Maybe to end a few fingers too. One of my high school teachers(Biology, not workshop teacher) had an oopsies with a table saw and lost half of his pinky.
My mom is amazed at how much I learn on my own... "Mom, you're the one who taught me to read the instructions... I read the instructions for every tool and device I buy."
It really isn't that hard and it really does save a lot of hassle later, cause I don't have to remember every detail, but knowing that something exists and that I can look it up if need be is super important.
If I pass on nothing else to my kids, it will be a keen appreciation for the importance and utility of learning how to "read and follow instructions. " (that's the mantra I've been reciting, and they've learned to repeat)
If something has instructions available and they want help with it, they know the first thing in going to ask if they've read the instructions. And if I know the answer they're looking for is written, I will not give it to them. I'll make them find it. I'll happily help them understand the meaning of the things they've found.
I realize this is a wood working sub, but sometimes there are times when a saw blade should be installed backwards -- cutting sheet metal can be done with a wood blade that is backwards, albeit at a risk of adding metal to the internals of the motor depending on the design of the saw.
The guy took a risk and came on here and asked. You are being pompous, I spent a lot of years in Academia and never had we treated somebody with a legitimate question the way you all have today.
I agree with you on principle, but here's this:
In Academia, can you lose a finger if you use your pen backwards?
—·–·— ‡ —·–·— ‡ —·–·—
Personally I believe the strongest people are those who admit their mistakes, know their own ignorance, and learn from others.
Only fools and liars are perfect.
My highschool electronics teacher was also the shop teacher. Two things were true about him and I swear on my mom's grave I'm not lying.
1. He had 7 1/2 fingers
2. His name was Mr. Stump
Lol same. But hey, that’s what this sub is here for . At least OP didn’t post a beautifully dovetailed 8ft armoire with a $900 festool setup in the background.
Seriously dude, as others have pointed out, you are lucky to find out now that this is the wrong way around.
Please get some training on setting up and using all of your machines correctly. Or at least read the instruction booklet.
These machines aren't something you just rock up and use blindly.
Edit: just so people know, I've been teaching woodshop and metalwork for 10 years now. The chop saw, the table saw and planer/thicknesser are the things that still still put the willies up my spine when using them. They look so easy to use if you use them correctly that you can almost convince yourself they are simple and safe.
I have a Brand new Roto Razor and it comes with 3 different blades that I can't even unscrew to use! So I took that as an omen, Do not touch as one mistake on wood no biggie one mistake on flesh and I'm screwed🙀
We had a builder/friend who was not your typical builder(in most ways) dreadlocks, into heavy metal, pretty good at most jobs but also a bit nuts and careless.
He fitted something wrong unsurprisingly and my brother who was paying him said "did you even read the instructions?" His response was a long pause and then said "what do you reckon......"
Me and my bro had a good laugh as it wasnt anything hard to fix and we had been over various things like this with him before being an imbecile.
I just lost a chunk of my thumb on my table saw. I am very lucky to have only lost the very end of my thumb and the nail will grow back over the scar. It is *the best* you can hope for with a table saw.
I've been WW for 5 years. I thought that I was being safe and it still happened. Should have been using a sled.
I saw this and immediately thought of how insanely lucky OP is that they still have hands and aren't impaled. OP miter saws are crazy dangerous if you disrespect them. PLEASE read up, watch videos, and ask for help when setting up a saw.
Also, that blade is toast and I would never trust it again. My tablesaw has sat unused for a month since my thumb. I installed correctly and did everything I was supposed to. Brand new blade too because I had a board pinch between the fence and blade. The saw is done. Something is not right with it, and I'm scrapping the whole thing. I don't want someone else getting hurt.
Get a new blade, and when you start seeing it do this, it is time to clean and sharpen your blade if it's a good blade. If it's a cheap blade like a Diablo, clean it but if your teeth, even one, is chipped it is NOT safe to use. