DIY Safety Tips
Wear Eyeglasses
This one seems like a gimme, but it’s surprising how many people forget to do this. I’m not sure if it’s because glasses just never look that cool or if it’s easy to forget when you launch into a quick project that should only take minutes. I honestly can’t think of very many projects or repairs that don’t involve saw dust, wood or metal filings, or other possibly rapidly moving projectiles. It goes without saying that if one of these heads towards an eye when you aren’t wearing eyeglasses, you’re going to have a bad day. So wear eye protection, and make sure it’s actually rated for DIY work. That old pair of specs you have sitting in your junk drawer will not cut it.
Avoid Table Saw Kickback
Feed me.
Photo by rayb777 via Flickr.
Ahh, table saw kickback. Is there a better way to send a piece of stock into space? No, no there is not. There are many reasons why kickback can occur, including an improper blade height, an underpowered blade, or feeding the wood at an angle, which can occur if your fence is anything but parallel or the stock twists as you feed it into the blade. The end result of kickback is always the same: a piece of wood thrust violently away from the saw and into your general direction. Check out this article on reasons why kickback occurs and how to avoid them. And always use featherboards or push sticks when using a table saw to keep yourself out of the line of kickback fire.
And remember, we stock thousands of parts for table saws, including new blades.
Learn to Avoid Chainsaw Kickback
Like it’s cousin table saw kickback, chainsaw kickback can be incredibly dangerous. But instead of a piece of stock flying towards you, you’ll have a very sharp, spinning chainsaw blade on its way to your face. And that’s never a good situation to find yourself in. Chainsaw kickback occurs when the teeth of the blade catch an obstruction as they rotate around the tip of the blade. The best ways to avoid chainsaw kickback: never cut with the tip of the blade, always begin your cuts at the base; using a saw with a chain brake can greatly reduce kickback; make sure your chain is sharp; always cut with the saw outside of your legs–not between–to prevent the kickback coming right at you; always cut below shoulder height to maintain better control over the saw.
Check out our list of saw parts, where you can find replacement chain brakes, nose guards, and new chains and bars.
