Power Saw Safety

[Jim_Rogers]

[QB]Every accident I have seen with saws involved a worm drive.  Cut off thumb.  Blade across the leg.  People snagging their clothes and almost gutting themselves.  [/QB]

These are very real serious accidents, which can be prevented by proper saw use.

I learned a very valuable lesson from one very experienced timber framing teacher about power saws, and I pass this on to all my friends, students, and anyone I see using a power saw.

Do not move the saw until the blade stops rotating.

Here is a shot:



In the above shot the blade has cut as deep as it's going to cut, period. The blade has traveled through the wood as far as it needs to to make the deepest cut it can, period.

Here at my sawmill shop, and timber framing workshops, we stop the forward motion of the saw when the arbor has reached the outside surface of the timber, as shown above. And then release the power trigger to shut off the motor.
And we DO NOT MOVE THE SAW, until the blade stops turning.

If the guard is wedged open or not, DO NOT MOVE THE SAW.

This is a very simple rule, and very easy to learn and follow.

There is no need to follow through, we're not playing golf and we don't need any "follow through" with a power saw with the blade turning.

Now some of you very experienced men and women will say this idea about stopping the blade and not moving the saw wastes too much time, but just think of all the time you'll loose or waste being at the hospital or doctor's office due to a careless cut caused by a power saw....

Jim Rogers

[Don P]

Jim, I will admit to having gotten tired of replacing triggers.

I saw the comment on worm drives and agree. I'm a lefty, I agree 100%, I gave Dad's worm drive to a co worker, the starting torque was wrong for my paw, I knew it would be a matter of when.

Part of what I like about a sidewinder is that the torque is in the plane of the blade, intuitive. A worm drives reaction torque can be from the motor or the blade... my pea in a pinch ain't that big. They do have power to burn but my opinion is KISS

[PineNut]

I concur with waiting for the blade to stop turning before moving the saw. The only incident I ever had with a saw was when I moved it with the blade turning and cut the power cord. Fortunately that was very minor compared with cutting yourself.

[sawguy21]

I went to work with a guy who had defeated the failed switch on a hand circular saw so he had to unplug it to stop. Funny thing was, the saw stopped working altogether shortly, a plastic disc in the brush holder would not conduct current.

[Raphael]

I managed to cut the power cord on my old all steel Rockwell while notching a 6x6 fence post to inset a 2x4.  It was a rather shocking experience. 

One safety rule my former boss almost learned the hard way is never distract a person tip cutting with a chainsaw, even if it is to warn them it might kick back.  :

[Don P]

Funny thing was, the saw stopped working altogether shortly, a plastic disc in the brush holder would not conduct current. 

:D :D

Another thing with any cutting tool is keeping it in safe working order. I've had 2 switches fail "live", the saw would not turn off.
The guard spring on one saw broke first thing one day while I was out on a little pickup work. Having only brought one saw, I made a mental note to be sure to swing the guard down each time. The last time, I remembered as it was doing a donut on my shoe. I broke 2 rules and am happy to have been wearing boots on a subfloor. I've seen many guards stick or fail.

I've known 2 people who have felt under a board to see if the blade was deep enough, in both cases it was. One of those guys is now recovering and hoping the fingers will work. We call things like that an ignosecond. I've seen few intelligent accidents, that's why we call them accidents. Keep your head in the game

Know what is behind where you're cutting. I was sawzalling out window openings one day. About the time I saw sparks I remembered that I had probably pulled the cord across the area. I never liked 100' cords anyway, the 80' is much handier  :.

[Norm]

Too many times I've had a circular saw kick back while being in a hurry at the end of a cut, now I've got one with a blade brake and really appreciate having one. I used to think you weren't a real carpenter until you'd shortened up the cord somewhat sitting it down while the blade was still freewheeling. :D

Don I'm a lefty too and really appreciate where they chute the sawdust out of hand saws. Back before safety glasses were standard I would put on my sunglasses to keep the dust out of my eyes when cutting, doesn't work so well inside. ;)

[johnjbc]

Right after reading this thread last night I got call from my sister telling me that they were taking my brother to Pittsburg in a helicopter along with his detached finger. 
I just got in touch with his son and he is in the Baltimore Hospital apparently he was transferred.
He was using a Radial Arm Saw and cut off the 3 smallest fingers on his right hand.
They expect him to be in surgery for 6 or 7 hours

[beenthere]

Not what we want to hear, and hope your brother is going to do ok with the patch job.

I'm wondering if he was ripping on the RAS?  Maybe at some point in time you will have more info to share. Friend of mine was ripping on his RAS and lost parts of two fingers when it grabbed the wood. Not remembering if he was trying to rip in the wrong direction or not. As I recall, he wasn't too clear what happened either.

I like the quick brake stop on the saws now too. My RAS will coast for a long time, and I now am in the habit of using the mechanical brake to stop the blade.

[PineNut]

Don't have a brake on my saw but usually improvise by moving the saw sideways so the wood just cut will act as a brake.

[johnjbc]

Just got word that they weren't able to reattach my brothers fingers. I'm not sure what the problem was.
The saw was an older Craftsman so it didn't have a brake. We don't know if he was ripping or just sawing.
He runs a heavy equipment repair business so we are hoping It won't prevent him from working. Guess we will have to wait and see.

[Jim_Rogers]

bump

[johnjbc]

He was ripping a board on a Radial Arm Saw. The blade caught and pulled his hand into the blade.
They couldn't reattach his fingers. His index finger is OK but the other 3 are cut off in the middle of the center joint. His biggest complaint is the cold. Just a little cool and it bothers him.
Its been a bad year for our family. My other Brother is off work, he slipped on the steps and hit his head causing a concussion. Didn't go to the doctor for a couple days until his son visited, and saw he was acting strange, and took him right in.
Be real careful out there. It's a dangerous world .

[Thehardway]

Jim,

Good bump and reminder in light of our 16" thread.  I practice leaving the saw in the cut until it quits spinning as you recommend and am accident free with circular saws to date. 

I also have a numb thumb from where I tried to cut it off on the table saw while using it as a "Pusher" and making a kerf cut.  I was very fortunate they were able to sew it up and it stopped just short of the bone.

Do you have any tips on how to start cuts with circular with gaurds that like to hang or push your blade off mark without wiring up the guard or taking a hand off the saw to reach over besides a rubber band or clip? Does anyone make a mechanical type lifter that you know of?

[Jim_Rogers]

Jim, Do you have any tips on how to start cuts with circular with guards that like to hang or push your blade off mark without wiring up the guard or taking a hand off the saw to reach over besides a rubber band or clip? Does anyone make a mechanical type lifter that you know of?

I honestly don't but most people do some how hold the guard up so that it will track correctly as it makes the cut.
It is a very bad problem and the saw industry should solve it.

Jim Rogers

[Gilman]

Hate to admit it but a cedar wedge works nicely to hold up the guard.  Jim's right, the guards need to be improved to actually work.  Pulling up the guard on the 16" beam saw leaves a lot of teeth smiling at me.

I got wacked in the face by a 1/4" x 1" x 5" piece of spalted maple the other night.  Felt like a pony kicked me in the face.  I was quite proud of wearing safety glasses.  The few drips of blood from my nose didn't bother me at all.