# TV show workshop safety



## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

You know we have had many of debates about guards and such pertaining to table saw safety. I'm in no way trying to open another crazy debate but I thought this was so stupid I would mention it.

I was watching one of those HGTV shows with the wife. The experts come in and do all kinds of work to change a room or two that the owners need help with. I don't know the name they all about the same to me but i happened to be in there when it was on and I got stuck watching it. Anyway the so called expert is getting ready to show the home owner how to cut a 3/4" piece of plywood. Just before he turns on the saw he puts on safety goggles while saying, *"Safety, Safety, Safety"*. He then turns on his saw and pushes the wood through a blade with no guard.

Now I know many do this in their shops and that's fine. However, if your on TV stating, *"Safety, Safety, Safety" *Iwould hope it was about more then just safety goggles. It seems to me that they just endorsed the use of a table saw without a guard as being safe.


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## mickit (Oct 5, 2009)

I've often wondered the same thing, especially with more and more government mandated safety rules. I do remember Norm demonstrating cuts on the NYW series, without guards and such, when called on the issue, the reply was always something to the effect of 'the guard obscured the watcher's view'. On the DIY shows, though, the watcher in this case is also the doer. Very interesting question...and nice to know I'm not the only one up at this time of night, cruisin' the forums


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

Where I work, we also sell chainsaws. The manufacturer instructs all of us on the correct way to start a saw. They claim that if we demonstrate the wrong procedure, and a customer copies it and gets injured, we could be liable. Go figure.


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## Mr Mac (May 31, 2010)

My son and I teach homeschool kids (middle school on up) basic woodworking and all guards are always in place and all students wear eye and ear protection as well as an apron before any tool is powered up. Before the first project is ever started we go over all the tools and their safety features and we always stress the importance of using the safety gear installed on those tools.


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## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

another thing i noticed is that on many of those shows they drop the board right on to the blade of a table saw. Some of the time that can cause kickback. The right way is to raise the blade into the board


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## NYwoodworks (Sep 19, 2010)

I watch that show sometimes myself and seen some things that shouldn't be shown on TV.

One day I almost came out of my chair. They were removing some kind of moldings and the guy would take his claw hammer put it in the crack then take another claw hammer, hitting the other one face to face to drive it in the crack. Then he says this is the best way to do this type of removal.

WOW! are you kidding me!

What a way to get hurt, then show the world how to get hurt. 

I saw a guy do this many years ago, a very small piece of one of the hammer heads chipped off and went right in his eye. 

Two pieces of hardened steel hitting against each other does not mix.


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## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

NYwoodworks said:


> I watch that show sometimes myself and seen some things that shouldn't be shown on TV.
> 
> One day I almost came out of my chair. They were removing some kind of moldings and the guy would take his claw hammer put it in the crack then take another claw hammer, hitting the other one face to face to drive it in the crack. Then he says this is the best way to do this type of removal.
> 
> ...


DUNNO

Mythbusters did a segment on hammers hitting hammers. They were not able to get a hammer face to chip.


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## Brink (Nov 22, 2010)

rrich said:


> DUNNO
> 
> Mythbusters did a segment on hammers hitting hammers. They were not able to get a hammer face to chip.


Mythbusters were looking for exploding hammers. You should always strike mild steel, or run the chance of slivers chipping off. I hit a bearing race with a ball peen, pierced my ear that day.

If you need to hit a claw hammer, use a shot filled dead blow.


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## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

ya i saw that show they were able to get bits of the hammer to chip off and go flying but they were not able to make a hammer explode by hitting another hammer


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

I'm always amazed at the people on these shows that do some crazy stuff and have the nerve to preach safety. That show where they build a home for a "needy" family in a week for example. My wife used to constantly subject me to that show and I was constantly amazed at the rediculous stunts that they would pull off in the name of ratings. Another issue is the amount of people that are posting videos on You tube. Everything from turning on the lathe without a face shield or glasses, to ripping thin strips on the table saw without a push stick or pad. We've also seen the video of the joker who has to get his table saw started by spinning the armature of his motor very quickly with his foot so that the motor will start, only to apply the belt tension with a piece of 2X4. Insane. Information in the wrong hands is dangerous, but incorrect information in any hands (when it comes to our hobby) can be downright deadly.


