table saw kickback

[aggromere]

In working with my new byrnes table saw sometimes small pieces that i am cutting get kicked off the saw. I use a big push block so i am no were near the blade. But I must admit when a piece goes flying it gives me quite a scare. I have read a few things about kick back so I guess it is just part of using a table saw. My questions are:

Is there anything you can do to avoid kickback?

Also, do you guys spend some time looking all around for pieces you need for a pen that got kicked off the saw or do you put something up to catch it when it goes flying?

Probably stupid questions but just curious.

 

[gketell]

Google for "vacuum rip fence". That helps immensely. Then make a sled so the piece doesn't have to slide on the table. That will help keep it from falling. Make sure the sled has support on either side of the blade so the cut piece doesn't fall sideways into the blade.

Make sure to wear a face shield if you keep having issues. You'd hate to have one of those pieces ruin your day.

Good luck!
GK

 

[jttheclockman]

Peter

You are finding out why I posted what I did in another post when I said do not be fooled into a false sense of security because it is a small saw. It still is a blade spinning at a high rate of speed. Safety glases are a must. You mentioned push sticks. One thing and not sure how you are getting kick back weather it is using a fence of the miter gauge. But if it is in use with the fence, you need to make sure you fence is at least parallel with the blade or slightly open in the back end. If you are using the miter gauge to cut small pieces, it is when the piece is pushed past the blade that will give the kickback because it is the backside of the blade that will throw the piece. If you could use a sled with hold down clamps it would be a whole lot safer. Do not use the miter gauge in conjunction with the fence because if you get a piece caught between the fence and the blade it will definetly kickback on you. You can do this operation if you use a stop block on the fence. I am not sure how much tablesaw experience you have but what is applied to a full size saw goes for a small hobby saw such as that. Not sure if this is any help to you but good luck and work safely.

 

[leehljp]

What John said above. Especially this part: Do not use the miter gauge in conjunction with the fence because if you get a piece caught between the fence and the blade it will definetly kickback on you.

Cross cutting pieces that are trapped between the fence and blade are dangerous. Narrow rip pieces that are short also produce the same results.

 

[rherrell]

Peter, all my push sticks are "sacrificial". What I mean is, when I push a piece through my Byrnes saw I put the stick right in the middle of the cut. I make my sticks about 3/8" thick so that leaves 3/16" on each side. After about 20 cuts I reshape the end on my bandsaw. I shape them with a "birds mouth" cut.
I also turn the saw off before removing the stick. This can be a PITA on the Byrnes because of the switch location, but I solved that problem by moving the switch to the left side of the saw. Now I can push with my right hand and at the same time keep my left hand on the switch, ready to turn it off when I finish the cut.:wink:

 

[workinforwood]

The blade must be parallel with the saw. The back being a hair wider is incorrect. The back being wider causes kickback on the outside of the blade and causes the wood at the front of the blade to pull inwards which is often how people loose finger tips. Accuracy is obtained by truing the blade in all directions. Thin strips are cut using a jig, see the indian blanket tutorial on the home page for an example of a strip jig. Always stand to the left side of the blade, never directly behind the saw. As already stated, wear your saftey equipment to at least protect your eyes. always tune your saw with a new blade in place, not a used blade. Clean your blade regualarly. Plug the sing, spray some oven cleaner on the blade and fill the sink with a few inches of water and let it soak, then scrub the blade with a soft plastic bristle brush, dry the blade and then spray the blade with a blade or tablesaw lubricant, such as dry-coat. Gum on the blade causes kickback and un-even flow of wood through the saw. All pretty basic stuff. I think Rockler is the place that sells a tablesaw adjuster bolt. It is a great thing to own and cheap to buy. It's like a clamp that clamps on the body of the saw, with a bolt through it. You loosen the back bolts on the arbor section under the table. you tighten the bolt in the clamp which pushes the arbor section one way or the other depending which side it is mounted. Once the saw is in tune, you re-tighten the arbor bolts. The adjuster bolt holds it in place so when you re-tighten the saw, it doesn't move. It's nice to have an adjuster bolt on each side. Not only do they make it easier to fine tune the saw, they help prevent it from going out of whack again. Usually the saw goes out of whack due to tilting the blade. The tilting can cause some minor stress on the body of the saw, resulting in the saw going out of tune. Clean inside the saw at least twice a year too. The threaded rods get all gummy with dust and debry, even more so if cutting acrylics.

