Table Saw Safety | 10 Essential Tips

[@mynonameyt]

I’m 67, retired firefighter, have enjoyed working with wood my whole life. Lord willing I will get to do this 15-20 more years. It’s never to late to make the right decision. You’ve convinced me to get a sawstop. Safety,safety,safety. Thanks Rob for all your great videos, but I think this is the best one.

[@keithreay]

Sooooo many great take-always in this video. Rarely do I hear people talking about kids entering the workspace as a hazard, no music, being tired… ITS NOT WORTH IT! Thanks for the solid gems Rob.

[@chipsterb4946]

“Don’t do this when you’re tired.” Best free advice ever. I would add “when you’re frustrated, angry, or buzzed in any way.” I also build vacuum tube guitar amps which can have 400+ volts inside and the same rules apply.

[@PAPSROYALAPIARY]

I ran across your channel not long ago, first of all, by looking at your hands I know that you mean what you say, or you have the experiance, lol; I grew up in a cabinet making shop where from my grandfather up everyone used all kind of tools, when the sawstop came along I sold my powermatic tablesaws and purchased a 5hp and a 3hp sawstops, put them back to back like the other I had and have a good time using them, funny thing, I said I grew up in a woodworking family but I didn't mention that my day job is to fix people's hearts, not wookworking, but as a decompressing mechanism from my day job, as it brings childhood memories and puts me in a comfortable mental setting, I set up a nice woodworking shop with all kind of toys that I use it as a hobby on my free time, teach my kids that even if they might want to push a pen as a day job, they still need to know what is like to do manual labor as they might need to apply that in their own lives hence not having to pay for everything they might need fixing in their homes. Reason you got my attention is what you are doing for the vets, I command you for that, I work with vets all day everyday as I work for the VA hospital in the cardiology department, I get to be really personal with all our vets that goes thru my hands, its an experience that unless one does it for a while and see/feel what our vets been/goes thru, one wouldn't understand, so on that I really appreciate people like you that is willing to go out of their way to make sure that our vets feel respected and appreciated for their service and continuously help them cope with some of the stuff majority of them experienced. God Bless and keep up the good work. Dan

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Dan. Thank you for working with Vets. Please go to our PHP website at www.ThePurpleHeartProject.org to find out more info. We have downloadable flyers in the about us section and you can contact Luther on the contact form. Please help us get the word out about our program

[@brianwallace9997]

Many decades ago when I was student, the only stationary tool I could afford was a Sears radial arm saw. It was definately the most dangerous tool in my shop. Ripping required the use of a long push stick. It kept my fingers away from the blade but I had limited control. I ripped this way until a piece of wood I was ripping kicked back clean through a wall covered in 5/8 drywall. A scary lesson in how fast and powerful kickback is. I bought a cabinet saw after that. I am now now a more experienced, safer woodworker but this tutorial has shown me one aspect of my work that needs to change: keeping my tablesaw work space really clean. I have had a habit of using my fence as a tray and placing small items on it (pencils, measuring tape...) plus I have also, at times, stacked small finished cuts on the other side of my fence. A great tutorial Rob. It will improve my shop practice.

[@joelluesse4408]

I've been using table saws for 30 years, and I feel that anyone buying a table saw should watch this video. And all of us who have been at it awhile should watch as well...as a reminder. It is excellent.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks. Its always good to take time to think about good practices

[@dalemccullough5693]

Thank you, Rob. These are all excellent things to keep in mind with the table saw

[@MAKEITSF]

This is probably the most thorough KZbin video on the subject. Great job!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for watching and commenting

[@birdman858]

Very nice instructional safety video. A lot of us have used a table saw most of our adult lives. I always listen to your safety videos. Fifty years of using a saw can often times make one complacent. Your videos ground is back to the safety basics. My rule is if it doesn’t feel safe, it probably isn’t.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I think that is a good rule to live by

[@raggarex]

Great video. A couple of safety steps I also take: I periodically check the arbour nuts for tightness if I haven't changed the blade in a while. Not sure how likely they can come loose, but I would rather suffer the inconvenience than deal with a spinning blade flying at me. I also "rehearse" the cut with the saw stopped and blade down just to get a quick familiarity with the motion and ensure nothing surprising is going to happen. With a cabinet saw that probably wouldn't be as necessary, but I have a small shop and use a jobsite saw that I can fold away to make space. So each setup is not quite exactly the same as the last.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Good tips, thanks for sharing

[@brentjenkinsdesigns]

Rob. A huge thank you for this table saw safety video! This subject would get my vote for a series of videos. With each tool / machine having one or more "deep dive" videos. I say this because you are 100% correct when you said there are alot of people that have zero training or even basic machine knowledge and or safety training. The amount of people saved could be astronomical. Hope that made sense. Again, thank you so much Rob!

