I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
never had a kickback--until yesterday.
I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
could have been a lot worse.
Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade. The
workpiece between the blade and the fence remained
where it should be.
I'm not sure what to do to keep a thin offcut piece from
getting caught by the blade but I've learned two lessons:
1) Like the safety books say, keep your body out of the
plane of the blade. I usually do this, but "usually"
doesn't help when kickback happens.
2) Accidents can happen when you least expect it. Just
before I started the cut I thought "This cut is properly
set up--lots of safety here." I felt safe, but breaking
one safety rule is all it takes.
In article <[email protected]>, Larry Kraus <[email protected]> wrote:
>[email protected] (Doug Miller) wrote:
>
>>In article <RtZ6f.7443$hP6.2252@trnddc05>, "Billy Smith"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
>>>never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>>[snip]
>>>The offcut was about 1/4 in. wide.
>>[snip]
>>>Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
>>>offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
>>>offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
>>>of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
>>>have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade.
>>
>>Ayup. That's one reason that I took the pawls off shortly after I set up the
>>saw.
>
>To make sure ALL your offcuts escape the pawls?
No, to avoid having the nearly-useless-to-begin-with pawls push a narrow
offcut *into* the blade. Just like what happened to the OP.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
[email protected] (Doug Miller) wrote:
>In article <RtZ6f.7443$hP6.2252@trnddc05>, "Billy Smith" <[email protected]> wrote:
>>I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
>>never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>[snip]
>>The offcut was about 1/4 in. wide.
>[snip]
>>Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
>>offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
>>offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
>>of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
>>have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade.
>
>Ayup. That's one reason that I took the pawls off shortly after I set up the
>saw.
To make sure ALL your offcuts escape the pawls?
"robo hippy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> I recently saw a type of push stick that was made to ride in the
> channel of a Biesemeyer type of fence. It would hold the work piece
> down. and push it through.This would make it simple to push thin pieces
> through, and keep control though the whole cut. I plan to make one with
> replaceable push and hold down parts, and even have it hook up to my
> taper jig.
Any chance you've got a website location where we can see it? Or perhaps a
manufacturer's name?
Glad to hear you didn't suffer a serious injury and thanks for the
reminder.
Hindsight is always 20/20, but I assume the blade was not very high?
I'm wondering if the blade was set high if the blade would be less
likely to fling it. Of course, I don't know if there would be much
tear out on the underside of your cut. Also, with a tall blade there
is still the possibility of grabbing the "arrow" unless a board was
above it from preventing it from rising.
Jeff
> The board I was cutting was about 1/2 in thick and I set
> the blade so that the teeth just broke the surface, so the
> blade was pretty low. The kickback happened just after
> the cut was completed.
The common rule for blade height is a full tooth above the stock. However,
when I rip thin stock, I do raise it higher. This helps by reducing blade
lift of the workpiece. Although, I've only had one incident of kick-back,
30 years ago, I always wear a leather shop apron. (The Lie-Nielsen is now
the only one I use.)
Dave
Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
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I recently saw a type of push stick that was made to ride in the
channel of a Biesemeyer type of fence. It would hold the work piece
down. and push it through.This would make it simple to push thin pieces
through, and keep control though the whole cut. I plan to make one with
replaceable push and hold down parts, and even have it hook up to my
taper jig.
robo hippy
I have seen this happen and we used to demonstrate to students why you
do not stand behind the blade.
Our saws had a kickback pawl only on the piece against the fence if
wide enough.
As was explained to me if the offcut piece is very small the air
movement between it and the blade can suck it into contact. If it
touches a tooth travelling nearly parrallel to the table it can catch
and be thrown at nearly the blade speed.
We always cut small stock with the blade set for maximum depth.
I dont really know if this explanation is correct but it made sense to
me at the time.
I have made a hold-down of sorts using a piece of weather seal. The
aluminum and rubber strip to seal the bottom of the door. Clamped at
the right height behind the blade it provides a drag on the workpiece.
"Billy Smith" <[email protected]> wrote
> The board I was cutting was about 1/2 in thick and I set
> the blade so that the teeth just broke the surface, so the
> blade was pretty low. The kickback happened just after
> the cut was completed.
You might be interested to know that the arguments about blade height are
rehearsed on my web site - Circular Sawbench Safety - Blades.
Jeff G
--
Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK
email : Username is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
www.amgron.clara.net
"robo hippy" <[email protected]> wrote
>I recently saw a type of push stick that was made to ride in the
> channel of a Biesemeyer type of fence. It would hold the work piece
> down. and push it through.
It seems to me that unless it is quite long, a push stick that rides in the
channel of a fence will, as the leading end approaches the cutting edge,
take the hand too near the teeth.
