Portable Table Saw

A portable table saw is great for the home hobbyist or craftsman. But you have to realize that this tool is one sharp cookie. Very sharp. To make matters worse, the sharp bit spins round at an alarming rate and sticks up out of a flat table. What all this means is that you need to be careful when you're using one of these babies, so let's look at a few important safety tips:

Don't go using that saw for something that it's just not designed for. A portable table saw is not for cutting bricks, tiles, or the concrete on the drive. I would add that you should also not try to rig up some other type of saw as a table saw - I actually read about a guy the other day who made a table for his miter saw and somehow mounted the saw under the table so the blade came through. Don't!

Wear ear defenders. A portable table saw is noisy and you WILL damage your hearing if you use one for any length of time without ear protection. If you don't want to look uncool by wearing those big fluorescent lumps of plastic on your ears, well, think how you will feel when you can't hear the grand-kids say their first words.

Eyes. Don't join the seemingly endless queue of folk at casualty waiting to have assorted debris pulled from their eyes. It could cost you dearly. Safety glasses are essential when using a table saw, it's such obvious advice, but so often ignored especially if you're doing a quick cut and the glasses are who knows where in the garage. Make sure those glasses are clean too, and if they're all scratched up, get new ones.

Stability. Make sure you always set your portable table saw on firm, level ground, and check that there is no wobble or play in the stand before you switch on. When you are working on large pieces of stock, best make sure it is well supported by outfeed tables or stands or it could tip up the whole rig.

Kickback - make sure that you check the blade and fence frequently - you want them parallel so the stock is never going to get squeezed which is a common cause of kickback, which, if you don't know, is where the stock gets caught by the upward-moving back of the blade and thrown back at you like a missile.

Position. Do not stand in front of the blade, just in case kickback happens. Stand firmly, with both feet planted square on the ground when sawing. Never reach over the table to adjust things when that blade is moving.

If you take note of the above and if the tips of your blade are as sharp as these safety tips then you should be able to look forward to years of safe sawing.