21
Never reach behind the blade with either
hand to hold down or remove the cutoff
piece with the saw blade rotating.
Always use blade guard, splitter/r iving knife and
anti-kickback pawls. Make sure splitter/riving
knife is properly aligned. When wood is cut
along the grain, the kerf tends to close and bind
on the blade and kickbacks can occur.
Figure 32
The rip fence (A, Fig. 32) should be set for the
width of the cut (C, Fig. 32) by usi ng the scale
on the front rail, or by measur ing the distance
between blade (B) and fence (A). Stand out of
line with saw blade and workpiece to a void
sawdust and splinters coming off t he blade or a
kickback, if one should occur.
If the work piece does not have a straight edge,
nail an auxiliary straight edged board on it to
provide one against the fence. To c ut properly,
the board must make good contact with the
table. If it is warped, t urn the holl ow side down.
Do not attempt to cut boards with significant
warp.
In ripping, use one hand to hold the board down
against the fence or fixture, and the ot her to
push it into the blade between blade and f ence.
If workpiece is narrower than 6" or shorter than
12", use a push stick or push block to push it
through between fence and blade (Figure 33).
Never push in a location such that the pushing
hand is in line with the blade. Move the hand
serving as a hold-down a safe dist ance from
blade as cut nears completion. For very narrow
ripping where a push stick cannot be used, use
a push block or auxiliary fence. Always push the
workpiece completely past the blade at the end
of a cut to minimize the possibility of a kickback.
Figure 33
Figure 34
When ripping long boards, use a support at f r ont
of table (A, Figure 34), such as a roller st and,
and a support or "tailman" (B) at the rear.
Never use the rip fence beyond the point where
the carriage is flush with the end of the rails.
Have the blade extend about 1/8" above the top
of the workpiece. Exposing the blade above this
point can be hazardous.