The work situation should be that the reflex forward movement that happens
when something goes wrong will not take the hand near the blade.
Jeff G
--
Jeff Gorman, West Yorkshire, UK
email : Username is amgron
ISP is clara.co.uk
www.amgron.clara.net
I use a 'push stick/hold down that rides the rip fence made from 1/4"
ply that has a small piece on the back that pushes stock forward AND
holds the front edge down. The blade guard and splitter are on
whenever possible.
On Mon, 24 Oct 2005 04:32:49 GMT, "Billy Smith"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
>in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
>and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
>holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
>about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
>pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
>whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
>the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
>turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
>could have been a lot worse.
"Billy Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:RtZ6f.7443$hP6.2252@trnddc05...
> I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
> never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>
> I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
> in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
> and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
> holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
> about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
> pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
> whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
> the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
> turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
> could have been a lot worse.
>
> Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
> offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
> offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
> of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
> have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade. The
> workpiece between the blade and the fence remained
> where it should be.
>
> I'm not sure what to do to keep a thin offcut piece from
> getting caught by the blade but I've learned two lessons:
So, one thought comes to mind... Where was your feather board located
relative to the blade? It occurs to me that a 20 inch long board isn't
necessarily long enough to allow the offcut to be relaxed and float after
passing through the blade. In other words, the side pressure of the
featherboard can potentially be enough to encourage the offcut to flex into
the blade. Of course, that would only be the case with a decent amount of
pressure being applied by the featherboard. What kind of board was it?
We've all suffered the issue of internal stresses which persuade lumber to
do things we wish it didn't do - maybe that played into the situation. Ok -
that's more than one thought.
The one thing that rings loudly though is something that has been said here
before - it's not the safety equipment that makes using a saw safe, it's the
safety of the operator. All of the gizmos in the world don't replace
carefully observing the cut throughout, and until the point where the
material is clear of the blade. Kickback is very predictable and there's
nothing mysterious about it. Observed, it's always a matter of a cut off
riding up the back side of the blade. Watching and actually controlling the
stock and the cutoff through the cut is the only thing that will prevent
kickback with reliability... or so they say. The problem is - don't we all
think we're watching all of those things on every cut? Sooner or later
something happens to remind us that there's always something to watch. And
of course - it's always so much easier to analyze it after the fact. I am
one of the advocates though, that suggests that the more of the "safety
gear" we put on our tools, the further we remove ourselves from the
fundamentals. We tend to put our trust in the equipement and maybe relax
our vigilance. I don't dismiss safety gear, but it's no replacement for
paying attention. And of course, there's exactly how many of us here who
can't be accused on not having paid compete attention at some time or
another???
--
-Mike-
[email protected]
Billy Smith wrote:
>
....
>
> The board I was cutting was about 1/2 in thick and I set
> the blade so that the teeth just broke the surface, ...
That's a problem imo...the blade should be high enough that the gullet
is near the top surface so the teeth clear fully...won't absolutely
prevent it but will minimize the likelihood.
That, plus the narrowness of the offcut in this case is such that as you
noted elsewhere the pawls are unlikely to be of much value.
I'm betting that the stock was in less than an inch
thick and you had the blade set low - gullet just
above the surface of the board. Splitters typically
are only close to the rear teeth when the blade
is set all the way up and the distance between it
and the rear teeth gets bigger as the blade is
lowered. So on cuts with the blade set low, there
can be several inches between the spillter and
the rear teeth.
Now add "anti-kickback" pawls that'll let a piece
of wood get between it and the splitter AND have
some slop in them - well they ain't doing what
they're advertised as doing AND they are doing
what they shouldn't be doing - pushing a piece
of wood into the rear teeth coming up out of the
table.
Then add a blade guard that prevent you from
using a wide push stick controlling the piece
AND the off cut. . .
If you haven't had a kickback in ten years -
well consider yourself blessed. Go buy a
lottery ticket 'cause you're a lucky man.
European table saws come with a riving knife
rather than a splitter. It stays close to the
blade around almost the entire rear quarter
of the blade and can be set within millimeters
of the teeth. And it has a dulled knife edge
rather than a flat face towards the blade. Keeps
the kerf open and wood at the back of the
saw blade clear of the Evil Rear Teeth. Why
they aren't standard on U.S. market table
saws is a mystery to me.
Glad the "learning experience" didn't include
a trip to the emergency room.
charlie b
"Billy Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:RtZ6f.7443$hP6.2252@trnddc05...
> I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
> never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>
> I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
> in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
> and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
> holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
> about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
> pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
> whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
> the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
> turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
> could have been a lot worse.
