Ohhh the agony and the extacy of it all...

[Wild Dingo]

Bare with me this does have to do with me building me canoe and fixin me skiff...

Now elsewhere today Ive called meself a flamin galah then I clarified that and called meself a bloody idiot with regards todays activities... and so I was!!

First... the reason for the agony bit in the title... this is the cause of it 10in thin kerf blade runnin from a 3hp motor doin gawd alone knows how many revs!!!



And the agony...



Actually not that serious just took a bit of bark off down just far enough to clear some of the excess blood Im carrying around

BUT!!!!

The good thing was that I GOT CAREFULL!!!

And the extacy bit was that I ended up cutting a mess of Jarrah into 2/16 x 3/4in x 35in strips for the stems of the canoes!!



Those on the left are the ends that I wasnt game enough to try to get anymore out of... Ive ended up with 15 or so extras that I will use to build a model with... while I was at it I cut a few full length 12 1/2ft strips of Sheoak for the canoe just to see how they came out... man I never quite realized just how thin 1/4in is!

and and now the stems are sitting with the glue drying...





mmmmm 2002?? nah its not that bad! I cut the moulds in Oct/Nov 2002 and its only Jan 2004 only 1 year not 2!!!

Ive decided to do her in Sheoak and Jarrah at these thin strips the weight should be negligible! Sheoak top Jarrah bottom... note the Jarrah will go a deeper shade of red with finishing



I also got busy and found a half litre of Bondcrete and mixed it as per the distructions and whacked it onto the skiffs bum... but ran out before I finished it



So it wasnt all bad news... I got some work done on both boats!!...

But I tell yer that quick sharp rip with the blade sure as **** woke me up in a bloody hurry!!! I mean I WOKE UP!!!!... well and truely

Now as to how I managed to do it I really have no bloody idea! one minute Im cuttin away getting me strips out and the next... Holeyflaminmeckyerinmongeldipstickgalahyobbo!!!! nex theres blood goin every which way missus having a chocolate fit about that bein it never again and something about "sell the bloody saw before yer cut yer flamin hand off" I just smiled and said "possum its just a nick she'll be right" and wandered back out to finish cuttin the strips

Be warned... TAKE CARE OUT THERE!... this wasnt serious but hell I had one heck of a wake up call now FULLY realize just how fast it could have been way worse! one moment of inatention is all it takes... Ive learnt!

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

Ow!!!!
Learning the easy way I see.
Thats what paper towells and duct tape are for. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Shalfleet]

Good progress on the boats....must be that new year resolution! I love the look of that Aussie timber...the canoe will be a beauty!

Do you have a guard on that saw of yours? I know they are a pain but I have managed to use the guard on my saw for most work, and it does act as a reminder to keep clear. I also try to keep the blade as low as possible, which I think reduces the likelyhood of accidents.

Be careful....I'm worried about you down there mate...

[Aramas]

Bummer about the thumb, but we all need a wakeup call from time to time.

She oak certainly is a unique looking wood, and my favourite tree to camp under - guess I'll have to use some in Gwenda's cabin [img]smile.gif[/img]

And 2/16ths wouldn't be a 1/8th now would it? Or have you got some kinda binary/hexadecimal logic thing happening? [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Lucky Luke]

Hi Shane;
That may be dark humor...but I noticed that you have removed the guard from your blade: good move, they're "bloody" damn nuisances!

You know, the last bit of myself that went away was the last phalanx of my right hand index finger...before that was a bit of the little one one...but no bloody damned guard would have avoided that: actually, in about 40 years working with milling machines, I have very seldom seen any sensible safety equipement on them. There is really still a lot to work on these!

But, besides that, just wanted to say that this looks like a good and properly done job you are doing, and with really nice timber too!

With all my best wishes, maite!

[Lucky Luke]

Shalfleet,

I just notice that you had already mentionned the removal of Shane's guard on his saw...

Then I had a look at your"profile"...and saw: "from the Isle of Whight...in your dreams.."
Why is that???

I worked in Southampton, and more than often enough on the "Isle'o'Wight". The place is all week long dull as the cold monday morning, , designed for the (very!) wealthy people and them only, maybe better on the Sundays but I was not there, really unfriendly, and moreover was far from my girlfriend!

no regret!

[Dave Hadfield]

Shane, you are using a push-stick, aren't you? Never mind the safety guards, cut a push stick that keeps your hand well up off the wood and blade, yet still allows you to guide the wood.
Here, I hope, is one I've used for about 10 years, cut from 3/8 plywood.



Using these push sticks, and moving my hands slowly around the blade, I have yet (touch wood!) to wound myself on the table saw. (BTW, the date label is obscuring the notch on the closest stick. It's just like the other one.)

