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20
Basic Saw Operation
1. Familiarize yourself with the location and
operation of all controls and adjustments
and the use of the mitre gauge and rip
fence.
2. Serious injury can result from kickbacks
which occur when a workpiece binds on the
saw blade or binds between the saw blade
and rip fence or other fixed objects. This
binding can cause the workpiece to lift up
and be thrown toward the operator.
Listed below are the conditions which can
cause kickback and should be thoroughly
familiar to the operator.
• Confining the cutoff piece when
crosscutting or ripping.
• Releasing the workpiece before
completing the operation or not pushing the
workpiece all the way past the saw blade.
• Not using the splitter when ripping or not
maintaining alignment of the splitter with the
saw blade.
• Using a dull saw blade.
• Not maintaining alignment of the rip
fence. (Fence should angle away from,
rather than towards, the saw blade front to
back.) NOTE: A caution decal on guard
and splitter assembly warns against
misalignment.
• Applying feed force in ripping to the
cutoff (free) section of the workpiece instead
of the section between the saw blade and
fence. Use push sticks or push blocks for
narrow, thin, or short work.
• Ripping wood that is twisted (not flat), or
does not have a straight edge, or has a
twisted grain.
To minimize or prevent injury from
kickbacks:
• Avoid conditions listed above.
• Wear a safety face shield, goggles, or
glasses.
• Do not use the miter gauge and rip
fence in the same operation unless provision
is made of a facing board on the fence to
allow the cutoff section of the workpiece to
come free before the cut is started. (see
Figure 42)