Removing table saw offcuts safely

[ChuckM]

I’ve seen some jigs people use to steer offcuts or small parts away from a spinning blade. Does anyone have a good jig or method to share?

My heartbeat feels stronger when I see some Youtubers pushing scraps away from the blade with a stick or something while the motor is still running in full force. My practice is to have the saw turned off which is time-consuming when I have a lot of pieces to do. (Just last weekend, I came across two woodworkers -- one a guitar maker -- with a missing thumb!)

 

[Birdhunter]

I’d much rather wait for the saw to stop than take a trip to the emergency room

 

[RJNeal]

Very true Birdhunter.
To me it depends on the offcut. Size and length.  Sometime the saw goes off, and some time they push out of the way with the push stick.
It also depend on the saw. — job site table saw or a cabinet saw = vibrations
Just never reach over the blade. Don’t ask how I know that, but I learned that when I was about ten or so. Nip a nail, but it looks normal.
Rick

 

[Mike Goetzke]

I have a 1950 Uni complete with jet-lock fence and goose egg that my son and I complete restored - bullet motor and all. First new part I bought for it was a Shark Guard (like I had on my previous 3 TS’s). I use a blade guard whenever possible so I too mostly wait for the saw to stop but if they are long enough I will go to the back of the saw and will pull them out - quickly. If I’m using a miter gage and there are small cutoffs usually following cuts will clear them - if longer I may use a long stick to push them out of the way. Always stay out of the line of fire.

 

[Bob D.]

The MicoJig GRR-RIPPER is good for controlling both pieces in many situations if adjusted properly.

 

[AlexThePalex]

There is only one way, just wait till the darn thing stops.

 

[sancho57]

I use a pencil

 

[Gregor]

I set the fence so that it ends a cm or so behind the front of the blade, resulting in the offcut being unable to bind between fence and blade, resulting it the blade not flinging it, resulting in me being able to (re-)move offcuts safely with a push stick.

YMMV.

 

[ChuckM]

Thanks for the responses.

I was making some 80 blanks and stopping the cabinet saw each time to remove an offcut was problematic, hence my search here for a better alternative, if any. I ended up changing the jig a bit to make two blanks each time instead of one to cut down the number of motor stops. I probably will redo the jig so 4 blanks can be cut each time, reducing further the no. of start-stop actions.

The offcuts were odd-shaped, thin and small, and it was unsafe to use a stick or a pencil to steer them away from the blade unless I took great care (and time) to do so, which defeated the purpose of trying to save some time.   

 

[Svar]

The offcuts were odd-shaped, thin and small...

A vacuum/dust extractor hose to suck them out of the way?

 

[ChuckM]

I have seen something like that in a youtube video using some kind of suction. 

 

[derekcohen]

Make a guide like this to steer offcuts away from the blade ...

wood and rare earth magnets.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Michael Kellough]

The offcuts were odd-shaped, thin and small...

A vacuum/dust extractor hose to suck them out of the way?

[thumbs up]

 

[ChuckM]

Make a guide like this to steer offcuts away from the blade ...

wood and rare earth magnets.

Regards from Perth

Derek

This rare earth magnet idea sounds interesting, Derek. Is there supposed to be a picture in your post?

 

[Lbob131]

I  have a slider. And just  let  each  off cut do  the pushing.
Until they  drop of the back  off the machine.
And keep  the fence  well forward  so that  once the piece  is  cut, it is  well  clear  of the fence.
So no snagging  on the blade.

 

[simonh]

If the pieces are just thin and small so don't really present any danger of kickback and are more just a nuisance on the table, and if you have a CTL-SYS... Connect the hose to the outlet so it acts as a blower then just blow them off the back of the table each time, or hook it up in position so it's blowing them away as you cut.

 

[zapdafish]

if the fence is out of the way  not sure what the issue is of just letting them accumulate or moving it out of the way. that offcut angler sure looks like a nice setup. I'm surprised there isnt a gripper version of it, lol.

I'd submit something to Rockler and see if they take the idea and run with it, get some royalties.

 

[Mario Turcot]

[member=4938]chuckM[/member] I sent you a PM and forgot to mention where on the video the jig was used. It's at 4:30s

 

[ChuckM]

Please resend your msg, Mario. Nothing in the mailbox.

 

[Mario Turcot]

[member=57948]ChuckM[/member]

Please resend your msg, Mario. Nothing in the mailbox.

When I saw that I thought of your post
Table Saw Jig