Stop doing this on the table saw

[@joelluesse4408]

I've used table saws for 40 years and I watch every table saw safety video I run across. Thank you for taking the time to do this video. Who knows how many accidents your generosity has prevented.

[@NearbyCactus]

This has to be one of the best table saw safety videos that I've watched

[@WallyGator-sm3by]

Great presentation! This should be required viewing for every shop clss. A big shout out for the L-fence. It works great. In addition to the safety factor, it gives saw dust somewhere to go instead of building up against the fence. Thanks for your time and effort in making this video.

[@stevestofiel3521]

Hands down the most useful and informative table saw safety video I have seen.

[@MikePowersTSIG]

This is the best video I've ever seen on this subject. Please watch the whole video, and please listen to the advice.

[@The282mike]

Outstanding! I have been running a table saw for 50 plus years and watch many safety videos some of which are not. This one I wish had been way back in junior high wood shop!!! Surely would have saved many injuries from happening! very good Teaching!

[@jamestierney3572]

Mike, I have been a woodworker for 45 years. I try to learn from experts like you (and Bob Van Dyke!) This video re-frames your mental stance toward the work. It is an incredibly revealing perspective. Thanks

[@victoryak86]

Super helpful. It’s too easy to think, well I’ve done it a bunch of times and nothing went wrong. Here are some proactive thoughtful alternatives to making certain cuts in ways. Probably wouldn’t have thought about.

[@Hoeech]

The same attitude is very pervasive with people who work on ladders. I've been an electrician for a long while and the folks who sustain the worse ladder related injuries are always the grizzled old veterans of the trade. Why? "I've been doing this for years. I know what I'm doing" and then promptly proceed to do something unsafe which somehow never resulted in an accident for them. The rookies have just had their orientations on ladder safety, so they're checking their slopes, tying off the ends, making sure the leaning ladder clears the top by a meter, etc., etc. I sometimes get razzed by my co-workers at how long I take setting up a ladder, but if I break a bone in a fall, I can't work. I'm taking my time and going home in one piece

[@boutellejb]

Straight and to the point, without fancy gadgets - just the theory and the solutions. Thank you!

[@johngray4651]

Straightforward, useful, and very helpful information. Thank you for the finger saving advice!

[@sueb4154]

You are a pleasure to listen to and learn from ... I would have never thought to put the fence on the opposite side of the blade, for any reason. Thank you very much for this much needed content with solutions.

[@robertcindrich9725]

Thank you for an excellent video. Happily I followed your and Van Dyke’s advice years ago and have been using both the push block you demonstrated and the L-Fence (in addition to a feather board where appropriate), all learned from reading FWW. The L-Fence super easy to build and is invaluable.

[@driftlessjoinery5059]

GREAT info here. I'll be showing this in my Intro to Woods course in September. it helps when they hear these topics from ME during demonstrations and someone else in lecture. The simple L-Fence has drastically changed the way I work and how I teach. Thanks FWW!

[@DJe1957]

Thank you very much for a clear and very educational video. I also appreciate the peaceful pace and calm tone of voice you have instead of so many channels where terrible speed and awful shouting are used in attempt to make the things said to seem important.

[@clink283]

Fantastic safety tips. Thank you for sharing such a clear and detailed explanation!!

[@kylemcgill1951]

I use a table saw regularly for my job, for the last 18 years, still got all my fingers. I’m in England, here we have crown guards fitted as standard, removes some of the functionality, but the safety aspect is worth far more to me, and we have fences that are retractable and don’t extend the full width of the table. For those of us trained for industry use, we’re taught to never extend the fence past the middle of the blade, precisely so the work cannot get get trapped at the back portion. It doesn’t eliminate the possibility of kickback, but I feel it’s a lot safer than the way I typically see machines set up in the US.

[@mcGroob_sw]

I don't believe I have ever seen a fence set up the way you described as "retractable". I'm intrigued. I often see monster fences running the full length of a deep table, but it seems like the fence length before the cut would be more important. (I can't seem to find anything like this online)

[@kylemcgill1951]

The saw I use at work is a Sedgwick TA315, if you Google it you can see exactly what I mean. When ripping long pieces you’d set the fence to project to the middle of the blade, and for cross-cutting shorter pieces you’d retract it to the forward edge of the blade or just in front of it.

