Use the appropriate saw blade for the riving
knife. For the riving knife to function properly, the
saw blade diameter must match the appropriate
riving knife and the body of the saw blade must be
thinner than the thickness of the riving knife and
the cutting width of the saw blade must be wider
than the thickness of the riving knife.
CUTTING PROCEDURES WARNINGS
Never place your fingers or
hands in the vicinity or in line
with the saw blade. A moment of inattention or a
slip could direct your hand towards the saw blade
and result in serious personal injury.
Feed the workpiece into the saw blade or cut-
ter only against the direction of rotation. Feed-
ing the workpiece in the same direction that the
saw blade is rotating above the table may result in
the workpiece, and your hand, being pulled into
the saw blade.
Never use the mitre gauge to feed the work-
piece when ripping and do not use the rip
fence as a length stop when cross cutting with
the miter gauge. Guiding the workpiece with the
rip fence and the miter gauge at the same time
increases the likelihood of saw blade binding and
kickback.
When ripping, always apply the workpiece
feeding force between the fence and the saw
blade. Use a push stick when the distance be-
tween the fence and the saw blade is less than
6 in. (150 mm), and use a push block when this
distance is less than 2 in. (50 mm). "Work help-
ing" devices will keep your hand at a safe distance
from the saw blade.
Use only the push stick provided by the man-
ufacturer or constructed in accordance with
the instructions. This push stick provides suffi-
cient distance of the hand from the saw blade.
Never use a damaged or cut push stick. A
damaged push stick may break, causing your
hand to slip into the saw blade.
Do not perform any operation "freehand." Al-
ways use either the rip fence or the miter
gauge to position and guide the workpiece.
"Freehand" means using your hands to support
or guide the workpiece, in lieu of a rip fence or
miter gauge. Freehand sawing leads to misalign-
ment, binding and kickback.
Safety Instructions for Table Saws
SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS
Never reach around or over a rotating saw
blade. Reaching for a workpiece may lead to ac-
cidental contact with the moving saw blade.
Provide auxiliary workpiece support to the
rear and/or sides of the saw table for long and/
or wide workpieces to keep them level. A long
and/or wide workpiece has a tendency to pivot on
the table's edge, causing loss of control, saw
blade binding and kickback.
Feed the workpiece at an even pace. Do not
bend or twist the workpiece. If jamming oc-
curs, turn the tool off immediately, unplug the
tool, and then clear the jam. Jamming the saw
blade by the workpiece can cause kickback or
stall the motor.
Do not remove pieces of cut-off material
while the saw is running. The material may be-
come trapped between the fence or inside the
saw blade guard and the saw blade, pulling your
fingers into the saw blade. Turn the saw off and
wait until the saw blade stops before removing
material.
Use an auxiliary fence in contact with the table
top when ripping workpieces less than 2 mm
thick. A thin workpiece may wedge under the rip
fence and create a kickback.
KICKBACK CAUSES AND
RELATED WARNINGS
Kickback is a sudden reaction of the workpiece due
to a pinched, jammed saw blade, a misaligned line
of cut in the workpiece with respect to the saw
blade, or when a part of the workpiece binds be-
tween the saw blade and the rip fence or other
fixed object.
Most frequently, during kickback, the workpiece is
lifted from the table by the rear portion of the saw
blade and is propelled towards the operator.
Kickback is the result of saw misuse and/or incor-
rect operating procedures or conditions and can
be avoided by taking proper precautions, as given
below.
Never stand directly in line with the saw blade.
Always position your body on the same side
of the saw blade as the fence. Kickback may
propel the workpiece at high velocity towards any-
one standing in front and in line with the saw
blade.
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