Monday, May 10th, 2010
This 3rd annual Wood Workers Safety Week was organized for the community by the ubiquitous Marc ‘The Wood Whisperer’ Spagnuolo.
What I want to actually show you all today are the dangers of wearing baggy or loose clothing while operating a table saw. I realized that this would be a great subject while filming the next video that will come out later this week.
So, here we have a dummy with a single arm that should be a good representation of a left arm too close to the saw blade while wearing a baggy long-sleeved shirt. Yes I understand that the dummy is mostly positioned in front of the blade, but this could also happen with a right arm too. Just watch…
I’m showing the ‘naked’ dummy so you know how solid the structure is. A human would be constantly moving, while this dummy is solidly constructed and won’t move unless about 100 pounds of force push or pull it.
You might be able to make out that the cuff of the sleeve is already caught in a tooth of the blade. This is for our safety. If I were to pull the sleeve into an already spinning blade, the results would be very unpredictable. Here, we’ll start the blade with the shirt already caught in it.
Make him a little more human with a hat … and a face… And, let’s go.
OK, let’s look at what happened. In two frames of this film, the blade tore the cuff of the sleeve down into the saw. A third frame, and enough of the shirt was grabbed to lift off the zero clearance insert and destroy it. 4 more frames and the saw blade is so caught up with the shirt that it won’t turn anymore. So, that equates to 7 1/100ths of a second to destroy a shirt, a zero clearance insert, and possibly your arm.
Regardless of my initial observations, my zero clearance insert was not the only thing damaged. While removing the shirt from the blade I noticed the shirt shoulder had been ripped by the wooden arm’s sharp rear corners. I’ll show this later.
Let’s do another run with no insert.
This time, with no insert, the shirt was pulled in even further and almost completely around the blade. Let’s look at the aftermath.
A length of shirt about equal to my entire forearm was pulled down to where the dummy’s ‘hand’ was. Meaning, an entire forearm could have been damaged in this kind of an accident. I totally do not advise sawing without a zero clearance insert if this is the case. And, I think I’m making my next one out of hardwood instead of hardboard…
Joey, as my kids named the dummy, doesn’t look too happy here, huh?
Here’s that shot of the shirt ripped off the shoulder. And this was a pretty tough shirt to begin with…
Let’s gear up for a final test.
This time I moved the arm closer to the blade and stapled the shirt to the arm. I originally intended for the wooden arm to fall into the blade for the extra gore factor, so here I’m trying my hardest to get this to happen.
OK, looks like Joey’s ready…
OK, so no wooden arm or hand splinters flying, but still a good example of how fast an accident can ruin your day.
This split in the wood is not from the blade hitting it. The arm was made up of 2 3/8” strips of lyptus screwed together.
Here you can see that my once nice-looking shop shirt is trashed. And so is Joey…
I want to thank my kids for help with this demo and to my baby for napping long enough for us to set up and shoot it.
Stay tuned for my second video later this week.
Tags: Rick Waters, Safety, splintered board, Table saw, wood, woodwork, Woodworking
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Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Just last night I started making some changes to my life. No, I didn’t buy a plane ticket to Edge-of-the-rain-forest South America so I could chain myself to a tree in order to stop deforestation. Though I think deforestation is an unnecessary and unfortunate byproduct of uninformed and newly capitalistic societies, I think my energies are well focused elsewhere.
No, the changes I began to make last night were much more simple. For the last 5 months I’ve been growing my hair out for the cold weather. Last night, I had my wife shave it all off (again) for a couple of reasons – it’s getting warmer, and I’ll be biking to the train station for the Spring, Summer, and Fall, so I don’t want my hair to get messed up by a helmet.
I had just returned from the local sports-focused big box store with a shopping bag full of bicycle-related goodies. The change that I made this morning was actually getting on the bike and riding to the train station. I know some people might not see that as much of a difference from my first change (the haircut) but actually DOING instead of planning to do is a major feat.
What I’ve come to realize this morning is that our woodworking endeavors sometimes mirror the desirable and undesirable traits that we exhibit in our lives. Many of us plan to do great things in our shops. We talk to our friends and neighbors, our spouses and our contacts online about the next big project, or the new design we come up with – or even, that new jig that we are going to build that will solve all of our problems in the shop.
