First pen since the "incident"

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nevyen

nevyen

Member
Joined
Jul 27, 2009
Messages
49
Location
Ludington, MI
The is the pen that nearly took my left index finger two weeks ago. The bark or the small twig coming off the blank snagged the table saw blade and it twisted out of my hand. Fortunately I have the reflexes of a slow arthritic cat, and only got the tip of my finger chewed up some. The wood is lilac on an Olympian II. Six coats of medium CA mm'd to 12000

Timothy
 

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Nice looking pen, and I know all about table saws, I lost 1/2 of an index finger and most use of the middle finger, making a pen for my Doctor.
 
nevyen said:
The bark or the small twig coming off the blank snagged the table saw blade and it twisted out of my hand.
Click to expand...

Is the prop in your picture the rest of your original blank? Were you cutting a round blank on the table saw?

I cut two of my fingers years ago on a table saw, and I never use one the table saw now without using a push stick or push block, especially when cutting something as small as a pen blank.

The pen looks very nice.
 
VisExp said:
Is the prop in your picture the rest of your original blank? Were you cutting a round blank on the table saw?

yes I was. the pen is actually resting on the twig that most likely caught the blade. I'll be cutting/breaking off any twigs I find on wood from now on, as well as scraping off any loose bark.
Click to expand...
 
Ouch!

I've been working with power tools all my life. I work in a carpentry shop on a military base. I was cutting a small piece of plywood on the table saw the other day. I was taking time to set everything up just right. Face shield, push block and guards on the saw. One of the younger guys said, "you look like you're afraid of that saw". Keep a healthy respect for power saws.
 
nevyen said:
VisExp said:
Is the prop in your picture the rest of your original blank? Were you cutting a round blank on the table saw?
Click to expand...

yes I was. the pen is actually resting on the twig that most likely caught the blade. I'll be cutting/breaking off any twigs I find on wood from now on, as well as scraping off any loose bark.
Click to expand...

Tim, ripping a round piece of wood on either a table saw or a band saw without the use of an appropriate sled is very dangerous. In the case of the table saw, the chance of a kickback is highly likely. I would imagine that is what happened to you. Kickback occurs when the teeth at the back of the blade catch the wood as they come up through the table. As they do this they throw the workpiece back at you, normally dragging your fingers across the blade.

With the limited depth of a table saw using a sled to cut a round blank is fairly impractical. You are better off to use a sled on a band saw to do this.

Another thing which could have caused the kickback is an uneven surface against the fence. It sounds like you were cutting a small rough log on the saw. If so, the surface running against the fence was not perfectly straight and so as you fed the piece through the uneven surface could have pushed the back of the piece into the blade causing a kickback. Generally when cutting on the table saw you need two flat surfaces, one riding on the table and the other riding against the fence.
 
I'm glad you are all right, except for a sore finger. Thanks for sharing the story. We all need to be reminded every so often that we should be scared of, or at least respectful of, sharp spinning pieces of metal :eek:.

The pen looks great! :biggrin:
 
VisExp said:
Tim, ripping a round piece of wood on either a table saw or a band saw without the use of an appropriate sled is very dangerous. In the case of the table saw, the chance of a kickback is highly likely. I would imagine that is what happened to you. Kickback occurs when the teeth at the back of the blade catch the wood as they come up through the table. As they do this they throw the workpiece back at you, normally dragging your fingers across the blade.

With the limited depth of a table saw using a sled to cut a round blank is fairly impractical. You are better off to use a sled on a band saw to do this.

Another thing which could have caused the kickback is an uneven surface against the fence. It sounds like you were cutting a small rough log on the saw. If so, the surface running against the fence was not perfectly straight and so as you fed the piece through the uneven surface could have pushed the back of the piece into the blade causing a kickback. Generally when cutting on the table saw you need two flat surfaces, one riding on the table and the other riding against the fence.
Click to expand...

Wasn't ripping the wood. was cross cutting it, with it clamped to the miter on the right side of the blade. Was holding the left side so I got a good smooth cut. The wood only moved on the left side.
Timothy
 
Glad you re-engaged after the incident. You turned out a nice looking pen under adverse circumstances! Well done!
:wink::wink::wink:
 
Personally, I never cross cut anything on a table saw without using a sled that lets me clamp the piece so that my fingers are behind a fence. And that's when I'm cutting flat pieces. I wouldn't cut anything round on a table saw for any reason. I also use a push stick so that my fingers are never very close to the blade whether cross cutting or ripping. But that's just me.
 
This just reinforces my terror of the table saw. I hate the things. I am glad that your experience was not worse. I use saws of all types in all sorts of situations. but there is only one that keeps me awake at night with horrible thoughts going through my head. and that is the table saw. I once set out to cut a whole bunch of pen blanks. this was before I had my band saw. and I did most of it at the table saw. i finally gave up on it knowing that if I didn't it was only a matter of time before it cost me a finger or more. to me the table saw is not a matter of if you will get hurt. it is a matter of when. that or you really know what you are doing every time you go to use it. I am simply to sloppy and lazy to be trusted around one. mine serves as extra bench space most of the time.
 
330,000 people in the United States injure themselves with "manual tools" every year. Table saws account for about 60,000. More importantly, 200,000 people will go to emergency rooms with EYE injuries. Not many people will accidently put their hand into a 48" planer but 128,000 people will cut themselves with a utility knife. Loose respect and it will hurt.
 
Nice looking pen. I cant wait to turn some of my lilacs I have in the back yard. As for cutting them on a table saw its not going to happen for me. I'd use my bandsaw for sure. I use my table saw all the time and have only had 1 kickback when ripping a thin piece of plywood which got caught under the fence where it meets the table. But I always keep my hands far away from the blade at least 6 inches. Like I always say "give respect to get respect." Just be careful out there. Again nice looking pen though
 
Glad the injuries were minor. That is a nice looking pen. I grabbed a couple pieces of lilac from my son last fall and wondered what they would look like now I know. Will have to turn one and give it to his wife.
 
Nice looking pen and I'm happy your okay--could have been much worse. I made the mistake last year of raising the guard on my router table so I could see better--never saw my hand hit that bit at 20,000 rpm. Went back out the next week to finish the piece of moulding with alot more respect for the router and alittle less of two fingers.
John
 
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