 

[Rifleman1776]

What John said above. Especially this part: Do not use the miter gauge in conjunction with the fence because if you get a piece caught between the fence and the blade it will definetly kickback on you.

Cross cutting pieces that are trapped between the fence and blade are dangerous. Narrow rip pieces that are short also produce the same results.

Lot of good advice given.
But, pay special attention to what Hank wrote above.
Keep in mind that the fence is a RIP fence. Using the RIP fence to cross cut small pieces will cause kickbacks. DAMHIK.
Learning experiences can be painful.

 

[rodsaw]

Kickback on tablesaws, micro or full size, is caused by the wood getting pinched between the blade and fence. This can be caused by using the miter gauge and the fence at the same as Hank and John mentioned. The other cause is the blade and fence not being parallel. There are three ways the blade and fence can be oriented:

1. The back edge of the blade closer to the fence than the front of the blade- this is the dangerous situation for kickback. As the wood passes the blade the space between the blade and fence gets narrower and the wood can get caught on the saw teeth, lifting the wood off of the table and forcing the wood to kickback. Sometimes the kickback is caused by the wood being caught by the gullet on blade rather than the tooth face.
2. The back edge of the blade is farther from the fence than the front. Although this situation can cause kickback from the wood getting caught by the blade gullet, this occurs with extreme differences between front and back. In this situation you will more likely just have a poor finish on the cut edge with some burning possible.
3. Parallel to the fence-this is what we are looking for to avoid kickback.

There's a debate on whether setting the blade exactly parallel or slightly (1/64") wider at the back edge is better. The idea of having the back edge wider is to allow the wood some space for it to move due to the heat from cutting causing the wood to swell. There are several articles and books that discuss this, but the main thing is that we want to absolutely avoid having the back of the blade closer to the fence than the front.

Here's what you want to check on your saw-
First check that the blade is parallel to the miter slots. I don't know if the Brynes saw has adjustments to make sure that the blade is parallel, but I would think that it must. If not, I would contact Brynes--

The second thing is check that the fence is parallel to the miter slots/blade.

Once those two adjustments are made, you should be able to cut kickback free.

 

[jttheclockman]

The blade must be parallel with the saw. The back being a hair wider is incorrect. The back being wider causes kickback on the outside of the blade and causes the wood at the front of the blade to pull inwards which is often how people loose finger tips. I will disagree with this statement but that is just me. Better to be a hair out than a hair in. Accuracy is obtained by truing the blade in all directions. Thin strips are cut using a jig, see the indian blanket tutorial on the home page for an example of a strip jig. Always stand to the left side of the blade, never directly behind the saw. As already stated, wear your saftey equipment to at least protect your eyes. always tune your saw with a new blade in place, not a used blade. Clean your blade regualarly. Plug the sing, spray some oven cleaner This is not good to use if it is a carbide blade. It will eat away at the weld. I have been using Simple Green on the blade and fill the sink with a few inches of water and let it soak, then scrub the blade with a soft plastic bristle brush, dry the blade and then spray the blade with a blade or tablesaw lubricant, such as dry-coat. Gum on the blade causes kickback and un-even flow of wood through the saw. All pretty basic stuff. I think Rockler is the place that sells a tablesaw adjuster bolt. It is a great thing to own and cheap to buy. It's like a clamp that clamps on the body of the saw, with a bolt through it. You loosen the back bolts on the arbor section under the table. you tighten the bolt in the clamp which pushes the arbor section one way or the other depending which side it is mounted. Once the saw is in tune, you re-tighten the arbor bolts. The adjuster bolt holds it in place so when you re-tighten the saw, it doesn't move. It's nice to have an adjuster bolt on each side. Not only do they make it easier to fine tune the saw, they help prevent it from going out of whack again. Usually the saw goes out of whack due to tilting the blade. The tilting can cause some minor stress on the body of the saw, resulting in the saw going out of tune. Clean inside the saw at least twice a year too. The threaded rods get all gummy with dust and debry, even more so if cutting acrylics.

Not sure how this saw is set up because I have never seen one in person but if this is a direct drive they are a bit different to align then a belt driven saw. I am sure there is a instruction booklet that came with it and explains how to properly tune your saw and hope that was the first thing you did. Anyway have fun and work safe and hopefully we see some fine work shown here.