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Good idea. I will toss that to lither

[@crystalrabbon]

Just got my SawStop on Friday! It's replacing my Craftsman 113 commercial saw. I can't wait to use it. Sadly it arrived DOA. They have great customer service and it should be fixed by Thursday.

[@felixbelanger2659]

Awesome video, totally agree that table saw safety isn't talked enough about! Lincoln St. Woodworks also made a great one a few months ago 18:40 Whenever I'm using the miter with the fence, I prefer to use a spacer on the fence forward of the blade... But obviously a sled is the best option

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for the great comment and tip

[@RandomPerson-bd2hv]

Wish I'd had this video when I first started using a table saw - thank you for this and I'm grateful for this video now. I'll likely watch it periodically to stay fresh and on point with safety. I would love to see a Part 2 to this video on further safety such as certain types of cuts on the table saw we often see. EX: Cutting big pieces of plywood - better to do with circlar saw (Im thinking); Is there a "rule of thumb" for when to use the table saw versus Chop/Circular/hand saw/etc; What "pre-flight check" system do you go through before making a cut (I have a pre-cut safety check and thought process that includes is there a better or safer way to make this cut, are my hands out of the way of the blade (set positions), is blade set, R knife on, board flat and set, etc); where to stand and thinking on this - they say stand to the left yet most kickback I see flies off to the left so...never understood this one but maybe you can explain; etc. That was a long one - a dump of some of the questions that go through my head over the years.

[@bradleytuckwell4881]

It’s always a pleasure to listen to your tutorials thanks.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for watching and commenting

[@swslavens]

Along with avoiding clutter, making sure the floor is clean is a must. It's hard to push a sheet of plywood through the cut when your feet are slipping because there's sawdust on a slick concrete garage floor! Along those lines, what do you recommend for flooring around table saws?

[@teejay3510]

I just got my first table saw, and it's a sawstop. It's in pieces in my lounge room waiting to be assembled. It took longer to save for but I listened when you gave your reasons for recommending them in previous videos. Thanks for all the tips! Can't wait to start making mitre sleds and push sticks and feather boards and box joint jigs and and and...

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Congratulations on your purchase. When assembling it the most important thing is getting the bolt on tables parallel to the fixed table and getting the fence properly set up. Pay attention to those two items. Don’t rush assembly

[@teejay3510]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking Thanks. Having moved it from outside my house to inside solo, it makes the story you told of dropping yours off the back of a truck even more remarkable. This thing is bloody heavy, and it boggles my mind that it could have survived that.

[@raydriver7300]

So interesting, Rob. Another school day. Thank you for taking the time to share 🌞

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for watching and commenting

[@joejackson3490]

Do you have a video explaining the vise on the end of your table saw?

[@blackbeton3923]

Very nice video, thanks !

[@ericmaxey6595]

Great video Rob. You are right about people buying a machine then taking it home and start using it out of the box without practical instruction. It’s just has disaster written all over it. Would be useful to show properly how to use a guard. This is an area where a lot of inexperienced operators get into trouble. They don’t understand how to use it, so they take it off. And that is when bad things start to happen.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I am in the school of thought that a guard, most guards at least, are more dangerous than not having a guard. The guard obstructs your view of the blade. I believe you should have the blade in full view so you know where it is and can avoid it.

[@ericmaxey6595]

@@RobCosmanWoodworkingI agree with you on that, I like to see where the cutting edge is. But to allow for all levels of experience from the beginnings apprentice to old guy who just retired and is working in his shed and just went out and bought a ripsaw for the first time. A little guard knowledge would be appropriate. By the way I love the work you are doing with veterans, you are a real sign post in there lives, much respect to you, well done.

[@lincolndickerson1293]

Great video. One thing I do for every cut is decide what is the “right” saw. Right includes safety, accuracy, efficiency, and safety. Yep safety first and last. “I have made that kind of sketchy cut 100s of times…” Maybe best to consider those a win and move forward with better choices. You can cut 100 1 inch cubes with any saw in the shop. Likely the table saw with a sled a stop block would be what I would choose. The miter saw is right out. The band saw maybe but for 100 it seems like the long haul and tedium also leads to accidents. Hand saw, well I could use the practice and a workout… Why do so many people rip full size sheet goods on a table saw? Much safer to bust out the circular saw and leave the heavy and hard to hold part stationary. my 2¢.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I agree with you on your points. The plywood especially. Its so easy to breakdown a sheet lysing on floor on a foam sheet using a guide and circular saw

[@sbb526]

If you are doing something like making cutting boards, you typically start with a board that is 1 or 2" wide. Many boards use pieces that are 1/4" to 1/16" wide, how do you suggest making those cuts if you don't have more than 1" to start with?

