53 – Miter Saw Safety

Video - May 9, 2008

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Some general miter saw safety tips including clamping and operation tips. The Festool Kapex makes its first appearance in our show as well. And finally, some outtakes.

33 comments on “53 – Miter Saw Safety”

Chip May 9, 2008 9:45 am

Marc, you mentioned using a jigsaw to cut rough lumber to length before milling. I would have thought that the circular saw would be faster and easier for straight cuts. Why the jigsaw? — Chip

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Brian May 9, 2008 10:21 am

Great video Marc.

I noticed that once you installed your backer board to the fence of the saw your hold down clamp wouldn’t swing far enough out to clear it.

I actually have been bitten by my miter saw too. Blood blister only. I was trying to cut a bunch of trianglar shape sticks for a wine rack and tried to gang a bunch of them together to cut a few at once. Well that didn’t work out at all. The blade caught one of the pieces and the next thing I knew was my finger of hand that was holding the pieces in place was slammed against my fence.

It hurt like hell and scared the crap out of me. I know better now but that should have been a rather obvious problem from the beginning.

Keep up the good work.

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Germain May 9, 2008 11:51 am

You’re batting a thousand with this safety series, Marc. I’d like to add yet another “Thank you!”.

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Bob S in CA May 9, 2008 1:06 pm

I’ll take a crack at answering Chip. A circular saw would create the same situation as the miter saw. As it cuts through the warped board, the pressures in the board would be released, the board would move, and a pinch of the blade might occur. With a miter saw, that pinch most likely would just force the sliding part back at you. On a circular saw, the only thing guiding the saw is your hand and arm, which would now have to react to the kickback.

In fact, many people cut even straight wood dangerously with a circular saw. In order to avoid pinching the blade, you should have two points of support on the board for each side of the cut. Otherwise one or both sides will move as pressure is released, binding the blade and forcing the saw back at you.

Think of the circular saw as a small table saw in your hand, only without the table, and you can see that some of the same issues apply.

Don’t ask me how I know all this :).

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Bob N May 9, 2008 1:08 pm

Marc,

Just want to add yet another thank you for a great week and great idea of bringing safety to the fore front for everyone. I learned a few things and even purchased one of those respirators like yours. You got me to thinking about all that dust and junk we encounter in the shop and even though I have a Trend Air Shield I use when at the lathe, I felt that the 3M 7500 would be one I would use for general all round purposes.

Thank Nicole for her part in this as well. You are a lucky man to have that kind of support at your back.

Thanks to Rockler for their sponsership and the nice prizes of which I was the winner of one.

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Daniel May 9, 2008 2:02 pm

Just a note on using the miter-saw with either the left or the right hand.
Most of the miter-saws out there are geared for right-handed people. As far as I know the Festool Kapex and the older Ridgid saws are universal.
Me being a left-handed person, I’ve had to adapt to the right-handed world in woodworking. I just glad to see that the newer tools out there are making things more universal, which in turn makes things safer.

Daniel

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Jim May 9, 2008 3:45 pm

I definitely agree that the jigsaw is a great way to crosscut rough lumber. Since you are cutting to rough length the cut doesn’t need to be super accurate and the cut is very safe. Combine this with ripping rough lumber on the bandsaw and its a super safe method for cutting rough wood to nominal dimension.

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Ryan May 9, 2008 5:59 pm

Great job on all the safety info. Very helpful in reminding me what NOT to do.

I am officially addicted to your site and videos! All are very helpful and interesting to watch.

Ryan
Portland Oregon (Originally Tucson AZ!)

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tooladdict May 9, 2008 6:14 pm

“And knowing is half the battle! GI JOE”
I don’t know why that came to mind at the end on every safety video this week :)
This was a really cool idea! Thanks guys for putting it together.

With all of these great public service announcements during safety week the only thing missing was a great catch phase or slogan like: “Be cool stay in school”, or “just say no to drugs”. Safety week should have something like “Remember, think before you cut” –

Vic- I’m challenging you to come up with a great slogan for Safety Week 2009, at least better then mine!

