[SEL] WaHooo/ now buzz saw safety.

[Curt]

Rick,
You mention the 3/8" clearance and that raises a red flag for me having 
used my saw rigs heavily for several years now.

In the beginning I was using a blade that was dull, that had 
insufficient set to the teeth, and that was not hammered properly. The 
combination resulted in a blade that got warm in use and got floppy. 
Damned scary floppy and it would wobble around much more that the 3/8" 
you have to work with. I can't stress the importance of getting the 
teeth sharp, setting the tooth set properly, and getting the blade 
hammered properly to eliminate wobble.

In addition, for your safety I would add a block of oak to that girder, 
so that if the blade ever gets wobbly, the blade base (just inside of 
the tooth area) will bear up against the wood. If not, the teeth can get 
into the steel girder. If the teeth get into the girder and you are 
lucky you will just wipe out the teeth. If you are having a bad hair 
day, a tooth could catch hard and the arbor bearing cap might break and 
the whole shaft and blade will come up and at you. That would make for a 
miserable day. You wouldn't believe the number of saw rigs I've seen 
with broken bearing caps. Also if you'll look most saw tables you'll see 
evidence of major crashes of teeth with the table.

Even with a well maintained blade it is too easy to bump the blade to 
the side as your are cutting. As you pull the table back and slide the 
log to the side, a good whack with a heavy log will easily flex the 
blade a long way. Please consider adding the block of wood for your safety.

And while on the subject of safety, I wanted to comment on the use of 
gloves mentioned a few days ago. I do NOT use gloves when I operate my 
buzz saws! With these course toothed blades a caught glove would not rip 
but would yank your hand right into the blade. It would be much better 
to be cut that to be yanked into the blade. To see my point take the 
belt off your saw rig and spin the blade by hand. Dangle a glove by one 
of its' fingers and move it into the blade. It is an enlightening 
exercise. My experiment was much less civilized but none-the-less I was 
forever convinced that using gloves was NOT safe with buzz saws.
Curt Holland
Gastonia, NC
Cotton Ginning Days Oct 14, 15, and 16th


Richard Strobel wrote:

>I see now what you're talking about, sorry, must the the weather or ? <vbg>. 
>No Dave that was just a photo fluke that I can't explain.  The axle (and 
>girder above it), are not in two sections.
>
>  I'll get another shot from the quartering right so you can see where the 
>blade misses the girder by at least 3/8".
>
>  We're thinking it's some kind of reflection, depth of field fluke, or ???
>
>later,
>Rick
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Dave Croft" <dave.croft at ntlworld.com>
>To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 10:48 AM
>Subject: Re: [SEL] WaHooo
>
>
>  
>
>>Hi Rick, I thought I had just drawn the girder? underneath the blade
>>attached to the axle.
>>Dave Croft
>>Warrington
>>England
>>http://community.webshots.com/user/crftdv
>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>From: "Richard Strobel" <Richard_Strobel7 at msn.com>
>>To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>>Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 4:41 PM
>>Subject: Re: [SEL] WaHooo
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Dave..there is no table to the right of the blade i.e. Outboard of the 
>>>blade
>>>
>>>Rick
>>>
>>>
>>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>>From: "Dave Croft" <dave.croft at ntlworld.com>
>>>To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>>>Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 7:28 AM
>>>Subject: Re: [SEL] WaHooo
>>>
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>>>From: "Richard Strobel" <Richard_Strobel7 at msn.com>
>>>>To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>>>>Sent: Tuesday, October 04, 2005 1:01 PM
>>>>Subject: Re: [SEL] WaHooo
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>>>Tom, I doubt if I'll ever know what happened there..not a double
>>>>>exposure as
>>>>>I checked my camera and it's on auto.  I got down and looked up at 
>>>>>the
>>>>>same
>>>>>angle yesterday and there is quite a reflection in that part of the
>>>>>blade.
>>>>>Dunno, but it's kewl
>>>>>Take Care, Rick
>>>>>          
>>>>>
>>>>Hi Rick, am I guessing right about how it is set up?
>>>>See http://community.webshots.com/photo/130641573/468212176HbJvkY
>>>>Dave Croft
>>>>Warrington
>>>>England
>>>>http://community.webshots.com/user/crftdv
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>>>>SEL mailing list
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>>>>
>>>>        
>>>>
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>>>
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>>
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>