As Norm would say, "...I'd like to take a moment to talk about shop safety, be sure to read, understand and follow all safety rules that come with your power tools, and remember this....there is no more important safety rule than to wear these ... (Norm points to safety eyewear)..." I wear shop glasses with safety lenses, but still use the face mask over my glasses whenever the situation calls for increased eye protection. Fire extinguishers are mounted on the wall near my workbench and at the rear of the shop. And for good measure, a copy of the Woodworker's Prayer is tacked to my bulletin board.
In all power tool operations the most important safety alert is an uneasy feeling that what you are about to do is unsafe. Learn to recognize this warning, back off, and find a safer way to perform the operation. I'm a serious advocate of safety jigs and I have made several.
The most important safety aid for a table saw is a set of push blocks of different thickness which hold the stock down as well as pushing it forward. The hand hole in the pusher is positioned well above the blade at its highest setting and the bottom of the pusher is faced with sandpaper to improve the grip. I hang these just over my head where I stand when using the saw, out of the way, but easy to grab.
I use a small pusher block when cutting small or thin stock to hold it down and keep it against the fence. I made two of these, giving me four different thickness dimensions and each has sandpaper glued to the bottom to help grip the wood.
One of the more common hazards when using a table saw is the possibility of kickback. This occurs when a piece of wood is trapped between the fence and the rotating blade and is propelled towards the operator, sometimes with great force. Alignment of the fence to be parallel to the blade will minimize this problem, but it can still happen on rare occasions. Proper use of push blocks will eliminate most of the danger. When ripping, try to keep the thinner dimension to the side of the blade opposite the fence so that it is free to move. Also, you should not cut a board or plywood panel with the short dimension against the fence. Use a miter gauge or a sled to hold the piece when this cut is required. Always stand to the side, away from the path of the blade, when there is any possibility of kickback.
When making repetitive cross cuts I use a stand off block clamped to my fence to gauge the cut. Since the block is exactly 4 inches wide, I just add 4 inches to the desired size. This prevents kickback since the cut piece is not trapped between the blade and the fence.
There are times when using a table saw that is important to be able to shut down the saw quickly. I had already moved the stock Jet switch over a little towards the center of the saw when I installed the Formica clad table boards. I made some pivot arms from scrap hardwood which were glued and screwed to a 1/4" Baltic Birch plate. This was installed between the switch and the metal mounting bracket and a 3/8" Baltic Birch knee plate was attached to the pivot arms. This allows me to quickly shut down the saw by pressing one knee against the plate and without taking my hands and eyes off the piece being cut.
I made a zero clearance insert for my rip blade from a piece of hard pecan and an aluminum splitter blade. This prevents the kerf from closing on the blade when ripping lumber. The aluminum fin was installed with J-B Weld metal epoxy and cross-pinned with two small finishing nails in holes drilled from the side. I have several zero clearance inserts, including both purchased Leecraft plates and several which I have made from UHMW plastic or some old pecan. I install allen head set screws to level the plate and a flat Phillips head screw on the side and back to adjust for a tight fit. I keep a blank or two handy for making dado inserts for odd sizes and special applications.
I have several feather boards which are used to prevent kick back. The feather board on the table saw is held down with fixture knobs and 3/8" T-nuts which slide into the table saw's miter gauge T-slots. I use these T-nuts for a variety of uses, including hold-down strips to secure a zero clearance plate blank while the blade is raised.
When changing blades I slip a piece of soft pine with a slot in it over the blade. The carbide teeth easily dig into the soft pine which makes it easy to loosen the arbor nut without damaging a carbide tooth or cutting my hand. I clamped a longer piece of pine to my fence, raised the saw blade to cut the slot, and then cut the piece down to size.
Many consider the radial arm saw to be dangerous. I seldom use mine for anything other than cross cuts so I'm not sure I would agree that it is more dangerous than the table saw. The blade tends to pull the stock firmly against the fence, but you should expect small pieces cut from the end of a board to occasionally be kicked out. These don't generally do much harm, but they can startle you. Stand to one side and keep your fingers away from the blade path. Never attempt to cut stock which is not firmly backed by the fence. A blade with zero or negative hook will minimize the tendency of the blade to try to climb the stock being cut. Align the carriage assembly from time to time to prevent the blade from heeling, which means that the blade is not aligned with the path of the cut.
A bandsaw is generally considered to be fairly safe. Keep the upper blade guide mechanism set just above the thickness of the stock you are cutting. This not only covers the exposed blade but also supports the blade properly with the blocks or rollers in the upper blade guide mechanism. If the stock being cut is irregular in shape, especially if it is round, you should make certain that it cannot roll into the blade when being cut. The best way to accomplish this is to use a bandsaw sled with chocks to support the irregular shape.
A jointer can be somewhat dangerous when working with thin strips or short stock, so it helps to keep safety devices handy to prevent putting your fingers in harm's way. Some of these devices are also useful when working with small stock on a router table.
When routing narrow stock on the router table, I find it more comfortable to use a carrier board to keep my fingers away from the bit. I made 3 of these carriers which are simply a scrap of plywood with a sanded and waxed bottom. Rockler sells a device to hold small items securely and keeps your fingers away from the bits. Common sense should keep you from getting into much trouble with a router table. Use the cutter guard and feather boards when ever possible.
The drill press is usually pretty safe. Just make sure when you are drilling metal to hold the piece against a fence or clamp it down so that it does not become a propeller when the drill bit breaks through.
A stationary belt sander looks harmless, but can take off a lot of skin if you get a thumb or finger trapped between the stock being sanded and the fence on the sander. I have never been seriously hurt by a sander, but I have lost a little skin when I was careless.
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