw safety, replace guards!

[jclaudii]

5 min of inconvenience would have prevented this mistake. So far I am lucky in that no fingers were severed just lacerated! And so far feeling and movement is still there.

This happend on Saturday from a chop saw of which I just put a finishing blade on to make a few cuts. Thinking ill use it for a few cuts and take it back off for the ripping blade. After my cut I let off the trigger and went for my cut wood and when pulling back I caught the blade with the top side of my fingers.

Stressed wife, stressed kids, ER visit. And now going to hire a helper to finish my flooring project.

5 minutes, folks! Perhaps even less to make it as safe as it could be. All please be careful in our usage of tools that we use often, I think we get complacent in their use and disregard the dangers from time to time.

Happy Holidays y'all.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Thanks

This DID have a saw blade on it and was my go to saw for many years. Replaced by a cordless. Now this was used to clean up seams on a steel roof. Friends always called it my OSHA saw!

 

[jclaudii]

Don't wear a hoodie with strings dangling while using that. Eeek

 

[Rebeldad1]

rule of thumb on any rotary saw....
always wait till the blade stops before removing wood or before putting hands in the blade area.

most all saws have some kind of brake to stop the blade after power to the saw is cutoff (like the finger switch on a miter saw or circular saw

 

[Industrial Toys]

Especially on mine! Always knew to wait for the blade to stop, before setting it down. Keeps the mind sharp though! No wiggle room for daydreaming. YET, I don't like getting within a mile of a table saw!

 

[jclaudii]

I just got an old table saw from FB Marketplace for use in this same flooring project. Used it to make several cuts to remove the tongue for the wall boards to start the first row. This is an older Craftsman that does not even have the kickback guard/fin thing so I was using minimum blade protrusion and paid alot of attention. Still didn't like cutting those longer planks as it did want to bind and some...which would cause the board to try to climb the blade some. My chop saw is an older GMC model that does not have a brake when trigger is released. Neither does the old table saw. I am all for folks being involved in their own safety but a bit of help accident prevention can be handy.

 

[4570Man]

Raising the blade significantly reduces the piece climbing the blade. It’s probably not sharp either. Btw I bought a flooring shear that’s a life changing tool if you’re doing much laminate floor.

 

[stephenh]

Things like this can happen so fast, and change one's life. At my job, we had a sales rep' who used to come in every few months. He and I would chat a little about chainsaws. Once he came in after he'd been gone a year or more, I'd forgotten about him. He was a different man. He'd gone out one morning on his property to cut off a small-diameter limb that was in the way of someone walking beneath this tree. He held the saw up at just over his head, cut the branch, it caught and kicked back into his face. He'd had a year or so of surgery, reconstruction. It had cut through his cheekbone and across one eye socket. His face was distorted and always would remain that way. They saved his eyesight. He said he had reminded himself how dangerous it was to hold a saw like that, then did it anyway because it was one 1" branch and would only take a few seconds.

 

[CobyRupert]

Raising the blade significantly reduces the piece climbing the blade. It’s probably not sharp either. Btw I bought a flooring shear that’s a life changing tool if you’re doing much laminate floor.

Thanks for info. Can you or others speak more on the subject of setting blade depth.
I never know how, or why, to adjust the depth of my circular saw.

All I know is that when cutting a “corner” out of a board, sheet of plywood, etc.. that a deep blade (cutting “upwards”) makes matching the corners easier as the cuts aren’t beveled. But there must be a reason blade depth is adjustable.
Does it make a difference on whether board will get “splinters” when cutting, or is that a function of what type of blade you’re using?

Pardon the hijack of the thread regarding this “related” topic, let me know if I should post these questions separately.

 

[MF243RedTop]

Thanks

This DID have a saw blade on it and was my go to saw for many years. Replaced by a cordless. Now this was used to clean up seams on a steel roof. Friends always called it my OSHA saw!

View attachment 678448

The outer insulation missing off the wires are a nice touch!
Dealing with power tools that apply to metal work, it's not if, it's when you're going to get bit at some point.

 

[Industrial Toys]

It's safer that way. You can readily tell if your wiring is compromised. Ground prong gone long ago, so one of the wires is unnecessary anyway.

Originally givn to me by a Lawyer customer, who was throwing it out.

 

[MossRoad]

5 min of inconvenience would have prevented this mistake. So far I am lucky in that no fingers were severed just lacerated! And so far feeling and movement is still there.

This happend on Saturday from a chop saw of which I just put a finishing blade on to make a few cuts. Thinking ill use it for a few cuts and take it back off for the ripping blade. After my cut I let off the trigger and went for my cut wood and when pulling back I caught the blade with the top side of my fingers.

Stressed wife, stressed kids, ER visit. And now going to hire a helper to finish my flooring project.

5 minutes, folks! Perhaps even less to make it as safe as it could be. All please be careful in our usage of tools that we use often, I think we get complacent in their use and disregard the dangers from time to time.

Happy Holidays y'all.

