10 Ways to Avoid Table Saw Accidents

There are thousands of brands of table saws available in the market. This tool is widely used by the woodworkers. Number of studies revealed that significant number of accidents represents the people who are involved in the power tool occupation particularly operators.   

Power tool mainly deals with sharp objects like saw blade, nail gun, utility knives, and drill, etc. Major types of injuries are laceration, amputation, permanent damage of the human organs, paralysis. Sometimes the victims end up with deaths.

There are some basic safety aspects you should be aware of and comply with strictly to avoid such unwanted accidents in the workplace or homes. 

There have been number of studies carried out on this issue, especially injuries from saws revealing alarming scenario validated by statistics. 

However, let’s discuss about 10 ways to avoid table saw accidents so that you become aware of the issues if you are involved in such occupation or planning to implement woodworking project with table saw. 

Overview

A table saw also called sawbench or bench saw is a power-driven woodworking tool, comprised of circular saw blade, mounted on an arbor, used to cut the woods and other materials from the top of the table as defined by Wikipedia. The depth of the cut is varied by vertical and horizontal movement of the blade. The higher the blade overhangs above the table, the deeper the cut is made through the material. 

There are different types of table saw including benchtop, jobsite, compact, contractor, cabinet, hybrid, mini and micro and sliding available in the market. 

It’s known from Wikipedia that the 1885 catalog of W.F & John Barnes Co., Rockford, II showed a classic table labeled as a Hand Powered Circular Rip Saw. The table saw was designed in 18th century following the circular saw that was invented in 16th or17th century. 

Different studies recorded that significant number of injuries occur every year from table saw. A study conducted by Kevin C. Chung, and Melissa J. Shauver published in November 2013. They reviewed a literature named “PubMed and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature” to compile epidemiology data relevant to table saw injuries. They also reviewed the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s briefing package on table saw blade contact injuries. 

However, it’s been estimated that as many as 9.5 million table saws are in use in the United States alone reported by The Power Tool Institute, a consumer product trade group as the study revealed. This study also reported that over 30,000 injuries occur every year from table saw. Over 85% injuries accounts from saw blade while the most common category of injuries are cut of fingers and hands and laceration. The injured people are mostly represents the younger age group. minors, who participated in school shop classes also got injured, though the number was negligible.  An estimated medical cost to be more than $ 2 billion annually concluded by the study. Table below shows injury by category and age in percentage.

Table Saw-attributable Injuries Sustained By Adult and Minor Patients

*Other injuries include abrasion, contusion, foreign body, burn, and electrical shock.

Note: Final edited version of this article is available Plast Resonstr Surg

Ways to Avoid Table Saw Accidents

From the overview you have realized how table saw could be dangerous and can expose you to severe injuries. The final consequences might be ended up with permanent disability and even death unless you strictly adhere to all recommended safety aspects. Let’s take a look to the leading causes of accidents and mitigations to prevent such unwanted incidents before and during operation of table saw.

1. Training of Operators

Organize training for the operators on table saw and its operations. Allow them to practice adequately. Confirm that they are properly educated and quite capable and confident about operation of the table saw. Certification is important that the trained operators are now quite fit to operate the tool. 

2. Study Manufacturer’s Instruction Manual

Before operation, operators should closely study manufacturer’s instruction manual so that they are aware of safety issues and operational aspects of the saw. 

3. Wear Safety Gear

Wearing safe gear has no alternate to be protected from accidents. The following safety gears you must wear: 

• Wear tight fitting outfit and they should not be full sleeves. Loose fitting clothing may expose you to accidents and saw-roll may grab your full sleeves. 
• Wear standard non-slip shoes as appropriate while working with saw
• Wear ear protection device to avoid massive noise generated from table saw.  
• Avoid hand gloves as you may fail to have proper grip into your working materials. 
• Wear standard eye shield to be protected from eye injury that may occur from chips and dust.
• Never wear jewelry or wrist watch while operating tools to prevent those stuff from coming into contact with the tool 

4. Inspect Your Workplace Compliance and Machine’s Set-up

• Inspect your workshop whether they have met all safety compliance including power connection, dry floor, present of fire extinguisher, protected surroundings, proper ventilation, non-existence of any inflammable items like chemical substance, cleanliness etc. 
• Make sure there is no loose connection of the parts into your saw. Make sure saw is properly clamped with the table before operation. And the blade is tightly fitted. 
• Check out main power source and power connection to avoid short-circuit, fire and electrocution.
• Make sure there is no wire or other messy stuff in the floor from which your feet may get tangled and you may expose to fall injury.  

