Comments on: 53 – Miter Saw Safety

By: Ken McAllister

Ken McAllister — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 23:01:10 +0000

Marc, thanks for this video. I was having trouble making small but precise 1″ blocks with the chop saw. After hearing your explanation for why the small pieces go flying across the room, I went back out to the shop, rigged up a clamp and zero clearance insert, and within 10 minutes had made more and better blocks than in the previous hour–and had done so far more safely to boot.

Cheers!

ksm.

By: Dave from Oz

Dave from Oz — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 23:05:40 +0000

Nebulos. You are correct about the blade direction, but the tend is to lift the front of the piece. The forces combining tend for this not to happen, the forces you have control of are both of your hands, the one holding the workpiece down and steady as well as the hand pushing the saw meaning how fast or slow you wish the whole operation to take. Also, if the piece did lift, it would bog the saw down in more material to cut which could cause the saw to stall. When it does cut through all the material, there is nothing left to want to lift.
Radial arm saws on the other hand, traveling from the rear of the work piece are also being controlled by your desire to not have the blade rush towards you at an unsafe speed.

By: nebulous

nebulous — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 16:53:59 +0000

So I’m a bit late to the party, but then I only just got a (cheap) sliding miter saw.

I’ve done a stupendously stupid thing on it already, resulting in a piece of padauk nearly exploding. So I thought I’d look up some safety tips.

So a question:
Wouldn’t the workpiece be pushed upwards by pushing the blade towards the fence? The teeth will be moving up at the far end of the blade. Pulling towards you (which I have not tried, and am not anxious to do) at least pushes the workpiece down and towards the fence.

Of course, as with a router, it’s better to oppose the direction the tool wants to go, because it actually gives you control. So it’s probably still the safer option to push.

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 03:31:07 +0000

Hey Dave. 1. Yup. Always a good idea to balance everything out so there is no wobble. 2. Good point. I’d imagine you would want to go as low as your work will allow. But I do like having a taller fence just because its more support for larger pieces.

By: Dave Stanton

Dave Stanton — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 02:58:55 +0000

Hi Marc, I learnt a few things and also have a couple of questions.
1. Double sided tape will add a couple of millimetres to the backing boards clearance. Would it be better to add a couple of bits of tape spaced out either side of the fence to stop any rocking.
2. Reducing the height of the backing board to the same height of the saw’s fence may allow stops and clamps to be more effective.

By: Jason

Jason — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:32:20 +0000

I bought StableMate PLUS100 Universal Miter Saw Stand a few weeks before christmas as my own present from http://www.dealsshoppie.com/pr.....+Saw+Stand! I love this thing and someone will probably have to pry it from my cold dead hands some dayThere were 47 reviews with an average rating of 4.5.These ratings seem to be accurate as I too agree with their views after buying the product.

By: tom hunt

tom hunt — Mon, 12 May 2008 14:00:40 +0000

1. Congrats on your Safety Week EVENT! I watched your videos, and several linked videos. While I can’t say I actually saw or learned something NEW, I will be thinking “safe” more in the future. I truly believe you have prevented some future injuries!!!

2. Question: This weekend I had to cut 2 cedar trees, 20′-25′. I kept 6 logs, 5″ to 8″, about 4′ long. I’d like to mill some project material (1′ or less) but i’ve never dried raw material and the mags all seem to talk a long time for air drying. Should I band saw sime 1″ slabs, stack it on sticls in my shop, and come bact to it in a year, or is there a way to use this stuff sooner?

By: Quiglag

Quiglag — Mon, 12 May 2008 00:57:18 +0000

One more thing to keep in mind for safety.

Keep the blade slot in the base free form debris. When doing a lot of small cuts, you will end up with small pieces in the slot. After you have made your cut, and the blade is coming to a stop, it could catch one of those pieces. I have seen the blade either jump forward toward the operator, or launch the piece like a rocket across the room. Not good.

I use miter saws for a lot of the work I do. I would love to see how well the Kapex would preform out in the construction world.

By: Joe R

Joe R — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:55:23 +0000

I’m glad you have and used the Kapex for your mitre saw safety video. Virtually no dust, pretty quiet, stops quickly, very precise, adjustable speeds, quick blade change…gotta love the Kapex. So, now you’ve put me over the edge – I have to add the Kapex to my Festool collection! Thanks Marc for a very informative, helpful, and humorous week. Thanks to Nicole, too! Oh, and you should always do the outtakes at the end of your videos.

By: thewoodwhisperer

thewoodwhisperer — Sun, 11 May 2008 06:57:23 +0000

Wizer – Yes sir you are correct. the old cabinet was recycled and is now used in a different part of the shop.

Paul- Pretty amazing stuff man. It really is as effective as it looks!