12 WORST TABLE SAW MISTAKES!! And How To Avoid Them...(DON'T DO THESE THINGS! Kickback/Binding)

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12 WORST TABLE SAW MISTAKES!! And How To Avoid Them...(DON'T DO THESE THINGS! Kickback/Binding)

Table saws are one of the most helpful saws on job sites or in the work shop--but they can be dangerous! This video from The Honest Carpenter will explain 12 of the worst table saw mistakes!

1. Twisting the Board: This can cause saw blade binding, which will lead to dangerous kickback.
2. Cutting Freehand: Never cut freehand with a table saw! Always use the rip fence or miter gauge or a crosscut jig.
3. Squeezing the Cut: Using too much force with your outside hand can cause the wood to bind on the table saw blade. This can trigger kickback.
4. Ripping Boards Wider Than Long: Trying to rip boards along their narrow length is unstable, because it forces the small end against the fence. Make this crosscut another way.
5. Levering: It's easy to accidentally rotate the front end of a heavy board up when you begin cutting. Don't do this--if the board drops down, the saw blade may bind.
6. Failure To Catch Outfeed: When long boards pass off the back end of the saw, they will get pulled down by gravity, pulling your end up. Have someone catch the outfeed gently, or let it rest on something.
7. Pulling Small Pieces From the Back: This brings your hands too close to the spinning blade. Push them through with a push stick instead.
8. Dropcutting: Don't try to lower a piece onto the spinning table saw blade. If it binds, the wood will get thrown, and your hands may contact the blade!
9. Don't Set Blade Too High: Table saw blades only need to extend about 1/4"-1/2" above the top of your wood stock.
10. Reaching Over the Table Saw: When a cut is complete, don't reach over the spinning blade to grab the piece. Push it through with push stick, and then turn off the saw.
11. Ripping Narrow Widths: Ripping any cut under an inch can be dangerous. Consider making this small width the offcut (away from the rip fence) instead.
12. Standing Behind Your Stock: If kickback occurs, you may get hit with a flying board. Stand just to the side of your stock while you're cutting instead.

We'll have more table saw advice videos coming soon (including, probably, another table saw mistakes video). Thanks for watching!
The Honest Carpenter

[leebreisacher]

My favorite tip from Steve R is to always (always) do a "dry run" in your mind -- think about where you are going to stand, where you are going to have your hands throughout the cut, etc.

[tc]

Good list BUT you did not cover the most important ones. #1 use the blade guard that came with the table saw or buy an over arm guard. #2 use a splitter with anti kickback cauls or a riving knife. #3 throw away that useless plastic push stick and make one with a long heel on it to properly hold down the stock. I have been a woodworker for 40 years. These three things prevent most accidents.

[chycoll]

#13. Not using a riving knife! This will prevent a lot of the issues you mentioned by the blade being squeezed.

[thedevilinthecircuit]

Re: mistake #11, cutting narrow strips. If you don't have a zero clearance throat plate, do the following. Lower the blade all the way into the saw. Lay a 2" strip of painter's tape over the length of the throat slot. Start the saw and slowly raise the blade through the tape to the height you need. Make your cuts. The tape prevents the thin strips from dropping into the saw. This is not a good solution for many cuts, but for a small batch, it's perfect.

[gregpreston]

I was also surprised at no mention of the riving knife?! So important on rip cuts. I know because I forgot to replace it after making a few non-through cuts. I needed to make ONE rip cut and sure enough had a kickback and fortunately ended up with only a relatively minor injury. I now have a knife that can stay on even with a non-through cut and will only come off in rare circumstances.
I also use a push stick that has a lip to help push the board through and just let the blade cut into it slightly to support the narrow cut. This type of stick/handle is easily replaced or "repaired" after numerous cuts.
I know you are almost certainly familiar with these techniques Ethan and I am frankly surprised you didn't at least mention them.
Thank you for your continued presentation of these important safety videos and your willingness to receive candid comments.
I appreciate all you do.

[hojo]

#10 is so important. I am shocked at how many people and Youtubers have "normalized" reaching over a moving blade. Incredibly dumb! These are all great tips, thank you!!

[kathyputman]

Thank you so much! My husband never showed me how to use his tools while he was alive but, I've been figuring out on my own. I did have the benefit of watching him which helped a lot but, when I asked about all the clear plastic pieces (guards) that were not installed he said it was "crap" to get in your way. In all fairness have seen none of those guards installed on your saws either. I have all the No no's as a novice trying to learn. Table saws, 12" dual bevel miter saws, skill saws, jigsaws, sanders routers, hand held and table type, grinders etc. He made a lot of things. He just liked to piddle around as he put it but i think he was really good at it. I've started using them for minor repairs around the house as need and managed to do a half way decent miter cut to replace a board on the screen door, not exact but, good enough. Whenever I cup big sheets of plywood or lumber I use his saw horses on the other end level with the saw to balance the weight. He also has a metal support with a tri stand and a T top that has adjustable height, not sure what it is actually made for but have I used it for supporting 1x6's I needed to rip, It prevented it from levering as you called it. Next project I'll have to find or make a push stick. I've been using the half moon medal piece that fits into the grooves as a pusher. I have a dewalt and a black and decker table saw and I kept the black and decker miter saw as it did not cut towards me like the dewalt one did., that kinda scared me. I traded that for labor.

