Re: I did a bad ting George

"LRod" <duckecho@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> When? He starts the board from the front, as usual. Part way through
> the cut, he moves around to the back of the saw. Yes, the work is
> unattended at that point. Yes, the featherboard is holding it in
> place. Yes, it's stable, and in the sense that it's not particularly

It's not completely stable. As well, I've left wood unattended for a few
seconds while the blade is spining. It's often burned the wood or otherwise
marred a clean edge.

> How is that any different than the long board extending past the front
> end of the fence at the beginning of the cut?

When you're in front pushing the board through, one can safely put a little
lateral pressure against the fence. When you're pulling it out from the
back, you can only grab it to pull when it's past the table edge and beyond
the fence a little after that. A little sideways lateral pulling the wrong
way and it's skewed.

> How is that any different than possible pressure variables applied to
> the board at the infeed side?

When you're in front, you can push it onto an outfeed table. When you're in
back, you're in front of the outfeed table aren't you? If you're pushing it
from the side, it's more of an awkward motion. (and yes, I've done it
before)

> Uh, so? Do you finish all of your cuts standing in the same place you
> started? I'll bet you don't. Think sheet goods.

You'd be completely wrong. I do all my cutting from one position without
moving around, but not for any of the reasons that you might consider. As
well, this is all about control. Walking around while feeding (or pulling a
board) through a tablesaw is increasing the chances for something
unfortunate to happen. And yes, I know some do it all the time.

Something else has occurred to me too. Considering the rotation direction of
the blade, unless you're using an enclosed cabinet saw with a full dust
cover over the blade, you're going be exposed to various bits of wood dust
and splinters shooting up in your direction if you're at the back of the
saw.

> shop, but I wouldn't have any problem with the process described. Does
> that make me an unsafe idiot? I don't think so (and no, you didn't
> imply that), but there are lots of operations that can be developed
> that while unfamiliar to some, are nonetheless safe and practical.

Sure there are other methods that can be considered safe, but consider this.
Tablesaws have been around for a long time. If pulling a board through a saw
was comparably safe as pushing one through, there would be quite a few more
people advocating it than there are. Until I hear from a number of those
people, your single (so far) support for pulling from the back isn't going
to cut it for me. No offence is intended against you with this statement.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Fence left or fence right?
    ... your body and the fence so that as you push the wood through you naturally push it against the fence. ... you want your primary arm closer to in line with the blade, so that the rest of your body is farther from being in line with the blade. ...
    (rec.woodworking)
  • Re: Why my table saw scares the hell out of me.
    ... across the garage and hit a metal sheet propped up against the side. ... So I do a little research and I find that my saw blade ws up too high. ... I think that I was also pushing the wood toward the fence at the height ...
    (rec.woodworking)
  • Re: jointing before ripping
    ... I'm looking at this chunk of wood I have to process, a 4"x8"x6' hunk of poplar and there's a cup running down the middle - so if I rip it into two halves I won't get a square shaped object - the top and bottom will be bowed which will make subsequent planing that much more difficult. ... As unusual as it may sound, I have no blade drift with my saw and having the face jointed gives me a nice consistent face to run along the fence. ... If the wood is particularly cupped I joint, resaw, face joint again, and resaw again to get rid of the worst of the remaining waste before running it through the thickness planer. ...
    (rec.woodworking)
  • Re: Table saw jig
    ... is pointing out beyond the end of the piece of wood, ... the miter fence with the point of the nail set aimed toward the blade, ... nail set toward the marked tooth until it just BARELY touches it. ...
    (rec.woodworking)
  • Re: Is this a Safe Table Saw Operation?
    ... the 5" X 5" plywood through by hand holding it tight to the fence. ... Pushing it through with a push stick does not "feel" safe to me. ... If your hand has to go between the blade and the fence, it is not safe with that narrow of a cut. ... Any piece of wood that is being cut with a fence and is close to being square increases your chance of kick back. ...
    (rec.woodworking)