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Shannon May 9, 2008 7:32 pm

Marc,

Great week full of lots of great information. Thanks for mobilizing everyone around a great topic. Now that it is over though I have to say that I am disappointed that you didn’t pull out a musical montage of “Safety Dance” by Men Without Hats! Dave Noftz even said he does his safety dance earlier in the week. I figured he didn’t run with the song because Marc must have already thought of it. Oh well, I guess safety week is no place for comedy. Maybe next year.

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Russell Tribby May 9, 2008 8:58 pm

Marc, where did you you get the extensions and stops for the fence on the Kapex? I looked on the Festool site and didn’t see anything in the accessories section that matched what you had.

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thewoodwhisperer May 9, 2008 9:02 pm

Hey Russell. Not sure what the availability is going to be for the extensions. I think we will have to wait and see.

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Vic May 10, 2008 3:44 am

God, I love the Festool line! No Dust is a Must!…sorry..I figured I’m gonna have to put the “slogan hat” on if I’m to meet Tool’s challenge for next year. I don’t want him goin’ all pumpkin killer on me:D

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Tom May 10, 2008 8:16 am

Marc,
Thanks for the good review of miter saw safety. I’m left handed so I need to be very aware of the odd positions I might get my hands in.
I noticed when you were working with a piece of 2×2 lumber that it had a tag on the end. I had a minor scary incident with one of those recently. I was trimming a board to length and had forgotten to remove the tag and its steel staple! The saw didn’t lose or chip a tooth, but it made a pretty loud bang. I still don’t know where the staple went. So now I always check the ends – and sides – of store bought lumber to remove any staples.

Also, I have a 12 inch DeWalt sliding miter saw, and limited floor space. So I got the Rousseau Company’s miter saw stand kit, which provides for very solid mounting and big fold-down wings. There’s always plenty of support for the workpieces.

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Denis Rezendes May 10, 2008 10:58 am

you just had to show off the Kapex Marc, didn’t you! I see how it is, lol! great video, I learned a lot. the kapex is beatiful too, you are one lucky man!

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Steve May 10, 2008 4:51 pm

Great week Marc!

How could Nicole stand to be so close to you in that last shot? Man, you’ve worn that same t-shirt all week!! Whew! :-)

Congrats on getting so many people and publications involved!

I’m amazed at how many videos I see out there with the woodworker wearing long-sleeved shirts and rings (David Marks) !

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WiZeR May 10, 2008 11:30 pm

Thanks Marc. An interesting week. I like the idea of the backer board on the fence. I guess that also helps aligning cuts?

Am I right in saying you ripped out your old mitre saw station to fit the Kapex in? or is that a different part of the shop?

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Paul-Marcel ST-ONGE May 10, 2008 11:52 pm

Hey, Steve, David Marks can’t show off his tattoos like Marc so he had to cover them up!! Ha ha… When Marc powered up the Kapex, all I did was watch for dust, any dust. Made my Makita (an awesome saw btw) look like Pigpen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get the leaf blower out for my saw…

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thewoodwhisperer May 10, 2008 11:57 pm

Wizer – Yes sir you are correct. the old cabinet was recycled and is now used in a different part of the shop.

Paul- Pretty amazing stuff man. It really is as effective as it looks!

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Joe R May 11, 2008 10:55 am

I’m glad you have and used the Kapex for your mitre saw safety video. Virtually no dust, pretty quiet, stops quickly, very precise, adjustable speeds, quick blade change…gotta love the Kapex. So, now you’ve put me over the edge – I have to add the Kapex to my Festool collection! Thanks Marc for a very informative, helpful, and humorous week. Thanks to Nicole, too! Oh, and you should always do the outtakes at the end of your videos.

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Quiglag May 11, 2008 5:57 pm

One more thing to keep in mind for safety.

Keep the blade slot in the base free form debris. When doing a lot of small cuts, you will end up with small pieces in the slot. After you have made your cut, and the blade is coming to a stop, it could catch one of those pieces. I have seen the blade either jump forward toward the operator, or launch the piece like a rocket across the room. Not good.

I use miter saws for a lot of the work I do. I would love to see how well the Kapex would preform out in the construction world.