5. Position Yourself Correctly to the Saw and Use Push Stick to Keep Hands Away From Spinning Blade

During operation of table saw, you may have to deal with most common types of cuts like crosscut, rip cut and dado cuts. Make sure that you are away behind the blade and keep safe distance from the moving blade which might catch accidently your hands. It’s safer to step to side a little to divert the board bounce back to you if even kickback occurs. 

Use push stick to move the workpiece instead of directly using hand to take it out. Make sure operator maintains proper posture to avoid hand injury from running blade. 

Avoid keeping your hand on each side or near the blade while pushing the miter sled forward. Apply forward pressure to only one side to be safe from cut of hands. 

Never use both hands to hold the miter gauge and the fence at a time during dude cuts. Make sure that the dado stack is supported by the saw. Also take care of correct throat plate width and clearance on the arbor to avoid accidents. 

6. Never Seize the Blade Guard

Table saw is assembled with built-in blade guard with a splitter. The function of the guard is to prevent the accidental touch while the splitter keeps the workpiece away from getting tensed on the blade. Thus the blade guard prevents the incidence of kick back. So, never seize the blade guard. Kick back often causes broken bones, tendons or dithering ligaments, etc.   

Always prefer SawStop brand while purchasing. This model only has the ability to stop the blade while coming in contact to skin. Use push stick while ripping with the blade less than four inches in width. After operation, let the blade to stop spinning completely.  

7. Safer Ways to Kick Out Kickback

• Anti-kickback pawls could be a great protection to avoid kickback. Anti-kickback pawl’s teeth set reverse side to the direction your workpiece moves. These teeth bite into wood while kickback happens and thus it diverts kickback from coming back towards you to hurt. 
• Always allow the rubbish to wind up on the reverse side of the blade instead of fence. This safety technique prevents kickback. 
• Prefer Cross cutting sledge or miter gauge to use to have protective crosscut. 
• Avoid curved, bent or wet board to rip.  
• Stand to either side of the saw slots instead of directly standing behind the blade. Don’t allow passerby to pass behind you while operating. 

8. Use of Riving Knife

Riving knife is like a surfboard made of this piece of metal. Some situations arise during operation of table saw when riving knife tackles the problem efficiently. For example, sometimes the fences might get out of the alignment leading the waste piece approach towards the backside of the blade. Or normal stresses in the wood grain may cause the material to spring back. In such situations, riving knife prevents the wood from getting stuck from the back side of the saw while drifting away from the fence and reduces the incidence of kickback. 

9. Regular Maintenance, Repair and Replacement of Table Saw

This area is extremely important to regularly check out all parts and accessories to make sure your tool is in order. Go for repair if any problem detected and replace your tool if necessary. Never work with obsolete or defective tool to be protected from accidents and workplace hazard. Consult with your manufacturer to comply with all warranty agreement and legal coverage. 

10. Prefer Trusted Brand While Buying Your Saw

As you know there are over thousands of brands in the power tool industry and the markets are over flooded with low quality products. So, it’s important for you to research first about the brands, their product description, reviews, ratings and consult experts to be sure that you are going to pick the right one. Otherwise, it would hurt you back, lots of frustration like a kickback.  And your investment all has gone in vain. Never make yourself vulnerable to such incidences just to save some money. 

Additional Tips 

You can also visit OSHA regulation of US Department of Labor, titled by “Wood working machinery requirement” to be aware of the wood working tools’ safety. 

Concluding Remarks

I hope you have realized the severity of the accidents occurs from table saw. If you are DIYer or involved somehow in this occupation, you should give a serious thought on this issue. You may go through some study reports to perceive the magnitude of the problems. 

At the same time, numbers of articles are available on the safety aspects with regard to operating power tools, especially saws along with manufacturers’ instruction manuals. Read those documents and train yourself so that you never have to count yourself in the victims list. 

The hope is that if you properly operate the tool, the tool will give the best to sell your skills worldwide. 

If you have any comments and suggestion, please use the comment section to leave them and contact us if necessary. 

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