Large Scale Central

Injury on The D&R Yesterday

General Discussion
#1

I’m working on my switching yard and that is almost final, I have to descend from the yard about 29". At a train show last year I purchased some used Bents, so I thought I need approximately 28 and I have 20 that need to be adjusted for grade, I would only have to build 8. So out comes the table saw, which scares the hell out of me so I am being extra careful. I start with with the larger of the scale lumber finish that run and and turn the saw off, a moment later I go to adjust the guide and the saw was still winding down (this is the part that really Pi$$ed me off and I contribute it to my loss of hearing and other stupid actions) My ringer finger stopped the saw. so off to urgent Care, call wife and tell her i was stupid. The only damage was it cut straight into the finger about half way through the nail. So I’m guessing this episode of my new found hobby will probably cost $1000.00 after all said and done, 5 different people an operating station all the liquids and tools and stitches.

When I bought the saw it had a blade shield that was impossible to work with and I removed it, I have used the saw dozens of times with no problems, this is the stupid part, I thought that I haven’t hurt myself to this point I was OK, Wrong. I have reinstalled the guard, like closing the gate after the cows get out, and have went back to trying to succeed with the guard on, If that don’t work I’ll buy the scale lumber, at this point it would have been cheaper.

Please be careful around any power tools Guys, I don’t care how good you think you are, they will jump up and bite you… There I fell better already.

#2

John, read Robert Frost’s “Out, out”. You can get to it via Google, and it will take only 5 minutes to read, but then you’ll spend an hour thinking.

#3

John,
Good to hear it wasn’t any worse.
I’ve thought about ripping scale lumber on the table saw.
So far, I’ve been able to talk myself out of it :wink:
Ralph

#4

Ralph Berg said:
John, Good to hear it wasn’t any worse. I’ve thought about ripping scale lumber on the table saw. So far, I’ve been able to talk myself out of it :wink: Ralph

I will add a “me too” here. I am a big chicken when it comes to power table saws. I just do not have the"skill set" (my Catholic High School did not have shop classes) to safely operate them. I found that cheap garden stakes from Lowes are the right size in 1:20.3 to make trestle bents and with Thompson’s WS appear to hold up pretty good. Here is a picture of the bents made using garden stakes and cut with a hand saw.

(http://i542.photobucket.com/albums/gg412/DrGrab/avatar2.jpg)

John, I hope you heal up real quick and you are back playing in the garden real soon. Doc Tom

#5

I have cut my own lumber. Im not crazy doing it mainly because I cant cut a straight piece of wood LOL. Plus I never think ahead of time and getting the eye protection ect… So far I have all my fingers. I do what Tom does buy the pre cut steaks ect from lowes. They come in all the sizes I use. When I do come across some nice wood a friend of mine who is an excellent woodworker cuts me the stuff I need.

#6

for years i am thinking about buying a tablesaw.
and when the temptation grows - i go visit one of the local woodworkers. they are all missing parts of their hands.

#7

sorry - double posting

#8

I have been using table saws, etc., mostly as a professional, for 45 years and even I shortened my left thumb a smidgen a couple of weeks back.

I’ll suggest getting a 12" or 14" band saw for hobby work. They can do almost everything a table saw can do, safer. I use mine to cut the small stuff all the time.

Sorry about the boo-boo.

#9

John, I had an ““inicident”” with a table saw, a few years ago… While reaching to pick up the “Push Stick”, the board kicked back on me, running my right thru back over the table saw blade… The piece of wood shot back and bounced off the garage wall, and laded on the floor… The blade took out a “Y” shaped hun of the bottom of my thumb… Took about 17 Cauterizations to get it to stop bleeding at the emergency room… Fortunately, I always had the blade ony 1/4 inch over the stock I was cutting, so it never hit any bone, just took out a bunch of thumb meat… 3 weeks later, the “meat” had all filled back in… Wife told the Doc, I was part Reptilian…

Hope you heal quickly, and don’t feel like your the only one… :slight_smile:

#10

OUCH that SUCKS. I use a table saw to rip scale lumber for my projects and I am always in fear of that spinning blade. A healthy dose of fear garners my FULL attention whenever I’m working around something potentially so hazardous. It’s like putting jack stands under the car.
I used to have kickbacks when cutting small pieces which led me to only cut down so far on a given board before I thought it might kick which wasted wood. I read some where about making a handy attachment for the saw that eliminates the gap around the blade that can cause a small piece of wood to fall into then kickback dangerously. I think it is called a zero tolerance shield. Depending on your saw you make a piece out of wood or plastic that replicates the piece around the blade that you would remove when changing the blade. When the new piece is in raise the blade up through it and there you go. Maybe someone here knows what I speak of and can direct others to the article?
Also a sharp blade helps in that you don’t need to force anything through the saw. I remeber a post not long ago about a table saw safety device that will actually stop a blade in a fraction of a second that the blade contacts skin. The inventor showed how it works by sticking his finger against the blade. Of course it is expensive and if used destroys itsef with the force but then again it could save you alot of pain.
Good luck with your healing John.
Todd

#11

Years and years ago , Evansville Indiana was one of the largest furniture making citys , and a LOT of people who had lost fingers and so on and on . It was common to see people missing digits …I was thru a former marraige at one time , related too three of the furniture factory workers who had lost small parts . Good olden days , long hours of work , no OSHA laws to worry with back then .