[@kentboys5017]

Great video as always. Thank you for sharing 👍🏻

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for commenting

[@prigs750]

Great video Rob.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for watching and commenting

[@JanStureNielsen]

Always excellent and enjoyable content. Totally unrelated, as a Dane I'm loving the background but wondering what the connection is?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Are you referring to the danish flag?? If so we had a student from Denmark who gave us that

[@MrSharper802]

Great video. There are some after market jigs to install a splitter behind the blade for saws that do not have a riving knife. They work but of course are a fixed height and not in relation to the blade height. Riving knife is better but it is a good option as an after market add on.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Yes and you can also make that style yourself. You can also buy after market riving knives. Shark gaurd comes to mind

[@Grunt49]

Great tips.Thank you sir.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for watching

[@J.A.Smith2397]

I'd love to upgrade from my 90s craftsman contractor saw, does all i need but not all i want. Kickback got me earlier last year. Cut almost a third of my middle finger

[@douggarson50]

When ripping anything other than a board with 6in or more of offcut, I always keep a second push stick in my left hand. That way, if something goes wrong and I instinctively reach in I have a sacrificial push stick which keeps my hand well away from the blade.

[@billedis5482]

Great information.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Thanks for commenting

[@deathsyth27]

Both Felder and Altendorf now have safety systems with similar idea to how saw stops work. Now these are in big industrial saws that cost $200000 plus that no hobbyist could ever justify purchasing. But hopefully this tech will trickle down to non industry tools soon and we'll have even more options to work safely on these dangerous machines.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Sawstop has 100s of patents and are very protective of them, but the first ones run out this year. Plus sawstop was recently bought by a big corp so my guess is you will see these safety feature proliferate in the next 2-5 years

[@MichaelKnapp-n8r]

omg so awesome

[@dpmeyer4867]

thanks

[@mkplante]

I love my Sawstop PCS, but two things that are not great are the miter gauge (happy with Incra) and the dust collection (bought the wrong one, attaches to the guard, which is never installed, so it's useless). One question, though. Table saws may cause the most ER visits, but would that not at least in part be because more people have one than say, a jointer or lathe or radial arm saw? What truly is the most dangerous in your shop, rather than the average shop?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Well if you just go off the feedback we get from viewers and ignore all the publish statistics, table saws are still the number one injury. I cannot tell you how many folks email us telling about a table saw injury. We have never received an email about injury from band saw or other machines. I would say number two injury folks tell us about is from chisels

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

See my response to this same question above

[@timallsopp8656]

Do Sawstop supply table saws in the UK?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

I do not know, but you certainly go to their website and look it up

[@user-cb1vo1ik4b]

After 50 years, I'm proud to say... I have all my digits also... I love using my table saw...it requires your full concentration and never allow yourself to become complacent

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

The most common reason heard when there is an injury was I was not paying attention

[@robertbamford8266]

The one omission is about the paddle switch. It pays to spend the extra time and money on a magnetic switch. For a garage shop, when the saw inevitably trips a breaker and you reset the breaker, The saw is off whether or not you turned it off.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Good tip

[@robertbamford8266]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking There’s nothing like resetting a breaker and watching the blade destroy a perfectly nice piece of lumber and send it flying across the room toward who knows what.

[@ejonesss]

being that the saw is a saw stop means that it is very destructive in the way it works. if it detects a threat it drops the blade into a stopping block so you have to replace both the blade and the stopping block at a price of something like $500 it may be cheaper now. so people may not utilize the safety feature because of how much it costs to replace the stopping block and blade. also i have seen in other videos where it is possible for the safety feature can trigger under some false conditions like cutting wet wood and very thing metal foils so the safety feature can be turned off. kickbacks can happen with twisted wood so you should never cut warped wood on a table saw because kickback can happen

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Cartridge is $100 or less. I’ve used the same blade that tripped a few times.

[@ejonesss]

@@RobCosmanWoodworking you are very lucky that you can re use the blade because usually when the blade strikes metal it is damaged. i think the stopper is a slug of metal. that is much better on the cost of the cartridge because either saw stop decided that $500 was too much and took a chance and reduced it down to $100 to sell more saw stops or they are selling more saw stops thereby they can afford to reduce the price or they are passing the bulk of the cost to the saw to blunt the cost of the cartridge.