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## Fishbucket (Aug 18, 2010)

NYwoodworks said:


> the guy would take his claw hammer put it in the crack then take another claw hammer, hitting the other one face to face to drive it in the crack. Then he says this is the best way to do this type of removal.
> .





rrich said:


> Mythbusters did a segment on hammers hitting hammers. They were not able to get a hammer face to chip.





Brink said:


> Mythbusters were looking for exploding hammers. .





Woodworkingkid said:


> ya i saw that show they were able to get bits of the hammer to chip off and go flying


 
I was doing a bath remodel and trying to get some flooring out of a corner with two hammers just like that. :thumbdown:

A chip came off one of the hammers and buzzed right across the top of my forearm... it looked like a scalpel cut about a 1/2 inch deep. could see the fat layer 
It took a good 10-15 seconds before I started to bleed out like a stuck pig.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Woodworkingkid said:


> another thing i noticed is that on many of those shows they drop the board right on to the blade of a table saw. Some of the time that can cause kickback. The right way is to raise the blade into the board


Where did you pick that one up?












 







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## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

this class i took last friday on table saws at wood craft that was one thing the instructer talked about


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Woodworkingkid said:


> another thing i noticed is that on many of those shows they drop the board right on to the blade of a table saw. Some of the time that can cause kickback. The right way is to raise the blade into the board





Woodworkingkid said:


> this class i took last friday on table saws at wood craft that was one thing the instructer talked about


I'm trying to get a mental image of what you are describing. What does it mean to *drop the board right on to the blade*, and *to raise the blade into the board*. Could you elaborate in more detail?












 







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## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

ok for doing a a stoped dado he said that on tv shows they lower the wood into the blade in the center or were ever they want to have it start. He said a couple weeks ago tommy mac did it on rough cut. Its somthing like it will sometimes cause kickback and that your surpose to raise the blade into the wood for that tyoe of cut


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Woodworkingkid said:


> ok for doing a a stoped dado he said that on tv shows they lower the wood into the blade in the center or were ever they want to have it start. He said a couple weeks ago tommy mac did it on rough cut. Its somthing like it will sometimes cause kickback and that your surpose to raise the blade into the wood for that tyoe of cut


Doing stopped dadoes on the tablesaw is one of those procedures that applies to your comment. Not to confuse ordinary cutting procedures. In a stopped dadoe, you can't see what you are doing, since the material covers the blade. The blade would have to be raised to the proper height first, and then the saw turned on, and the board gently let down on the running blade, guided by the fence. 

If the blade is raised into the board, you would have no reference to how high the blade is when cranking the handle. If you had one of the built in digital blade height readouts that may work, but still would not be that accurate.












 







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## Mr Mac (May 31, 2010)

cabinetman said:


> If the blade is raised into the board, you would have no reference to how high the blade is when cranking the handle. If you had one of the built in digital blade height readouts that may work, but still would not be that accurate.


Absolutely correct! But, you knew that already! :thumbsup:


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## NorCal Scot (Dec 31, 2010)

Kenbo said:


> We've also seen the video of the joker who has to get his table saw started by spinning the armature of his motor very quickly with his foot so that the motor will start, only to apply the belt tension with a piece of 2X4. Insane.


 I haven't seen that video, but I can believe it!


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

NorCal Scot said:


> I haven't seen that video, but I can believe it!


This one?





 











 







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## Hammer1 (Aug 1, 2010)

I used to be a woodworking instructor. I bought a bunch of safety films to augment my training program. I couldn't believe the egregious violations on these specifically made safety videos. They worked very well for my class, in reverse. Students would look for the violations like a treasure hunt. One guy was cutting rabbets on the table saw safety tape, waste piece was caught between the fence and blade and shot out behind him so fast it was difficult to see. Students put two and two together and found the violation, I was proud of them. Much more effective than straight forward safety lessons and good for laughs, too.