[@davet6226]

@@kylemcgill1951 This can be achieved with just a shorter sacrificial fence as well, to the axis for ripping, only to the blade front or farther for crosscuts, once it acts as a stop block its job is done.

[@daleheiligenthal3988]

Excellent video! Explaining the reasons for each step is fantastic. Thank you for what you do.

[@larrywiltse6268]

I was surprised that you did not include feather boards in your discussion. I have found them to be a great aid in holding the work against the fence when used horizontally. Unfortunately, with the exception of ShopSmith, fences are not designed for making easy to use a feather board vertically to hold the work down to the table saw surface. In cutting dados feather boards place before and after the dado blade will hold the work piece safely against the fence. Of course in ripping a feather board should never be placed after the blade.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

Larry, I like to use featherboards too... can you please explain why you think they shouldn't be used beyond the blade ?... I can't see a problem... but I must be missing something if you're correct... 🤔 😎👍☘

[@larrywiltse6268]

@@peterfitzpatrick7032 if you are not using a blade guard or riving knife on a rip cut, the cut can get pinched closed.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

​@@larrywiltse6268 Thanks for replying, Larry... yeah, my small no-name tablesaw does indeed have a riving knife which I leave on the saw pretty much permanantly, probably why I've never had problems with it.. Have a blessed day, sir, I hope you are having a better summer than us this year ! 😖 From the Emerald Isle 😎👍☘🍻

[@mckenziekeith7434]

@@peterfitzpatrick7032 If you pinch the kerf closed, it is like disc brakes clamping onto a spinning rotor. This can eject the workpiece backward toward you too suddenly for you to react. Putting a featherboard at or beyond the blade while cutting can make this happen. With a dado it should be OK because the wood still has structural integrity and you can't really close the dado kerf.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

​@@mckenziekeith7434Keith, I use the featherboard vertically (preventing lift) clamped to the fence, not horizontally pushing inwards, that , as you say, would be very dangerous, .... I do sometimes also use a featherboard BEFORE the blade to hold the workpiece against the fence... I'm a retired machinist and used to using machinery and setting up clamps and fixtures so I understand the forces involved... thanks for the input ! 😎👍☘🍻

[@chrispearce6757]

Brilliant video. It has totally changed my approach to cutting along the grain. Thankyou very much.

[@woodandwheelz]

I've watched a lot of Table Saw Safety videos and found most of them to be a joke. So overly precautionary that they shouldn't even be using a table saw. I'm not scared of my table saw but I do have a very healthy respect of what can go wrong. This video is probably the BEST and thoroughly explained tutorial/educational video I've ever seen. I was taught by my father, that if anything is wider than you hand with fingers spread out, and we have large hands, then it's ok to not use a push block. So for me, that's any board wider than 9.5 inches (measured from pinky tip to thumb tip). Much larger than 3 inches. But even then I find myself either still keeping my hand close to the fence or using a push stick. Excuse me, a push block. Sticks are something you throw for the dog. Anyway, my point is that this is a great video and I definitely learned somethings for ways that I haven't had to cut yet. But when I do, I'll know how. Thank you and God bless.

[@dennisbracci9212]

Best table saw video i have seen. Thank you

[@bruceb9515]

Great video! I've been a carpenter for 30 years. 2 years ago I ran my thumb and index finger through the blade on a free hand cut (no fence). 100% my fault, as the saying goes "familiarity breeds contempt". I was lucky, i kept both my fingers, took over a year for the nerve endings to settle down from the electric feeling my fingers had, I have permanent nerve damage on parts of both finger's, meaning I have no feeling. Makes it real difficult holding a screw or threading a nut on a bolt for example. I was damn lucky...

[@flt528]

This is an excellent video that goes beyond basic table saw safety - thank you!! I would just like to offer an alternative to question 2: "Can I do this with hand tools?" That's actually the FIRST question I always ask myself before plugging in the table saw. A bevel is really easy to cut with a jack plane. A rabbet is slightly trickier but not too difficult with a rabbet plane. An octagon is not difficult with a plane, and so on. It becomes a habit - "I'm just gonna do this with hand tools" becomes the default approach, and the dangerous power tool poses no threat because it sits there unplugged.

[@markhopkins7204]

Much thanks for this valuable info..making my "L" fence today! Thanks for sharing!

[@ericcommarato7727]

One of the best FWW videos in a while. Thank you for posting this Mike. This is a lifesaver.