Isn’y it a felony in Calif too remove a tool guard ?? he he he

#12

The piece you are asking about Todd is a saw splitter.

(http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/graphics/splitter1.jpg)

(http://www.finewoodworking.com/media/w00066_09.jpg)

http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/howto_splitter.htm

#13

Well, John, like my uncle, Two Finger Luke, used to say, “You can’t call yourself a woodworker until you have sacrificed a finger to the wood gods.”

Welcome to the fraternity.

#14

Glad the injury was not more serious. I use a full size table saw to cut scale lumber. I am highly respectful of it and do everything I can to avoid mistakes that will hurt me, but we are all human and it only takes a split second.

When cutting small pieces I always use a zero clearance throat plate like the one in David’s bottom picture. I also use feather boards to keep the work piece where I want it. I keep my hands well away from the blade by using push sticks.

#15

I use this guy, based out of Bellingham, Wa, to cut all my lumber.

http://cgi.ebay.com/WESTERN-RED-CEDAR-G-SCALE-LUMBER-40-1-8-x-1-2-x-24-/170674848215?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item27bd0381d7

I’ve been using him for years. I simply send him an e-mail with my wants list and he cuts them. I can order any size, up to five feet in length.
I send him a check and the wood arrives Priority mail.
He dropped by my place to see all the trestle and building project’s. Real nice guy.
His name is Jim.
Sure, I could have prolly paid for a nice table saw by now, but I need my fingers.
'Specially the middle one. :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

#16

I cut a slot near the edge of a 1/8 inch thick hardboard sheets to make zero tolerance throats for my bench saw. The distance between the slot and the edge of the sheet is the dimension of the scale lumber I wanted to cut.

With the saw unplugged, the blade was raised to full height and an appropriately sized brass square tube placed against the blade. The fence was moved over against the tube and locked down. The blade was lowered below the table, the tube removed, a sheet of hardboard moved against the fence and clamped to the table top. The saw was plugged in, turned on, and the blade slowly raised through the sheet to provide a zero tolerance throat and a cutting guide of the appropriate dimension for the scale lumber. The saw was then turned off and the blade lowered so that the center teeth were just above the height of the lumber being cut. That allowed the sawdust to be ejected.

I had several precut sheets marked with the different sizes of scale lumber required. With the saw off, I raised the blade, slipped the appropriate sheet over the blade and clamped it down. The fence was the slide over and clamped down. The blade was lowered so the slots for the center teeth just cleared the height of the lumber being cut. That allowed the sawdust to be ejected properly.

I have a board attached to the miter gauge that I use to push the end of the stock through. When the stock gets too narrow for comfort, I start another and save the unused piece for larger projects.

On our club railway there were a number of buildings with windows, doors, roof fascia, etc. built of scale lumber. Over time, most of these fine details came unglued, split around the brads, or rotted. We now use resin cast windows and doors, and the fascia and other fine details are being replaced with styrene.

Most of the scale lumber I cut now is no smaller than a bridge tie. Anything less just doesn’t seem to last in our climate. Cedar or redwood boards are planed down to the widest dimension. Strips are ripped from it slightly larger than the other required dimension and planed down. A chop saw is used to cut the strips just slightly longer than length. The ends of the cut pieces are then sanded to length with a disk sander. Sounds like a fussy operation, but smooth lumber when stained or painted will not absorb moisture like fuzzy lumber does.

If you do not have a planer, at least make sure the end of the pieces cut are sanded smooth. I replaced twenty rotten balustrades on the deck of our previous home. The ones that had been sanded smooth on the ends were still good. Those that had been rough sawn all rotted despite being regularly stained.

#17
Jon Radder said:
I use a full size table saw to cut scale lumber. I am highly respectful of it and do everything I can to avoid mistakes that will hurt me
Is this the same saw you used to cut rocks :lol: :lol: No boulders, those might hurt you ;) Ralph
#18
Jon Radder said:
I use a full size table saw to cut scale lumber. I am highly respectful of it and do everything I can to avoid mistakes that will hurt me, but we are all human and it only takes a split second.
Me too and yep
#19
John Bouck said:
I use this guy, based out of Bellingham, Wa, to cut all my lumber.

http://cgi.ebay.com/WESTERN-RED-CEDAR-G-SCALE-LUMBER-40-1-8-x-1-2-x-24-/170674848215?pt=Model_RR_Trains&hash=item27bd0381d7

I’ve been using him for years. I simply send him an e-mail with my wants list and he cuts them. I can order any size, up to five feet in length.
I send him a check and the wood arrives Priority mail.
He dropped by my place to see all the trestle and building project’s. Real nice guy.
His name is Jim.
Sure, I could have prolly paid for a nice table saw by now, but I need my fingers.
'Specially the middle one. :slight_smile: :slight_smile:


I got most of my scale lumber from him too, and highly recommend him!

#20

Thanks Ray, I’m going there now.

JN