ISSUE ARCHIVES

SEPT/ OCT 2001
Volume 44 /  Issue 5

IN THIS ISSUE
Project Articles
• Colonial Dry Sink
• Hanging Wall Desk
• Child's Pounding Bench and A Wooden Toy Top

DEPARTMENTS
• Ask Smitty
• Owner’s Gallery
• Letters from Owners
 
Academy Notes
Finishing Touches - Pt.1 Preparing the Surface
 
Service Pointers
Jointer Service Pointers
 
Safety Tips
Table Saw Safety

What's New
The 5-Foot Connector Tubes

EDUCATION
• Find A Shopsmith Woodworking Academy Near You
• National Woodworking Academy in Dayton, OH

ONLINE CATALOGS
• Online Accessory Catalog
• Request Printed Accessory Catalog
• Online Replacement Parts Catalog

MARK V INFORMATION
• Find A Shopsmith
MARK V Demo Near You
• Request MARK V Information Package

LINKS
• Links Worth Visiting
• Free Woodworking Tips

FEEDBACK
Contacting Shopsmith

Copyright 2001.
Shopsmith, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

Your Body

Since you already know that a power driven circular saw cuts so effortlessly, you also know that it's a good idea to keep your hands, arms and other body parts out of the blade's path at all times. Duh! Your saw's DANGER ZONE includes the direct path of the blade as well as the area around it in all directions. When sawing wood, this danger zone can be avoided by keeping your hands and body at least 3" from the blade at all times.

The Shopsmith Safety Kit that came with your MARK V was designed specifically to keep your hands clear of the danger zone when working with the MARK V, the Bandsaw, the Jointer or the stationary Belt Sander. If you own an older MARK V or purchased yours second-hand and don't have one of these 5-piece Safety Kits, we STRONGLY recommend that you get one today. It will pay for itself many times over in terms of the added safety it will bring to your power tool operations.

During ripping operations, use the Push Block, Push Stick and Fence Straddler in this kit to keep your hands safely away from the saw blade while providing maximum control of the stock. To hold the stock against the rip fence during your cut, use the kit's spring-loaded Featherboard instead of your fingers. Remember to always place the Featherboard in front of the blade, before it makes its cut. This will keep your cut pieces from pressing against the blade, which will close the saw kerf on the blade, resulting in a kickback. These basic, fundamental safeguards are designed specifically to protect your most important possession -- your body.

Your Wood

Although the majority of sawing accidents are the result of fingers or hands being placed too closely to the rotating saw blade (inside the 3" DANGER ZONE), injuries can also occur when your stock is improperly prepared. Generally speaking, straight, well-prepared stock is not only more likely to yield a well-crafted project, it's also a lot safer to use. Before you begin any cutting operations, here are a few important tips on stock selection:

• Straight stock is as important as a well-aligned machine. Always check the edges of your stock for straightness. Crooked stock can bind in the machine and cause a kickback.
• Materials with hard or smooth edges should be sawed with the hard or smooth side down. In the event of a kickback, the pawls (or anti-kickback fingers) on your saw guard will then be better able to prevent the kickback.
• Use only dried stock when performing table sawing operations. Green wood or treated woods that are damp from having been left outside increase the danger of sawing accidents many-fold.
• Never saw stock with defects such as warpage or twist; loose knots or splits; or stock containing hardware such as nails, brads or screws.

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