[@brianhmonks]

Mike, great video. You have definitely saved some woodworkers from losing a finger or serious bodily injury. Thank you. Brian

[@Johnny19O]

Excellent video on table saw safety. Great job!

[@rrmerlin3402]

" Anything over 3 inches was ok, I'm not that way anymore " After 40 years and thousands of cuts, I'm not that way anymore also. I thought I was just becoming scared ( never an injury )of my table saw and not getting wiser. Thank you

[@martindicken7894]

Great video. Inexpensive and smart safety. I like the idea of sacrificial stock on the high fence to bring the blade into on bevel cuts. Next time I get the chance I am going to make the push bar you showed. I might glue a small piece of sandpaper to the end just to help rotational control without marring the stock.

[@TrainFlood]

Great tip on the octagon! I definitely found myself doing that sketchy unsafe move.

[@barriowoodworks]

Very prevalent in pattern plywood designs. This is one best safety vides I’ve seen.

[@Hoeech]

I have a very limited workshop space, so I'm forced to use benchtop versions of most tools, including my table saw. It had never occurred to me that the fence could be flipped around an positioned on the left side of the blade to make those beveled cuts safer. Every time I had to make one, I was white-knuckling it the whole time, making sure I had taken every possible step I could to prevent a kickback without realizing I could have eliminated the possibility of trapping the workpiece entirely. I cannot thank you enough for that

[@brettwilson9181]

Great job. Thanks so much. This should be required watching before you use a table saw. We need more attention on safety.

[@jimbates3557]

Great instructions! Definitely helps me be more mindful..

[@prspastor]

Thanks Mike! Appreciate every safety video FWW does.

[@tomhoworth9768]

Excellent video , Mike. An L-fence is definitely on my todo list. I second the earlier comment about featherboards. They are a huge help and easy to make. I use the plastic hedgehog version that is very easy to adjust.

[@chrisemens4022]

Love the two options for bevels/ chamfers, they always make me pucker a bit. What about the offcut when the piece moves away from the blade. Is the hope that it just breaks off.

[@carltonharvey3818]

Excellent video. I do both rabbits and octogons with my table saw. A L fence is my next project. Thank you for this video

[@MurraydeLues]

A great reminder to think before you turn the saw on.

[@MsLorisM]

No need to repeat any of the positive comments. I just want to say thank you. "Is it trapped between the blade and the fence?" My new mantra.

[@WoodAndRailFan]

My new mantra as well, right after "Is the saw unplugged? before making any changes or adjustments that involve contact with the blade.

[@michaelgriffith5119]

Thank you so much for this. Great help. I literally needed this video right now.

[@christene503]

Great video, Mike! Thank you.

[@PoeticJusticeSC]

Excellent video. Thank you!

[@bristleconepinus2378]

I always use a sacrificial fence, rather than sacrificing my fingers. You cannot be too careful. I move the fence to the opposite side of the blade and angle the blade into the sacrificial fence, you do get a trapped offcut but stand out of the way. It's nice to make jigs if you are using the same process often, safer and it saves time in the long run.

[@fantinwoodworking]

So good. Thanks Mike!!

[@rifleman1873]

Very well done. Thanks for the reminders.

[@robertcampbell6253]

You are a good teacher

[@tickfarmwoodworks]

Claasss, give me that blade. Humor aside, a great video! Some things I knew, and some I didn't. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge.

[@joseescoto9069]

Bonus Pekovich content, even in the form of a safety video is always appreciated

[@robertsmith3518]

My Lady Kenmore table saw is over 35 yrs young . Never had it bite me . I respect the spinning blade . It works 100% of the time . Good luck

[@bhut1571]

Thanks. Heard my grandfather scream. He had run the length of his thumb down the sawblade; he split his thumb all the way to the base joint. There was a bottle of "Old Vienna" beer on the table saw. It was popular in Ontario in the 50's.

[@davidkenagy8706]

The video has an important assumption: the saw will be used without its manufacturer's guard. While there are cuts for which the guard can't be used, the reality (for many of us) is that the guard isn't in place. The video's safety tips give practical advice on safety tips without the guard. On a more amusing note, I appreciate when someone talking about table saw safety uses the phrase, "as a rule of thumb..."

[@dangnify]

Thanks Mike excellent info!

[@markperry1403]

Thanks. Really informative.

