I thought I have done some stupid/risky things with tools. That guy must want to lose some fingers.

Ultimate shop magic trick... and a real product

Those saws are amazing. I saw the end result last year at a scene shop when the guy showed me a blade and cartridge after the blade had retracted. This metal brake had been pushed into the blade at the same instant the blade was retracted. It ruined both the blade and the cartridge but saved someone's hand.

That's like magic. How does it know?

I can just imagine how quick that the loud pop of that blade stop would get your attention. Gonna need some new shorts for sure.

Here you go...

http://www.sawstop.com/why-sawstop/the-technology

I had my first accident ever in a table saw this month building a set. I was ripping plywood into 12" strips and reached across the blade (stupid) and when the guy receiving the wood pulled, I instinctively reached further to grab it (yep....stupid). I cut to the bone and essentially removed my index finger print. The good news is that with a coupple layers left to go, it's nearly healed back to normal. I got lucky!

Now in MY shop, the table saw has the guard on, although a saw stop would still be cool to have!

Between gimpy, Michael Baker, Oz, Chris, and me, this is starting to sound like that scene on the boat in Jaws.

What a fantastic piece of equipment. What a great example of combining the old with the new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLjNzwEULG8

This one gives me goosebumps every time. And not in a good way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMl1NbR0h_A

Safety glasses and ear protection are a must.
Table saw for long stock is fine. Radial arm saw for cross cuts I find to be very safe.
When cutting small pieces always use holders and pushers and never let the hands come close to a spinning blade.

David

I have looked into getting a SawStop - what a great idea! What they don't tell you about the SawStop is that it is a complete set - saw and blade stop. The device cannot be fitted to the table saw you now own. Every time it goes off, you have to replace both the blade and the entire safety unit. Cheaper than having fingers reattached, but still ridiculously expensive, especially when I consider how many years I saved up to buy the Delta Contractor's saw I now own.

My nephew was in shop class in high school. As he talked with a friend, he noticed that the person who was ripping an 8' 2x4 was allowing the leading edge to rise upwards. Just as he nudged his friend to point out the problem, the 2x4 caught and was thrown 20' backwards, embedding itself halfway through a cinder block wall. These machines have the power of a large gun, with an even larger shell. I have been hit with 1/4" plywood that I was cutting on a cabinet company's saw where I worked at that time. The gliding carriage had been knocked 1/8" out of alignment. I never came into contact with anything but the ply, but the cuts on my hands from the edges of the wood took a while to heal.

Speaking of X-Acto blades, I used to work as a paste-up artist at a local newspaper (back when they did that). My metal triangle developed a nick in the edge that I didn't realize until it allowed the blade to catch and ride along the triangle's top surface, removing the side of my index finger's tip. 1/4" wide and 3/4" long area was suddenly missing. In the tradition of a good past-up artist, the first thing I instinctively did was to grab my finger with the right hand and remove it from the work surface to avoid getting blood on the work. Took a while to heal, but all systems are again working as designed.

Roger the safety glasses with the X-Acto. I cannot tell you how many tips have bounced off of my glasses over the years. One device that I advise is an X-Acto sharpener. Works like an electric pencil sharpener, but grinds away the back edge of the blade to offer a new, sharp section of the blade. When sharpened, the blade no longer comes to such an acute angle, making it less likely to break off the tip - not impossible, but less likely.

I belong to a local woodworking club, so we members have access to all major equipment - table saw, jointer, planer, shaper, jig saw, drill press, lathe, routers, etc.

I never wear any rings there. I cringe when I see someone operating a lathe or drill press with a ring on one of their fingers.

When I instruct people in using the jointer, I tell them to use grip blocks to guide the wood through the cutting area. If this is impractical and they use their hands, I tell them not to push downwards through the cutting area, but instead across it.

The shaper is a very dangerous machine. The key is to set it up so that your wood is 100% secured when passing through the cutting blades. Your fingers should never get anywhere close to the cutters if you set it up safely.

When operating a lathe, the wood also needs to be secured firmly so that there is no chance at all it will wiggle loose. For large diameter objects, the speed should be adjusted to its lowest before turning; for smaller diameter objects, the speed can be set faster. When I set the tool rest, I spin the object to make sure it clears all the way before turning the lathe on. I keep my tools sharp and take frequent breaks to sharpen them on the grinder. I get the tool rest as close as possible to the piece and use leverage on the tool to make gouging material off as easy as possible.

I always use two push sticks when running smaller pieces on a table saw. And always, eye protection.