>
> Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
> offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
> offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
> of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
> have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade. The
> workpiece between the blade and the fence remained
> where it should be.
>
> I'm not sure what to do to keep a thin offcut piece from
> getting caught by the blade but I've learned two lessons:
>
> 1) Like the safety books say, keep your body out of the
> plane of the blade. I usually do this, but "usually"
> doesn't help when kickback happens.
>
> 2) Accidents can happen when you least expect it. Just
> before I started the cut I thought "This cut is properly
> set up--lots of safety here." I felt safe, but breaking
> one safety rule is all it takes.
>
"Billy Smith" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
>in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
>and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
>holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
>about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
>pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
>whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
>the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
>turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
>could have been a lot worse.
Maybe I'm having trouble visualizing this setup, but I would have
expected the off cut to have been deflected at least partially to the
side by the tip of the featherboard.
Those thin pieces can sometimes get behind the kickback pawls on some
guards. I have seen it happen, but no kickbacks.
Those small pieces can indeed become an arrow. I posted here several months
ago about my son's friend who was impaled by thin stock that flew back from
a planer. He survived but did a lot of hospital time.
RonB
"Billy Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:RtZ6f.7443$hP6.2252@trnddc05...
> I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
> never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>
> I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
> in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
> and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
> holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
> about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
> pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
> whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
> the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
> turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
> could have been a lot worse.
>
> Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
> offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
> offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
> of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
> have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade. The
> workpiece between the blade and the fence remained
> where it should be.
>
> I'm not sure what to do to keep a thin offcut piece from
> getting caught by the blade but I've learned two lessons:
>
> 1) Like the safety books say, keep your body out of the
> plane of the blade. I usually do this, but "usually"
> doesn't help when kickback happens.
>
> 2) Accidents can happen when you least expect it. Just
> before I started the cut I thought "This cut is properly
> set up--lots of safety here." I felt safe, but breaking
> one safety rule is all it takes.
>
The board I was cutting was about 1/2 in thick and I set
the blade so that the teeth just broke the surface, so the
blade was pretty low. The kickback happened just after
the cut was completed.
"Billy Smith" wrote in message
> I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
> never had a kickback--until yesterday.
> 1) Like the safety books say, keep your body out of the
> plane of the blade. I usually do this, but "usually"
> doesn't help when kickback happens.
If your gonads don't shrink up a little every time you turn on a spinning
blade, you're getting complacent.
--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 10/22/05
> The board I was cutting was about 1/2 in thick and I set
> the blade so that the teeth just broke the surface, so the
> blade was pretty low. The kickback happened just after
> the cut was completed.
I still can't see it happening. Even if the cutoff did contact teh blade,
which the splitter should have prevented, the blade should have knocked it
aside rather than shot it back.
Where was your featherboard? Was the cutoff still in contact with it? If
so, that would do it.
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
> >To make sure ALL your offcuts escape the pawls?
>
> No, to avoid having the nearly-useless-to-begin-with pawls push a narrow
> offcut *into* the blade. Just like what happened to the OP.
That was my suspicion as well.
-j
"Billy Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:RtZ6f.7443$hP6.2252@trnddc05...
> I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
> never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>
> I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
> in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
> and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
> holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
> about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
> pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
> whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
> the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
> turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
> could have been a lot worse.
>
> Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
> offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
> offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
> of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
> have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade. The
> workpiece between the blade and the fence remained
> where it should be.
>
> I'm not sure what to do to keep a thin offcut piece from
> getting caught by the blade but I've learned two lessons:
>
> 1) Like the safety books say, keep your body out of the
> plane of the blade. I usually do this, but "usually"
> doesn't help when kickback happens.
>
> 2) Accidents can happen when you least expect it. Just
> before I started the cut I thought "This cut is properly
> set up--lots of safety here." I felt safe, but breaking
> one safety rule is all it takes.
>
In order to apply horizontal force to the workpiece but
not the blade, I always position the horizontal featherboard
so that the tip closest to the blade is about an inch away
from the blade.
I have tested the anti-kickback pawls before and found
them to be pretty effective. But that was with at least an
inch or so of board on both sides of the blade so there
was plenty of wood for the pawl to catch on. A very
thin piece of wood can simply slip between the splitter
and the pawl and that's what I think happened.
"Doug Miller" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, Larry Kraus
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>[email protected] (Doug Miller) wrote:
>>
>>>In article <RtZ6f.7443$hP6.2252@trnddc05>, "Billy Smith"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
>>>>never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>>>[snip]
>>>>The offcut was about 1/4 in. wide.
>>>[snip]
>>>>Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
>>>>offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
>>>>offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
>>>>of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
>>>>have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade.