Also, you're cutting from the wrong side of the board. I know, it's a whole lot easier than re-adjusting the fence each time, and that's the way I'd do it too, but watch out for the strip being crimped between the blade and the fence and being shot out back at you. You might want to nudge the far end of the fence away from the blade just a hair.

[NormMessinger]

Keep the bandaids handy. i find they are ocassionally needed to keep blood off the project.

[Tar Devil]

Dang! Aussies have red blood too?

Later,

Phil

[Stiletto]

Glad to see you wont have to give up hitchhiking just yet.

[Bob Perkins]

Aussies have red blood, but it only leaks out upside down [img]smile.gif[/img]

Glad to see all of your finger is there!

When I upgraded my tablesaw from the old Craftsman 1 HP to the Delta 3HP - I learned what kickback was.. Threw a couple of boards behind me until I Woke up too..

Keep them (not) bloody digits!

Bob

[Meerkat]

My grandfather was a cabinet maker - and had the finger stubs to prove it!

BeCarefulYouFlamingGallah!

[Phil Young]

Jeez with a Jarrah bottom you won't need any ballast, but you might need a bloody crane to get her on and off the car. Nice wood, but a place for everything mate.

[capt jake]

Darned Dingos! You dress them up and can't take them out anywhere near a power tool; what are you to do with them? [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

Been there and done that one, not fairing as well as you though! Glad to hear it is only a 'flesh' wound.

Push sticks mate! Push sticks and feather boards!!!!

And as Norm mentions; lots of BANDAIDS! [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]smile.gif[/img]

[brian.cunningham]

Could have been worse, at least it's still attached!

So now that your really getting into boat building are you happy [img]smile.gif[/img]

[fishing fool]

My father has had a table saw for the past 25 years. I remember the day he got it because that was the day I asked him where the gaurd was as I just got qualified to use the table saw in wood shop class.

Good Ole Dad said he took it off as he couldn't see what he was cutting. Last week mom had to take him to the hospital as he ran his finger(dead centre)into the blade. Took a chunk out of the middle of his nail. After his stitches he calls to tell me this. When asked what happened to the gaurd he tries to tell that there never was one. That was until I describe to him what it looked like and where he had hung it on the wall. To which he replied...Oh That Thing? All these years I wondered what that was?

[Mrleft8]

I advise not going near the water for a few days..... (Sharks yanno....)
Glad to see you just clipped yerself! The thing to remember, especially when ripping lots of mundane little repetative strips is: Don't daydream, don't get distracted, stay focused. The fact that you can't remember how yer thumb got there is a sure indication to me that yer mind was elsewhere.
As someone else mentioned..... PUSH STICKS!

[TomF]

Not practical for some things (like cutting strips for the canoe), but those pictures of Wild Dingo's messed-up thumb confirm why I'm hardly using power tools these days. As someone on the OldTools list said once, it takes only a moment to lop off a finger with a tablesaw. With a handsaw, it takes determination...

If I were a professional, I'd need to use the powertools to stay competitive. A framing-carpenter neighbour works at least 3 times as fast as me, despite his multiply lopped and perforated (nailgun) digits. But as I'm doing this for love, there's a lot more scope to work slowly and safely. By I can cut pretty near the line, can still hear the radio while sawing, and enjoy truing it up with a plane.

As a musician as well as a woodworker, I need to keep my hands (mostly) intact! And it makes for a much less nerve-wracking time "working" with my 5 year old too!

Tom Fetter.

[Ed Harrow]

Ouch. Knock on wood, that's one thing I've not done. Did tangle with a chainsaw once... Lucky on that one.

Feather board(s)!! Use them to push against the fence and against the table. Use push sticks (now I confess to sometimes using an ice pick, but of that I'll say no more...)

Glad you're still all of a piece. You can't be too careful with a table saw. Pretty much, unless I'm cutting, the cord is unplugged. For measuring and setting up the cut, you bet the saw is unplugged!! And, immeadiately I'm done cutting, down goes the blade.

[ahp]

Dingo, you got a cheap lesson. Take it to heart and be thankful. You still have your thumb. When my son was deemed old enough to use a power saw, I told him to be afraid of that thing and never stop being afraid.

[warthog5]

I sure hope you learned something. Make some pushsticks out of some of that pretty wood.

When it comes to guards on diffrent tablesaw's.
I have a cheap Delta contractors tablesaw that belongs to my brother. The guard is removed. It's a piece of CRAP! The fence is crap too.

On my new Shop Fox cabinet saw it's on the saw and works great.

So what have we learned here?

Keep your fingers away from the blade.
Use push sticks.
Buy a more expensive saw that works with the guards on it like it was ment to be operated.

Now you have to ask yourself.
Would you give $1000 to have one of your fingers back? You get a bonus here too. A nice piece of equipment to operate.