[@ljackson8220]

Good info.

[@Bo-wz8vr]

what about the off cuts on the bevel and especially the panel raising? that's trapped and free wheeling altogether. with the blade buried its not coming up but its still shooting out right?

[@AlceuCosta]

Great video. Thank you!

[@MarioG2912]

Dropping knowledge!

[@alandesgrange9703]

Actually, those push sticks that come with the table saw are great,........for my bandsaw.

[@FineWoodworking]

Same! -Ben

[@DamianDArienzo]

Excellent video. Thanks.and a new subscriber now :)

[@walterrider9600]

thank you

[@richardweiler1552]

FWW is the bright floodlight showing you your car in the crowded , dark parking garage of woodworking video content.

[@Fabianorocknwood]

Great!

[@mckenziekeith7434]

On my saw, the blade tilt direction is to the right, into the fence (when the fence is in the normal position). It is an older Unisaw.

[@erickdanielsson6710]

Thank you, logical tips. I will employ them...

[@patricksalter5412]

So, where were you 44 years ago when I had my accident? 😊 just kidding. I tell people that I may not be able to count to ten but I’ve gotten better at fractions 😅. Excellent video, as usual. I’ve been putting off making the “L” fence. Going to start Monday.

[@davidness7523]

Great video. One subject I've not seen covered in a You Tube video is table saw safety for left handed people. The table saw is a very right handed tool. Other than moving the fence to the other side of the blade, what's a lefty to do? I'm not left handed, but many on my wife's side are, including her. Maybe there's a left handed FWW staffer/contributor who can address this. Just a thought.

[@williammiller9584]

Lefty here. When using the fence, I stand to the right of it, guiding the work with a push pad or equivalent in my left hand. This gets my body out of the line of fire of a kickback. I use the blade guard whenever possible, because mine is fitted with dust collection, and I also use a zero-clearance throat plate to keep narrow off cuts from slipping between the blade and the throat plate. HTH

[@IndianaJBird]

There some good info in here, it’s easy to be complacent. The grout float is a nice idea. Perhaps don’t use one with a metal base. 12:03

[@brucewelty7684]

Excellent on kickback. How about ejection? I am now at the rabbit point.

[@VinceEspositoJr]

Thank you.

[@hdjg1]

Dismissing a push stick is crazy. A push stick keeps your hand behind the blade. The push pads you recommend mean your hand passes very close to the blade. The idea of pads and sticks is to keep your hand a min of 300mm from the rotating blade. The rip fence you are using is ok for man made sheet materials, but dangerous for timber. When ripping timber the front end of the fence should not pass beyond the gullet of the blade at the point where the gullet meets the timber at the bed level at the start of the cut. Ideally the rip fence should have a quarter circle cut out in it at its leading edge. Having the rip fence past the back of the blade for timber means the timber wiil push against the fence and then push the riving knife over and the into the back of the rotating blade. Raise the blade to help reduce kick-back. Please,please use a crown guard.

[@peterfitzpatrick7032]

Best tip I'd give is don't play music in the shop, ESPECIALLY using earbuds... 😲 Another scary one I saw was a guy using the tablesaw whilst wearing a hoodie with those chords hanging from the hood... I've gotten into the habit of removing them on ALL my whorshop hoodies... 😎👍☘

[@robertj1701]

Why not use the bandsaw for the octagon???

[@spekenbonen72]

As someone with PTSS, from a situation which happened in school, where my shopteacher accidentally put his hand in the milling machine during A SAFETY LESSON, I approve of this video. Do not Ef around with powertools and shop equipment.... (I did get my carpenter's diploma. And a joinery/furniture building diploma, but my career was "fokked". Now I need to hire people for shit I learned in school. So yeah...fok around with tools and find out...)

[@mestiza1776]

Can anyone answer if you can use a blade guard with dado sets?

[@FineWoodworking]

Depends on the blade guard. If it's attached the riving knife, no.

[@mestiza1776]

@@FineWoodworking thank you!!!

[@riksanders5606]

Great video with a simple explanation of good theory and principles. My chances of joining the nine fingered woodworker community have just been lowered

[@Mark-jd1fr]

I don't use tall narrow push blocks--too much potential to tip and if your pushing down can put your hand into blade.

[@MrSharper802]

Great video. I’ve never seen anyone do rabbet cut with the dado blade away from the fence. That’s just horrible technique. Always bury the dado stack. Only disagreement is that the Grr-Gripper is an amazing all in one push block.