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tom hunt May 12, 2008 7:00 am

1. Congrats on your Safety Week EVENT! I watched your videos, and several linked videos. While I can’t say I actually saw or learned something NEW, I will be thinking “safe” more in the future. I truly believe you have prevented some future injuries!!!

2. Question: This weekend I had to cut 2 cedar trees, 20′-25′. I kept 6 logs, 5″ to 8″, about 4′ long. I’d like to mill some project material (1′ or less) but i’ve never dried raw material and the mags all seem to talk a long time for air drying. Should I band saw sime 1″ slabs, stack it on sticls in my shop, and come bact to it in a year, or is there a way to use this stuff sooner?

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Jason July 17, 2009 5:32 pm

I bought StableMate PLUS100 Universal Miter Saw Stand a few weeks before christmas as my own present from http://www.dealsshoppie.com/pr.....+Saw+Stand! I love this thing and someone will probably have to pry it from my cold dead hands some dayThere were 47 reviews with an average rating of 4.5.These ratings seem to be accurate as I too agree with their views after buying the product.

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Dave Stanton July 9, 2011 7:58 pm

Hi Marc, I learnt a few things and also have a couple of questions.
1. Double sided tape will add a couple of millimetres to the backing boards clearance. Would it be better to add a couple of bits of tape spaced out either side of the fence to stop any rocking.
2. Reducing the height of the backing board to the same height of the saw’s fence may allow stops and clamps to be more effective.

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- thewoodwhisperer July 9, 2011 8:31 pm
  
  Hey Dave. 1. Yup. Always a good idea to balance everything out so there is no wobble. 2. Good point. I’d imagine you would want to go as low as your work will allow. But I do like having a taller fence just because its more support for larger pieces.
  
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nebulous August 21, 2011 9:53 am

So I’m a bit late to the party, but then I only just got a (cheap) sliding miter saw.

I’ve done a stupendously stupid thing on it already, resulting in a piece of padauk nearly exploding. So I thought I’d look up some safety tips.

So a question:
Wouldn’t the workpiece be pushed upwards by pushing the blade towards the fence? The teeth will be moving up at the far end of the blade. Pulling towards you (which I have not tried, and am not anxious to do) at least pushes the workpiece down and towards the fence.

Of course, as with a router, it’s better to oppose the direction the tool wants to go, because it actually gives you control. So it’s probably still the safer option to push.

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Dave from Oz August 21, 2011 4:05 pm

Nebulos. You are correct about the blade direction, but the tend is to lift the front of the piece. The forces combining tend for this not to happen, the forces you have control of are both of your hands, the one holding the workpiece down and steady as well as the hand pushing the saw meaning how fast or slow you wish the whole operation to take. Also, if the piece did lift, it would bog the saw down in more material to cut which could cause the saw to stall. When it does cut through all the material, there is nothing left to want to lift.
Radial arm saws on the other hand, traveling from the rear of the work piece are also being controlled by your desire to not have the blade rush towards you at an unsafe speed.

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Ken McAllister August 28, 2011 4:01 pm

Marc, thanks for this video. I was having trouble making small but precise 1″ blocks with the chop saw. After hearing your explanation for why the small pieces go flying across the room, I went back out to the shop, rigged up a clamp and zero clearance insert, and within 10 minutes had made more and better blocks than in the previous hour–and had done so far more safely to boot.

Cheers!

ksm.

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Sarit December 19, 2012 11:39 pm

Hi Marc, I stumbled upon this video on youtube. At 1:45 you say how using the clamp you can keep your hands further away, but at 6:20 you stick your hands between the clamp and the blade when making the cut. At that camera angle it looks like your cutting your thumb off! Bad… Marc.. Bad

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- thewoodwhisperer December 20, 2012 5:58 am
  
  Thanks for pointing that out.
  
  Reply
Brandon December 25, 2012 12:10 am

Do you have any resources for setting up a miter saw in the event that it has been knocked “out of calibration”?

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- thewoodwhisperer December 25, 2012 6:45 am
  
  Not yet. Definitely a video I need to make.
  
  Reply
Jessie Foley January 15, 2016 9:10 am

I Loved this video Marc ! all of your video’s.I have learned so much from you.I have just built my shop, a 12 x 40 and all your ideals on design are wonderful.

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