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## egeorge1 (Dec 18, 2009)

Let me tell you, these "experts" on the showsare not always what they seem...I won't name the show but it is a show where a lot of volunteers are needed to help. I volunteered and some of the people who star on the show just take it easy until the camera is rolling. I watched one woman do just this while everyone else was busting their butts. They filmed her for two minutes and when they stopped she asked my friend who was also volunteering and quite busy..."Can you run and get me some iced tea? And make sure there is plenty of ice!" That was literally the most work I saw her do that day! The edited show is nothing like the reality of what actually happens on some diy shows.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

cabinetman said:


> This one?
> 
> YouTube - Old Table Saw
> 
> ...


Yep that's the one and he does it with his little girl sitting in the room watching.


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## Locodcdude (Oct 24, 2010)

Yeah there's some really unsafe people out there that just don't take the proper precautions. I know a lot of us work without the blade on the table saw, and that's just fine if you're willing to take the risk of getting cut. I'm also a risk taker that works without the gaurd (Not opening a debate on this again). But there's certain things that everyone needs to do in order to protect themselves. Such as using a push stick when the material is too small, or like that guy trying to start his table saw. 2 words for him, JUNK IT! Not worth the safety hazard with his little girl in the room, him in his flip flops trying to start this old pile.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Locodcdude said:


> Yeah there's some really unsafe people out there that just don't take the proper precautions. I know a lot of us work without the blade on the table saw, and that's just fine if you're willing to take the risk of getting cut.


Table saws are fairly safe without a blade.












 







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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Locodcdude said:


> Yeah there's some really unsafe people out there that just don't take the proper precautions. I know a lot of us work without the blade on the table saw, and that's just fine if you're willing to take the risk of getting cut. I'm also a risk taker that works without the gaurd (Not opening a debate on this again). But there's certain things that everyone needs to do in order to protect themselves. Such as using a push stick when the material is too small, or like that guy trying to start his table saw. 2 words for him, JUNK IT! Not worth the safety hazard with his little girl in the room, him in his flip flops trying to start this old pile.


You know this guy in the video is ridiculously stupid and unsafe.

Push sticks or not, 20 -25 years safe accident free experience don't matter. It takes a split second of error, distraction, complacency or even wood failure to cause an accident. You should be worried about more then just a cut because if that's all you get your lucky. Yes saws especially older ones have a bad and PITA design for guards that make a lot of people including me in the past use them without the guards. However as I said anything unknown can happen to cause a accident, no matter how safe you feel like you are. 

Yes you will need to use a saw without a blade guard at times but not always and it is completely different then the idiot in the video.


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## Woodworkingkid (Jan 8, 2011)

I can't belive that with the amount of common sence he lackes that the still has all his fingers or if this is how he does every think with this much of a lack of commen sence that he is still alive. And has not done somthink like look down a gun barrel to see if it's loaded or screw around with electrical without turning it off or somthink stupid like tha because of his lack of common sence


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## mickit (Oct 5, 2009)

cabinetman said:


> Table saws are fairly safe without a blade.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


'less ya tip it over on your leg.:laughing:


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## Kenbo (Sep 16, 2008)

cabinetman said:


> This one?
> 
> 
> 
> .


 

Yup, that's the one. Thanks CM. I wasn't even sure how to search for that. What a moron.


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Kenbo said:


> Yup, that's the one. Thanks CM. I wasn't even sure how to search for that. What a moron.


How about "moron kick starting table saw" it came up as the first search response.


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

Ugh... I bet that idiot will try to sue the MFG if they still exist when he gets hurt. I didn't say IF, I said WHEN...


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## MGP Roofing (Jul 10, 2010)

NorCal Scot said:


> I haven't seen that video, but I can believe it!


crazy!


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