View attachment 678445

Ouch! Glad they're still attached, and thanks for the heads-up. Get well soon. :thumbsup:

 

[Rebeldad1]

Thanks for info. Can you or others speak more on the subject of setting blade depth.
I never know how, or why, to adjust the depth of my circular saw.

All I know is that when cutting a ç”°orner out of a board, sheet of plywood, etc.. that a deep blade (cutting ç*¥pwards? makes matching the corners easier as the cuts aren稚 beveled. But there must be a reason blade depth is adjustable.
Does it make a difference on whether board will get 都plinters when cutting, or is that a function of what type of blade youæ±*e using?

Pardon the hijack of the thread regarding this 途elated topic, let me know if I should post these questions separately.

Really should do some (or a lot) of homework on learning how to use the table saw. Its very dangerous if you dont know how.
Lots of youtube videos and possibly schools near you. Most all woodworking tools are dangerous. Even a hammer if someone hasnt learned to hold a nail.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I got rid of my Sears table saw becuase it just scared me. Needed some plastic strips ripped so went to the friend I gave it too. Plastic shot out and I ended up in the ER anyway for stitches! lol

 

[Tinhack]

Oh man! Sorry to hear (and see) that. I have many different types of saws in my shop but only three scare me. One of those three I quit using altogether. That one is the Under Cabinet Floor Saw. I used it on one project but never again. I might try to convert it to a grinder. The other two are my metal band saw and the table saw. I'm cautious with all my saws but I'm extra cautious with those two.

I just had a run-in with a shop press two weeks ago. A "quick" angle bend sent two press plate flying in opposite directions. I happened to be in line with one of them. Or at least my forearm. It removed about 1 1/2 square inches of about two layers of skin and left a hefty bone bruise. The plate just peeled the skin back and fell to my feet. At the time, I remember being glad it didn't hit my toes. Later, I was glad it didn't hit me in the face or a rib.

The sad part is; I have angle bending dies I use for flats. I had the top die in place. I was in too much of a hurry to get and setup my smaller lower V-die and just brought the two press plates together with a gap. That is a forever no-no.

 

[CobyRupert]

Really should do some (or a lot) of homework on learning how to use the table saw. Its very dangerous if you dont know how.
Lots of youtube videos and possibly schools near you. Most all woodworking tools are dangerous. Even a hammer if someone hasnt learned to hold a nail.

Very informative reply.
I was referring to a handheld circular saw.
Yeah, I’ll definitely consider enrolling in a school so I can find out the answer to this one question of “What’s so bad about having blade set deep when cutting a thin board?” Thanks!

 

[jclaudii]

Very informative reply.
I was referring to a handheld circular saw.
Yeah, I’ll definitely consider enrolling in a school so I can find out the answer to this one question of “What’s so bad about having blade set deep when cutting a thin board?” Thanks!

On circular saws the main thing that gets alot of people is pinning the guard back or the off angle cuts. I am curious as I have several construction buddies swear using a left handed saw when one is Right handed feel's safer but I don't know. You get used to the blade being in a particular spot and i could see neglect there causing an accident.

The chop saw I have used thousands of times but I had two things working against me. NO GUARD and I had it elevated without proper support for my cut pieces. So when I made the cut, the natural thing is for the heavy "cut" end to fall. So I grab it quickly and when I pulled back is when disaster struck. I usually have it on a larger table but due to the portable nature I had it in a new spot on a new height.

There are lots of good reminders here for us to be Safety Conscious. My dad was an aircraft mechanic for years and years and the only time I remember him getting hurt was pretty much acts of God (Horse accident and a deer vs motorcycle). I guess it was ingrained in him and others to be slow, methodical, safe as missing a bolt/rivet or even a forgotten wrench in a fuselage could be disastrous.

 

[Jstpssng]

Remember the old B&D circular saws with the 6 inch cord, supposedly to make them safer? A woman I briefly knew tried to use one of those without an extension cord. The only good part is that she was female when she started... because where she got cut would have left a man sitting down to p for the rest of his life.

To the OP; thanks for having the guts to post your mistake. It serves as yet another reminder that sometimes the quickest way is the least productive.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Yes, hoping you heal well. I've had many accidents all trying to save a few seconds.
Grandad (rip) told a true story happened 100 years ago shop class a student cut half a finger off with a band saw. After hospital visit and few days later he was back in class when the insurance agent shows up asking how it happened. "Like this" he said, cutting end of another finger off.
Dad (rip) was a Sears service manager for years. A guy comes in to pick up a lawnmower they fixed, wanted to hear it run. They start it...guy picks it up by the deck cutting ends off two fingers! Dad asked "what were you thinking?" Guy said it was so quiet he didn't think it was running.

 

[Jstpssng]

They're pretty faint now, but I still have scars on the backs of two fingers from the first time that I ever ran a chain saw. With the instructor watching I felled a tree... then reached down to pick a piece of brush off while the chain was still turning. Luckily just a flesh wound.