: Thought about this and I know we have a lot of people building boats that are
: not experienced woodworkers. Using a table saw is not something to take
: lightly. I have been using one since I was kid. I am a very safe
: woodworking and till now only once have I hurt myself. Stuck the same
: thumb in a bandsaw blade because I did something stupid. Not paying
: attention and walked away with a very minor cut and a boat load of
: education.

: Fast forward two years and I was being careful and a freak accident lands me
: in the ER with a mangled thumb from a flying piece of Western Red Cedar.
: Mind you that was a very small piece of wood that hit my thumb. One most
: people would not worry about. But it's not the size of the wood. It's the
: speed it travels at.

: I didn't even know what happened. I just knew my thumb hurt bad and then I
: saw why. Yes and is scared me bad for a moment. I had to call a neighbor
: to drive me to the ER, I couldn't drive. And all this could have been
: prevented if I had not let my hand cross in front of the blade at the
: exact moment I did. Just a freak accident.

: Here are the photos. I am not into morbid photos but I think this is a good
: warning to anyone using a table saw. My finger is not half cu off but it's
: pretty graphic.

: Yes, I will be back doing the same thing in a week or two. But I will pay a
: lot more attention to every cut I make!

: http://www.kudzupatch.com/temp/New_directory/mythumb1.jpg
: http://www.kudzupatch.com/temp/New_directory/mythumb2.jpg

Ouch. I've had fingers look like that before from woodworking and I too am very careful. While I'm not a professional woodworker anymore, I have been in the past. Years back I tried a short cut using a portable electric plane, makes me cringe even talking about it, ended up in the ER with one hand taped up (only small scars remain) and couldn't work for 3 months.

I've been planning on modifing my table saw sled so that it's got clamps to hold down both the piece that's being cut as well as the tail that's being cut off. Not done it yet, but seeing your problem it might be the time to do this. I've used toggle clamps in the past for hold downs for applications like this, they are quick enough to use that you wouldn't think about not using them. If the cut off piece is clamped in place so it's contained after the saw cut, then we shouldn't have to worry about it being tossed by the saw.

I'll have to work on a plan for this, should be easy enough to do.

Bill H.