[bobwalker]

I am almost 80 and this is great advice young people just starting. Brings back memories of me standing right behind a 2x4 I was ripping and it kicked out hitting me in the abdominal area causing a hernia. That was 60 years ago.
Thanks again

[roberte.]

You know, I've seen other table saw safety videos b4, but this one is so good bc it explains the WHY and the HOW of what can go wrong, not just a list of things to avoid.

[cedartreeworkshop]

These are all great tips, Ethan! Thank you for sharing. I learned firsthand about kickback when I first started when I stupidly tried to push a small square through with the rip fence. It bound, turned, and kicked back hard - putting a sizable dent in a cabinet behind me. In hindsight, I should have built and used a cross cut sled for that cut! To this day, I remain humbled and grateful that I wasn't injured.

[tokencivilian]

One piece of table saw advice I saw on another channel said to always, always, always choose a saw with a splitter whenever possible to help reduce the likelihood of binding the blade and getting the kickback therefrom, be it from the lateral pinching you mentioned of bad left hand technique, or to help prevent twisting.

Great vid, great safety tips.

[thegardenofeatin]

#13: Use as many safety attachments and guards as possible when making a cut. The riving knife should be installed for all through cuts, if the guard can be used, use it.
#14: Except for dados, never use the fence and the miter gauge at the same time. If you are cross-cutting multiple pieces to the same length, it can be tempting to use the fence as a convenient stop, and then put the stock through the blade using the miter gauge. But this is likely to cause the stock between the fence and the blade to bind, causing kickback. Clamping a short stop block to the infeed side of the fence which will allow the fence side offcut to be otherwise free once it is in contact with the blade will prevent this. A sled is also a viable solution.

[tanda]

You should push with your push stick closer to the blade rather than the fence. This keeps the front of the board better attached to the fence. If you push close to the fence the front of the board can pivot away from the fence. You can actually see this happening on your video around 10:37. There are basically two pivot points on the board when you are cutting. One is at the back end of the board at the fence and the other is at the cutting point of the blade. When you push farther from the fence the pivot force around the back end of the board is stronger and that keeps the front end of the board better attached to the fence. Bit nitpicky but this is a safety video :)

[tracychriss]

Good video! Although I usually don't do any of the things you mention, It doesn't "hurt" to watch this as a refresher to prevent accidents from happening. One accident with a table saw can be a life changing event!

[mustangtonto]

Your carpenter videos are some of the very best on YouTube, and this one was quite possibly your very best yet! I have always been just a little leery of table saws, however after learning from you I will be more comfortable, but still not lackadaisical.

[frankd]

Very helpful and as I am new to wood working and using a table saw, I can see how a lot of people, including myself, could make these mistakes. When doing repetitive cuts, I can also see a bit of complacency creeping in or feeling comfortable and taking short cuts. My neighbor has a really high end table saw that senses human tissue and stops the blade instantly. Even though he is a long-time woodworker, he said he saved his hand once as an uneven board pulled his hand into the blade and it stopped, only causing a scratch...totally amazing! If that happened on my table saw, it would have been a different outcome. I am guilty of reaching over to clear wood and not using an out table. Thanks again for such a helpful safety video.

[joeladam]

Just wondering why you didn’t mention using a riving knife or blade guard. I noticed you didn’t have a riving knife installed during the video, but it will prevent some twisting and binding situations. You hardly ever see anyone using a blade guard on you tube but I try to use mine whenever I can, mainly for larger pieces. I find it is just another level of protection that you can put in place in a few minutes. Great video. It is good to go through these safety reminders from time to time.

[ShoelessTX]

Well done. As someone that got lazy one day in the interest of speed, I can attest that table saws are amazing tools that have amazing power that can be very dangerous. I was needing to cut several 4 in blocks off of a 2x2 strip of maple. Rather than using a stop block to set the length of the cut, I just pushed the board against the fence, used a mitre gauge to hold the long end and started ripping off those small blocks. About 6 or so into it, one bound up with the blade and went flying...straight into my mouth. A 2"x2"x4" piece of hard maple traveling at about 100mph does not think a mask and lips are much to deal with. A lot of blood, 3 stiches in one lip and 2 in the other and I will never rush any cut on my table saw. If it feels dicey, I find another way to do it!

[GPro-vyod]

I’ve been using a table saw for a couple of years now and the one thing I did after watching safety videos is maintained a healthy amount fear of the tool. It scared me to use it the very first time as I’d seen how badly someone could get hurt using it. I’m not as afraid now to use it but I still keep that fear in the back of my mind which keeps me constantly thinking and asking myself if I am doing things safely. Complacency is when most accidents happen from what I’ve seen. Thanks for the great video.

[seanhiscock]

Ethan, once again, you have produced an excellent safety video. I admit to doing some of the foolish things but I did learn a safer way because I was not comfortable using the saw. During my first project where I used my first table saw, I made a lot of these mistakes. The kickback surprised me because I had the spawls installed. The wood had not gone in far enough before it kicked back. I turned it off & figured out what happened. Thanks again for your tips.