[@thijspluis9998]

but when you cut chamfers on the tablesaw and parsialy through the cut you veer off, you have the offcut trapped on the other side of the blade. then what?

[@davidw2014]

That was my concern. How to avoid the off-cut from getting trapped and becoming a missile. Moving the fence back between cuts to clear them out may work but would affect repeatability. Still this was a useful video, to really think about how to use auxiliary fences to make safer cuts.

[@paulcharles8921]

A 21 minute video, a good video, but absolutely no mention of guards and anti-kickback pawls. Sounds like too much confidence in the SawStop.

[@robertsmith3518]

I have no paws ,no knife , but I use Jessem wheels ,Grippers push stick . Only a few splinters . No ER visits

[@MatchaMakesThings]

First? Thank you for making great videos FWW. Appreciate you all making content!

[@danielspain7231]

If I had a table saw, I probably would be too scared to use it 😅

[@Take-the-Ticket]

They are kind of like cars and guns in that one slip up can change your life forever. You just have to remember that and take all the precautions, never get too comfortable with it.

[@garyring8306]

The l fence makes sense do not understand it not contacting yhr table keeping it normal to the table surface and not flexing. Maybe i am missing something but as a retired design engineer it makes me cringe as much as the wrong way cutting as this flexing. Just a small contact point of the edge of the board.

[@markneedham752]

Now.😂 Now, you bastards.😢 Me, with two less fingers.😅😅😊 Mate it was quick, damned quick...and they've gone.😮😊

[@jimspence0]

So, what you're saying is that the most dangerous thing at the table saw is the operator. Cool, that's good to know. Makes me wonder how a man like myself who has NEVER used a pushpad still has all his fingers after over 45 yrs of using said table saw. Guess I'm just lucky cause everyone knows it's actually the saw that's the issue and not the idiot. Wait a minute.....

[@acek100]

just use a router table for rabbet cuts

[@siamaklighvani3951]

Excellent, problem is that since 1930 or so the design of table saw has not been changed / improved, the ambient light should be bright , most of the time happens on shabby workshops also the machine and blade that we are feeding start grabbing and the work piece start to be grabbed by the blade and very fast the workpiece will go without our expectations.this task is two men job not one man .

[@alessandrobisco5523]

Important: this video is only for Sawstop table saw

[@FineWoodworking]

Why do you say that?

[@alessandrobisco5523]

@@FineWoodworking because you show some cuts with your hand at few cm from the blade .... Very dangerous if it's not a Sawstop table saw

[@pgtips4240]

I have definitely learned from this video especially regarding making the non push stick cuts and adaptations. However I have a niggly concern that no one ever seems to acknowledge when it comes to safety and that is the design of a push stick. The design you favoured is ok and yes it gives control of the stock when ripping but what is does not do and non of these designs do is keep your hand far enough away from the blade. All of these shoe type designs involve passing your hand from front to back of a rotating blade. Yet the humble long push stick ie the only one that keeps you hand far away from the blade is despised. I fully understand the concerns and dangers when using a push stick and the way most people use them I would agree with the potential dangers. But why does no one ever think to use two longer push sticks? I do this and I can tell you I have very good control of the stock and yet my hands are still comfortably far enough away from the blade, actually if used correctly I am physically outwith the reach of the blade so whatever accident that occurs it's not going to involve my fingers and a blade. This benefit cannot be overstated it's huge!! Secondly if a kick back happened while using two push sticks correctly then there is a chance the second push stick would deflect the stock from it's trajectory towards the saw operator. The shoe push stick that everyone uses is more hazardous imho. No one ever mentions the potential for it to be flipped on it's side while your hand is parallel to the blade. As you rightly pointed out it happens so fast that there is no time to react. I am not saying I am immune to an accident but I have used this method of two push sticks since I was in my teens and I am now 52. I can 100% assure you it does not fail in the way others claim it does. It would only have potential to fail when someone does not understand how to use them imo. I can assure you that there is nothing better that that 2nd push stick for holding the front end of the stock firmly against the fence. So this is my 10 cents to the safety argument. This is not to take anything away from your excellent and well explained video, everything you said was correct but I would just stop short of throwing away the push stick albeit the ones supplied with saws are definitely not the best. Take care. 😊