Hi there, I make furniture for a hobby in my back yard. I own my own table saw, a router and other machinery. I have built some wardrobes and cabinets without any previous training but would like to have a one-to-one tutorials with a trained carpenter, ideally in my home or in their workshop near me (Enfield). I am particularly interested in safety and techniques when working with the router and the table saw. If anyone has any suggestions I would be most grateful (and so would my dear wife who just bought my first life insurance and income protection...). Many thanks. Shlomi.
That's a bloody great question with no easy answer. Safety is a state of mind with machinery of any sort. But correct technique is beyond vital and sometimes not immediately obvious. This is where some training is needed. The internet is a prolific source of info both good and bad.
My own take is to learn why things are dangerous. For example on the table saw the guard and the riving knife. To my mind the guard is obvious to stop you falling on the blade. But the riving knife is actually much more subtle. It does stop the blade being pinched at the back but it's main function is to stop kickback from incorrect pressure twisting the board into the rising teeth. This then spins the board very quickly back at you with a very distinctive arc of tooth impressions. The knife almost completely eliminates this scary event. But it has to be fairly rigid and accurately made. Would I operate without a guard... it's been known would I operate without a riving knife? Stick your job mate! I quit. Jb
Many seem seem to make a token effort but it really needs to be rigid enough to resist the twist. Americans are now insisting on riving knives instead of there efforts called splitters. PS riving knives go up and down with the blade splitters are stuck on the top meaning the already wide gap opens up between the blade and the splitter when the blade is lowered. I've seen evidence of the kickback tooth pattern on an antique drawer bottom so it's not new!
Have a look at the axminster store in high wycombe (30 miles) they have many demo weekends and a "live" workshop where they will show you tools in action and walk you through their operation.
It's just I don't think the info you need is intuitive. It needs to be taught. Another example I use a Makita track saw the first few times I used it I got a huge kickback. I was not properly supporting the material. It's a very powerful saw to. I then started placing the sheet on two pieces of cls on the floor. No kickbacks in 4 years since.
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