But, what are we really doing. Paying lip service to our passion. The jig never gets built. The new design remains either on paper or is fading from your memory. That big project becomes a small spice rack or new shelf for the coat closet.
In contrast look at what those energetic young people are doing outside right now. Go ahead, take a look. Well, I’m assuming that you’ll read this during daylight hours, while people are still up and about. Anyway, what I’m talking about is look at all of those people who enjoy jogging, walking, biking, swimming, orienteering, whatever… They are out there doing it every day. Actually doing it.
It’s Spring in the Northern Hemisphere right now. It won’t be for long. Soon it’ll be Summer. Then Leaves will start to fall and then it’ll be bone chillingly cold again. When it gets that cold, that’s it for me. I spend at least 3 months making excuses for why I’m not in the shop. But right now, I’m getting back in the saddle.
I spent an hour in the shop two nights ago just milling up the lumber for my next iteration of the X-Leg Table. This was supposed to be my Winter project, but it has become my Spring project instead. What got me out to the shop at 8pm on a Tuesday night? Me thinking ‘I can sit on my butt watching TV, or I can DO something. DOING is better than doing nothing.’ So I got out to the shop and jointed and planed 6 boards of Lyptus.
I’d love to show you this Lyptus now, because it is some amazing wood. But, that’ll have to wait for a podcast.
Tags: Balding, Exercising, Motivation, woodwork, Woodworking
Posted in Hobbies, Woodworking | 3 Comments »
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
I’ve had RW Anderson stop by and review the Fox Chapel Publishing book, ‘Zany Wooden Toys that Whiz, Spin, Pop, and Fly’. Enjoy
I’ve received several notes that people have been having problems with videing the video for this episode. Please try downloading it from iTunes, or choose from one of the three below. Thanks!
Tags: book, Fox Chapel Publishing, toys, wood, woodwork, Woodworking
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Tuesday, September 1st, 2009
I had the pleasure of interviewing a modern day renaissance woman, Carole Rothman, author of Wooden Bowls From the Scroll Saw. We discussed how Carole got into woodworking, and scrollsawing, her challenges and triumphs in perfecting the scrollsawn bowl, jar and vase.
Tags: bandsaw, bowl, Carole Rothman, Fox Chapel Publishing, jar, Rick Waters, scroll saw, splintered board, vase, wood, woodwork, Woodworker
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Tuesday, September 30th, 2008
When last we left him, Rick Waters, aka ‘Splintered Board’ the self described ‘Woodworker Un-extraordinaire’ was about to continue his project in completing the most difficult, most dangerous, possibly the most disgusting project of his woodworking career the Baby Diaper Changing Table. Said table has quickly and rightly become Splintered Board’s nemesis.
With such heinous acts against the woodworker as: repeatedly demanding more and more wood; requiring many extra hours of design; consistently jamming up an 18″ thickness planer; having so many pieces that the woodworker can’t possibly keep track of them all; weighing so much that the constant shuttling back and forth to the school woodshop is breaking the woodworker’s back, this table has now resorted to pulling out the big guns.
It has now called in the woodworker’s wife to comment on the lack of progress! Splintered Board has no choice, this table is going down!
Meanwhile, locked away in the bowels of the ‘Mancave of Sawdust’, Splintered Board tackles another project. This first commission (pro bono, naturally) proves to be no challenge for Rick’s fledgling skills.
And if that’s not enough, in this episode, your hero, Splintered Board will share a tip on wood identification, some anecdotal information about a pen-turner, and the possible future of THE SPLINTERED BOARD PODCAST!
Thanks, Greg, for the great intro!!!
Please visit Greg Crites’ website VeinArmor.com
Tags: art, basement workshop, box, chisel, chronicles, furnitology, Furniture, hand tools, Jointer, miter, modern woodshop, planer, Podcast, power tools, Renaissance Woodworker, rough cut, saw, sawdust, Table saw, the wood whisperer, toolmonger, Tools, wood, woodwork, Woodworker
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