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Had an Accident *Graphic* (WTB: Old Craftsman Table Saw guard)

M.B. Naegle

Diamond
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Location
Conroe, TX USA
I'm re-posting this here as the mater of safety is more than just wood-working related.

Hope no one minds the pictures, but I wanted to post in hopes someone might learn from my stupidity.

So the saw is an old Craftsman 113.2999 (early 60's?) with a 1 HP motor. My dad bought it decades ago and it's been our main tool for ripping plywood and boards. It's never had a blade guard on it since we had it. Our woodworking needs and skills have always been a little fast and loose as our primary task is crating machinery, building shop amenities, and the occasional weekend warrior endeavor. Having a guard on the blade always seemed like a luxury that would get in the way more than help (that mindset has already changed, but Rome's OSHA compliance wasn't had in a day).

I've had a couple kick-backs, but they always hit my beltline and were easy to shake off. Then a couple weeks ago I threw in some extra stupidity and paid the price... I was cutting a couple hardwood blocks (approx. 4" square) on the chop saw, then found that they were too wide a couple ways. There were many safer ways to fix it, including using a plainer, belt sander, or starting over running the board through the jointer or saw first and then parting them up, but I chose to pass the 4" blocks through the table saw.

It's odd how your brain reacts when there's an accident. I heard the blade catch the board and the strangely comical *bloop* of it bouncing off my face, and My brain was still thinking *trimming a board* while I turned around and realized what happened. My head hanged down for a second and I felt my jaw dislocated, and saw my safety glasses and drops of blood hit the ground and thought "... how bad did I mess myself up?"
wound.jpg
Ran to our first aid area calling out that I needed help, and before I knew it I was on my way to the ER. I was fortunate that the damage was all superficial with no bone, jaw, blood vessel or nerve damage. Also fortunate that the doctor working there that day specialized in facial stitches and he got my patched up with 14 stitches and some glue. He also dug out some shrapnel, the largest was a 1/4." When I got back to the shop I found the hardwood block had a dent in the side, apparently from when it hit the floor, AFTER hitting me. One week later, I had the stitches taken out and it's healing nicely.
shrapnel.jpg
stitches 2.jpg
My dad always says that "the Good Lord takes care of fools and babies, and it's been a long time since I've been a baby." Think about what you're cutting and don't take guards off. I was intentionally standing off to the side of the fence, but the block still caught me.

As an aside: If anyone has a blade guard they'd like to sell, I'm interested! I have a newer model Craftsman guard ordered, but given the age of the saw, I'd love to find one of the old aluminum ones with the acrylic window on top. It seems that there aren't many around though(?) Probably most were thrown away pre-eBay.
 
Table saws will bite you. DAMHIKT. Same blade on the same machine that got a couple of dad's fingers. Still have the saw and the blade, but we are less intimate now. If you got off with no perm. damage, good for you and consider yourself lucky.
If you are seriously looking for a guard,you might want to go over to OWWM.org,join,and post in the woodworking classified - called BOYD for "bring out your dead".
I've got an orphan guard floating around in the pile somewhere but I think it is a delta.
Don't know that a guard would have stopped this though, they make some "fingers" for anti-kickback. I'd like to say i have quit doing dumb stuff, but I am looking at a purple thumbnail from a little encounter with the bench grinder. "Just knock this burr off right quick". Maybe should have set the work rest a little tighter first.
 
Build a sled, with a clamp. A U shaped plywood box, with two strips on the bottom, which slide in the slots in the table top, and just clamp your piece of wood to it. It makes kickbacks much less likely, as the wood being cut is held in place in relation to the blade axis. Like in this video.
I have been using one since about 1980, works great.
Kickbacks are caused by the wood moving out of the axis of the blade by the operator (me) and the way to avoid them is to have mechanical reasons why the wood wont change its angle. My arms arent ridgid enough.

https://youtu.be/XebIOAaPhhU
 
The original guard probably sucked which is why it was taken off. I would suggest getting an over arm style guard. An Excaliber guard is pretty good and easy to move aside when you need to. Not sure any guard would have helped with that accident though. When using a fence never cut anything wider than it is long. We cheat on that occasionally but being aware you are doing something wrong makes you really pay attention.
I consider the table saw to be the most dangerous machine in my shop.
 
The original guard probably sucked which is why it was taken off. I would suggest getting an over arm style guard. An Excaliber guard is pretty good and easy to move aside when you need to. Not sure any guard would have helped with that accident though. When using a fence never cut anything wider than it is long. We cheat on that occasionally but being aware you are doing something wrong makes you really pay attention.
I consider the table saw to be the most dangerous machine in my shop.

The day after my accident, we had a safety meeting for which I was the guest of honor. We reviewed a lot of things that were already in place, such as keeping guards on, but we also talked about the reality that guards DO get in the way sometimes. The solution then should not be to trash the guard, but to first re-think what you are doing and see if there is another way forward. Then, if you really need the guard out of the way, only do so for that brief instance and put it back in place, and have someone close-by, because you're taking full responsibility for the consequences should they come up (even if you get hurt and sue somebody for monetary reparation... it's still on you to deal with the hurt.)
 
That's a goodun....gonna have a good conversation piece for quite a bit. Glad yer ok though, accidents happen in the blink of an eye. Thank God it didn't go a few inches higher. You'll recover and probably have a newfound respect that you thought you had before but didn't.

Sometimes learning experiences hurt more than others :)
 
Wood working, in my opinion, is more dangerous than running a 48" Axelson lathe.
 








 
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