I'm new to table saws and trying to understand the safety aspects before I buy one. I know that using both a rip fence and a miter gauge together can cause kickback during a through cut, but I'm curious why using a push stick is considered safer when cutting with a fence. What makes the risk of kickback lower when using a push stick compared to just using my hand with a miter gauge? Is it about the type of cut I'm making, or the size of the offcut? I've looked around online but haven't found the answers I'm looking for.
1 Answer
The reason behind it is that a miter gauge is typically only on one side of the blade, leaving the cut-off piece unsupported on the other side, which can lead to kickback. When you use a push stick, you’re generally pushing the cut-off through on the right side of the blade, avoiding that pinch point between the blade and the fence.
That makes sense! But I’ve seen people push wood by hand on the left side without a push stick. Isn’t that risky like using a miter gauge? Or is it fine because it’s a rip cut instead of a crosscut?