[ 01-05-2004, 11:03 AM: Message edited by: warthog5 ]

[Wild Dingo]

aye a sharp lesson indeed... with the power shes unplugged whenever shes off not so between rips if Im doin a few as in yesty... but other times hit the button turn it of and unplug almost in one motion...

The guard is still on its just that I cant take the fence any closer than 1/4in without it gettin jammed against the fence... so I hoist it up and park it in the groove in the top of the fence

2/16ths is 1/8th aint it!!! gawd whatcha learn here plain amazin!! I cant even say that bi/hexydecimal thingy let alone know what it is mate!

On one of the first cuts I did on this thing I got an idea of the power of a kick backed peice of timber... simply shot out at me!! flamin scared the bloody blue blazes out of me as the almighty blam as it belted against the shed wall behind me... I wait patiently to the side now till the blade stops moving... Im gettin to be real patient with this thing!

Bandaids aplenty now no worries she bolted out first thing and got several packets "just in case"

Phil... Id a thought that at these thicknesses that Jarrah wouldnt make that much difference? I was thinking of using Jarrah in the stems and have done and then when I noticed just how small and light each was wondered why not do the whole hull in it?... mmmmmm okay revision time I guess... the Sheoak will stay in as a couple of feature strips and while I did think of using the Tuart Ive decided against it... if you think Jarrahs heavy you oughta try this stuff!!... So I will have a gander at the mill and Cullitys sometime this week for a nice hard but not heavy pale timber to offset the Sheoak... maybe Tassie or Aussie Oak?

Anyways seems many fellas dont use them... and others do... must be one of those personal preference things eh? the cover will definantly go at some stage but the others I think I will probably leave.

Push sticks Im about to make! Ive been using since that wee knick to the thumb a botched up sproket to a ships wheel I monkeyd with awhile back works okay but then I reckon one of those would be better...

I gotta figure out how to get the feather boards to stay put on the table top... but they will be included in the next efforts!

Thanks fellas!

[ 01-05-2004, 11:26 AM: Message edited by: Wild Dingo ]

[Aramas]

Hey Dingo - Tas oak is just any one of several tasmanian eucalypts, and they all weigh about the same as jarrah - ie not much less than water.

She oak is casuarina, those scraggly pine looking things that grow everywhere, especially near beaches, rivers and waterholes.

I have no idea what 'aussie oak' is [img]smile.gif[/img]

Araucaria (hoop pine) is a native plantation timber that looks a bit like kauri or huon pine. Nice stuff, easy to work, about the same weight and properties as oregon and a fair bit cheaper than the other nice aussie softwoods. Most of the good aussie marine ply is made from it these days. The greenie sites say that it's an endangered rainforest timber and that you should be careful about making sure it's plantation timber and not wild stuff that you're buying. But they grow like weeds around here - there must be 10 million of them on Magnetic Island alone. There are half a dozen in front yards in my street. Endangered my arse [img]smile.gif[/img] The plantation ones have the lower branches trimmed off so they're not as knotty as the wild stuff. The only down side is low durability, but I've been researching it and apparently it's about the same as queensland kauri, so it won't turn to mush over the weekend. If you want to know what it looks like bright finished, Mike's Euan Mara is made out of it.

Worth a look anyway. Virtually any other local or asia-pacific softwood is ethically questionable unless you know where it came from.

[JFH]

Hey, I've got the same wound on the same thumb. I was cutting very thin strips too! The cut came from the fact that the wood shot upward, toward my face and the natural thing to do was push it back down. Luckily the blade was only up a little and I got a good reminder instead of a battle wound.

Two push sticks.....count'em....two at all times when cutting anything is the way to go.

Love the discussion.

p.s. how was the beach at Christmas?

[htom]

Ouch. Been there, done something like that, needed a bunch of stiches.

Pushsticks and featherboards, you understand. Nice looking strips.

[warthog5]

I think I figured out how I can help you do these cut's a little safer.
Set the fence so that the thin strip falls of the board on the left side of the blade.
This will make you have to change the fence setting each time, but you should not get the kick back that you have been getting. That small piece is moving around between the blade and fence and causing the kick back.
The last cut you make will be like all the one's you have been making.

From the way you have decribed it. The thin cut's are getting jamed between the fence and sawblade.

I also have my fence set with about .005 offset to the right of the blade on the far side.

[ 01-05-2004, 06:10 PM: Message edited by: warthog5 ]

[Banjo]

Howdy Shane, warthog5 got it right!
Tis the safest way to cut thin strips, pain the proverbial moving the fence each time but better than duckin n weevin from those flyin strips me ol mate! [img]smile.gif[/img]
Oh BTW, yer need to drink more VB yer bloods way too red!

Banjo...