>>>
>>>Ayup. That's one reason that I took the pawls off shortly after I set up
>>>the
>>>saw.
>>
>>To make sure ALL your offcuts escape the pawls?
>
> No, to avoid having the nearly-useless-to-begin-with pawls push a narrow
> offcut *into* the blade. Just like what happened to the OP.
>
> --
> Regards,
> Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
>
> It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
Reading the OP's original description, that is the first thing I thought
too.
That the paws pushed the thin cutoff into the blade.
I am not too impressed with the paws either. They seem to work ok for wide
pieces, but not for thin strips and seem to be problematic as they are loose
and
tend to be floppy. Easily slipping off or not engaging a narrow cutoff.
Chuck
In article <RtZ6f.7443$hP6.2252@trnddc05>, "Billy Smith" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
>never had a kickback--until yesterday.
[snip]
>The offcut was about 1/4 in. wide.
[snip]
>Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
>offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
>offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
>of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
>have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade.
Ayup. That's one reason that I took the pawls off shortly after I set up the
saw.
--
Regards,
Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
It's time to throw all their damned tea in the harbor again.
On Mon, 24 Oct 2005 04:32:49 GMT, "Billy Smith"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
>never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>
>I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
>in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
>and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
>holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
>about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
>pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
>whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
>the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
>turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
>could have been a lot worse.
>
>Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
>offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
>offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
>of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
>have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade. The
>workpiece between the blade and the fence remained
>where it should be.
>
>I'm not sure what to do to keep a thin offcut piece from
>getting caught by the blade but I've learned two lessons:
>
>1) Like the safety books say, keep your body out of the
>plane of the blade. I usually do this, but "usually"
>doesn't help when kickback happens.
>
>2) Accidents can happen when you least expect it. Just
>before I started the cut I thought "This cut is properly
>set up--lots of safety here." I felt safe, but breaking
>one safety rule is all it takes.
I have the same setup (I think). I've been doing a little furring job
before hanging some drywall and a neighbor gave me some unused but
well seasoned (read twisted) framing lumber. Since it's
non-structural, I have been squaring it up some on the jointer and
taking a thin cut on the TS.
The offcuts pften come zipping back toward the front of the saw, for
the same reason you've seen; they're thin and flexible and get back
into the blade and are not engaged by the anti-kickback pawl.
But I'm not standing over there, I'm completely to the right of the
fence; the only safe place to be.
often times I stand at the side/end of my unisaw and use the hold down
pusher thingys that came with my jointer. Blade guard and stuff is still
on but I like to be out of the way.
John
Billy Smith wrote:
> I've used my Delta Unisaw as a hobbyist for 10 years and
> never had a kickback--until yesterday.
>
> I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
> in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
> and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
> holding the workpiece against the fence. The offcut was
> about 1/4 in. wide. The rip cut was complete and I was
> pushing the workpiece past the blade when I heard a loud
> whap! and felt something hit me me hard just below
> the belt. The offcut piece had been caught by the blade and
> turned into an arrow. I was only bruised but I know it
> could have been a lot worse.
>
> Somehow the anti-kickback pawl was not properly engaging the
> offcut piece. The pawl is easily deflected sideways and an
> offcut piece only 1/4 in. wide can easily slip to either side
> of the pawl, entirely escaping it's grip. The offcut piece must
> have flopped around enough to get caught by the blade. The
> workpiece between the blade and the fence remained
> where it should be.
>
> I'm not sure what to do to keep a thin offcut piece from
> getting caught by the blade but I've learned two lessons:
>
> 1) Like the safety books say, keep your body out of the
> plane of the blade. I usually do this, but "usually"
> doesn't help when kickback happens.
>
> 2) Accidents can happen when you least expect it. Just
> before I started the cut I thought "This cut is properly
> set up--lots of safety here." I felt safe, but breaking
> one safety rule is all it takes.
>
>
Billy Smith wrote:
>
> I was ripping a piece of oak about 8 inches wide and 20
> in. long. I was using a blade guard with integrated splitter
> and anti-kickback pawls. I had a horizontal featherboard
> holding the workpiece against the fence.
<snip>
SFWIW, have a Unifence installed on a contractor's saw.
First thing I did was trash the kick back feature of the factory
supplied splitter function.
I use a horizontal feather board as well as a vertical feather board
clamped to the UniFence for almost every saw cut.
I like push sticks.
They allow me to observe the cut from afar.
Call me a chicken, but I work alone, and like the single handed sailor,
which I am, if I screw up, there is nobody around to help, and I'm
probably dead before help finds me.
Who needs Vegas?<G>
Lew