Table Saw

Machine Shop Safety Quick Links

Guard

• Is each circular hand-fed ripsaw guarded by a hood that completely encloses that portion of the saw above the table, and that portion of the saw above the material being cut?
• Is the guard and its mounting arranged so that the guard will automatically adjust itself to the thickness of, and remain in contact with, the material being cut? 
• Does the guard or mounting not offer any considerable resistance to the insertion of material to the saw, or to the passage of the material being sawed?
• Is the guard made of adequate strength to resist blows and strains incidental to reasonable operations, adjusting, and handling?
• Is the guard designed to protect the operator from flying splinters and broken saw teeth?
• Is the guard made of material that is soft enough so that it will be unlikely to cause tooth breakage?
• Is the guard mounted to ensure that its operation will be positive, reliable, and in true alignment with the saw?
• Is the mounting adequate in strength to resist any reasonable side thrust or other force tending to throw it out of line?

Anti-kickback device

• Is each hand-fed circular ripsaw furnished with an anti-kickback device to prevent material from squeezing the saw or being thrown back on the operator?
• Is the anti-kickback device made of hard tempered steel, or its equivalent, and is it thinner than the saw kerf?
• Is the anti-kickback device of sufficient width to provide adequate stiffness or rigidity, to resist any reasonable side thrust or blow tending to bend or throw it out of position?
• Is the anti-kickback device attached so that it will remain in true alignment with the saw, even when either the saw or table is tilted?
• After a saw is used for dadoing, grooving, or rabbeting, is the anti-kickback device immediately replaced?
• Is each hand-fed circular saw provided with non-kickback fingers or dogs, located to oppose the thrust or tendency of the saw to pick up the material or to throw it back toward the operator?
• Are all such non-kickback fingers or dogs designed to provide adequate holding power for all the thicknesses of materials being cut?

Contact Information

Robin McCall-Miller, Occupational Safety Program Manager

• Call: 540-231-2341
• Email: rmmiller@vt.edu