[@natebellamy357]

Hi Rob, love your videos. I can't tell you how much ive learned from them. At the 14:00 minute mark of the video you mention the little tab that gets left on the offcut. What is the safest way to limit this? I find it tedious to remove it when makes doing multiple rips from one piece. Thanks again for these invaluable videos!

[@J.A.Smith2397]

The main reason i wanna upgrade is my riving knife is attatched to the back as part of a blade cover as opposed to behind the blade so i don't use it sadly...

[@justinharper6909]

Blade guard should always be on. We had our annual safety meeting today, and for Germany e.g. We had around 23.000 accidents reported with kickback, around 20.000 of those accidents were investigated, and 96% of the time, the riving knife was missing (either disassembled or old machine/Asian products that don´t even have one). Of 3455 finger/hand injuries (loss of at least a finger or the hand), 91% of the time, the blade guard was missing. There have also been 3 instances where the Saw Stop safety mechanism did not work as it should have been, resulting in devastating injury

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Riving knife, yes. Blade guard, not for me. I can avoid what I can see, yet to see a blade guard I like. Everyone can do as they see fit.

[@packetlevel]

Do the math: the saw teeth travel at over 100 MPH - that's the speed of the kicked back chunk coming at you. I like a full face shield and a wider push stick - like 2" wide, as it has more grip surface for more control, and to give some push towards the fence. Tends to get chewed up maybe more with narrow cuts, but I don't care - and also pushes the offcut all the way through.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

That’s a good technique too. Luther prefers a taller and more squarish push stick to keep his hand high away from the blade

[@waterbug1135]

Look at the blade every second it's turning unless you step away. Put when at the table saw I'm staring at the blade or that little area when I'm in motion. If I need to look another place like "Is the material against the fence?" I stop moving.

[@jeffmassot6760]

Great video that covers how to safely use the saw. I have to be honest though that I cringe most times when I see you using the saw in your videos. You usually leave your saw running as you line up the board and even walk away to do something with the saw running. While you have decades of experience and are likely very aware to remain safe. That said there are lots of beginners who are observing this practice and in their hands it is a red flag. Anyway thought I would pass that along. Always learn so much from watching your videos.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Yes i understand your comments. You must be comfortable and safe within your capabilities and your knowledge. For example my position has always been that blade guards are more dangerous than safe. But we can all improve our safety practices, even me

[@robohippy]

The engineer's conundrum: You can never invent some thing that is idiot proof because as soon as you do, some one invents a better idiot. I do stand out of the line of fire when using the table saw, as well as the lathe. Staying out of the 'kickback' zone can save you. One trip to the emergency room will cost you more than a new Saw Stop. I have a couple of friends who got the Saw Stop after they lost fingers.....

[@panos3051]

4:11 re ripping warped boards (sorry if I'm stating the obvious): use your bandsaw instead, or a jigsaw.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

The point is exactly that. Dont rip warped boards on a table saw

[@dandelie2067]

My Dad always said if your hands touch table saw top while saw blade is moving shut the saw off. And never use a long sleeve shirt with the cuffs unbottoned. My Dad lost the tips of 3 of his fingers. I work with great caution ⚠️.

[@jimpackard8059]

Where is the sawguard ?

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

Do you mean the plastic blade guard that enshrouds it?

[@TaylerMade]

i guess this is the difference between someone who is professionally trained and the average amateur. when i trained and did something stupid i got yelled at real quick. that usually meant i got put onto a really boring job so the message sunk home.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

You should never be yelled at in training. Rather explained what is going on and why you should do it a different way

[@J.A.Smith2397]

And i take it so the full tooth shows almost bottom of the gullet

[@davidcurtis5398]

I too have all of my digits and like others I have been working with a table saw for over 65 years. never have used a riving knife or saw guard and would not waste any money on a saw stop kind of a saw. Not worth it.

[@RobCosmanWoodworking]

David you represent the minority. Most woodworkers are hobbyists, limited time in the shop, “little” to “no” instruction. Sawstop will prevent the majority of table saw injuries and a splitter will prevent the rest. Glad you have been spared injury, can’t make policy around one person!

[@davidcurtis5398]

Still, wouldn't wast my money on one of these saws.@@RobCosmanWoodworking

[@saxus]

+1: Instead of SawStop, just buy a proper sliding/formating table saw. Your fingers will be nowhere near to the blade, you will have much better control over the workpiece, and you can throw out most of your jigs too. Probably even the miter saw too. And no, the slider for SawStop is just missed the point.

[@jakeo2600]

Rob, you left out one important piece of advice. NEVER walk away from the table saw while it is still powered on. Unfortunately you have a very bad habit of doing exactly that. Just sayin.