Quick Poll

May 3rd, 2009 at 8:01

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Welcome to Woodworker’s Safety Week 2009 where we will start by taking a look at one of the most dangerous tools in the shop – the table saw.  All saws come with two basic pieces of safety equipment – a splitter or riving knife which keeps the wood being cut from closing behind the blade or being accidentally pushed into the back of the blade should you make an error in feeding and pull the board away from the rip fence.

Manufacturers also include a blade guard, which helps to prevent your hand from hitting the spinning blade. The blade guard also deflects sawdust and wood chips away from you, and many models also feature a sawdust collection port which can be hooked up to a dust collector.

While the stock blade guards and splitters or riving knives are effective, there are many after market models out there which can offer even greater performance.

So, this week’s question – when you use your table saw for typical cuts (NOT dado or non-through cutting), what is the most frequently seen set up on your saw?  Do you use stock equipment, after market stuff or nothing at all?

What's the safety set up used most frequently on your table saw?

• I use the stock splitter/riving knife and stock blade guard
• I use a stock splitter/riving knife and after market blade guard
• I use a stock splitter/riving knife and no blade guard
• I use an after market splitter/riving knife and a stock blade guard
• I use an after market splitter/riving knife and an after market blade guard
• I use an after market splitter/riving knife and no blade guard
• I use no splitter/riving knife and a stock blade guard
• I use no splitter/riving kinfe and an after market blade guard
• I don't use any safety devices on my table saw
• I don't use a table saw

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Posted by Tom, in Quick Polls

3 Responses to “Quick Poll”

1. tms Says:
   May 3rd, 2009 at 11:03 am

   Hey Tom,

   I think that you should have added an “other” category. For crosscuts, I use the stock riving knife and blade guard. For rips, I use the riving knife and a pair of Grippits™.

   Tom

2. Gina, FineWoodworking.com Says:
   May 3rd, 2009 at 11:55 am

   Great poll Tom.

   And speaking of splitters, if anyone out there wants a good, cheap, tablesaw safety solution, check out this video about making a custom tablesaw throatplate with a shopmade splitter:
   http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/Workshop/WorkshopArticle.aspx?id=30883

   Happy safety week everyone and I look forward to reading more of your posts this week Tom!

   Gina Eide
   FineWoodworking.com

3. Steve Says:
   May 6th, 2009 at 11:24 pm

   I don’t use the stock splitter/blade guard on my Ridgid Contractor saw because it is of poor design which I feel actually makes me less safe. The guard attaches to the back of saw and wraps around the top resulting in a great deal of play. I’ve measured 1 to 2 inches on the leading edge of the blade guard.

   Because of this excess play, I’ve actually had the blade guard make contact with the side of the blade, resulting in a shower of plastic shards. Fortunately I was wearing eye protection.

   I use the safety features on my other tools, just not the table saw.

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