Sawdust on the Floor

Hey guys, you should have bet with me. A couple of weeks ago we published an article on tablesaw safety, and at the end of the article we added a survey on how many of my fellow woodworkers actually had the blade guard installed on their tablesaw.  My estimate was that over 80% of the woodworkers either had removed or never installed the blade guard. 

Well, the results of our survey show that only 29% of the woodworkers who responded had the blade guard installed, leaving an astounding 71% without the blade guard installed.  While my estimate was off by 10% and technically I would have lost the bet, the results pose an interesting question, WHY? 

In my case, I found that when I was ripping very narrow pieces of wood, the blade guard was simply in the way.  I didn’t feel that I had good control over the wood in this instance.  So I removed the blade guard, intending to re install it later.  Several years later, it is still sitting there waiting to be reinstalled. 

It also asks the question, with all the advancements in woodworking technologies, why hasn’t the blade guard been improved.  Today’s woodworkers are offered every thing from digital readouts for the rip fence position, to  saws like the SawStop, that automatically retracts the blade when it comes into contact with an object like your finger. And these items are great, so why are we forced to use the same blade guard assembly that has been offered for decades. What are the manufactures of tablesaws waiting for?

Sorry I got on my soap box again, that happens sometimes. But seriously,  I haven’t seen an improvement to the blade guard in years, and I wonder why. If you know of one, please let me know.  I really like my tablesaw, and wouldn’t trade it in, but I also would like it to be a little safer, and have a blade guard assembly that doesn’t present more of a safety hazard then it is trying to prevent. 

For those of you that did respond, I thank you. And hope that you will take a few minutes to let me know why you don’t have the blade guard installed.  Thanks

Why isn’t your blade guard installed?

The door for my wall clock is simply a couple pieces of 4/4 stock that was ripped down to a 1″ width.  Along the inside edge of the door I used a 1/2″ round over bit to create a profile, and along the inside underside I cut a rabbet for the glass. There is a divided munton bar that separates the top half of the clock from the bottom.  I wish that I had a good method for installing this, but I simply used a hand saw and a sharp chisel to inset the munton bar into the stiles of the door.  The corners were mitered, glued and held in place with spring  clamps until the glue had a chance to set up. I cut some small 1/8″ thick strips of oak about a 1/2″ wide to hold the glass in place. I drilled some # 4 screw holes through this small stock and attached it to the back side of the door with #4  x 3/8″  brass screws.

With most clock projects, the actual clock face and the movement are sold as separate items.  In my case, the face plate is a very thin metal piece and measures 9 1/4″ square.  I mounted this on a piece of the 1/2″ thick stock that measures 9 1/2″ x 9 1/2″. Most movements are connected to the face board by passing the shaft of the movement thought the face board  and then the face.  The shaft has a threaded end that provides a means of securing the movement to the face/face board. A nut and lock washer supplied with the movement take care of this task.  Also, on the end of the shaft is a smaller threaded end. This is for the hands of the movement.  These threads can easily be damaged, so take care when you are installing the movement.  A word of caution here, the thickness of the  face board  is dependant on the length of the movement shaft.  Some will only work with a mounting board of a 1/4″ thick. Check the dimensions of your movement before you design your clock, or are contemplating a purchase. 

The face board rests on the shelf that was dadoed into the stiles of the inner case.  To keep the face plate aligned with the front edge of the self, I installed two glue blocks that are mounted vertically just behind the face plate, on the stiles of the inner case. These glue blocks run the entire length of the face board.  As an added benefit, these glue blocks also allowed me a way to provide access to the clock mechanism  when needed.  I simply installed 2 #4 wood screws through the face board and into the glue blocks,  Problem solved. Now when the batteries need changing or the time needs to be reset for daylight savings time, all that is required is to remove the small screws. 

To finish the wall clock, I sanded the entire clock with several different grits of sandpaper, finishing with 180 grit.  Then the entire project was washed with naphtha, and allowed to air dry.  A coat of oil based stain was applied and then let dry for several days.   A top coat of several coats of polyurethane were applied. The final coat of poly was a semi gloss finish, however the first coat I apply is always a high gloss.  To my mind the high gloss has a harder finish than the semi gloss does, so that’s why I apply the high gloss first. 

Once the finish had dried, and the clock was ready to be hung up in the house, we took it to my office and hung it on the wall, where it remains today.  If you’re interested, to hang the clock to the wall, I temporarily took the movement out of the clock, and using two 3 ” long sheet rock screws that went into wall studs, I screwed the clock to wall. 

Funny thing, my wife first objected to ” another clock”, but now that its done she wouldn’t let me get rid of it even if I wanted to.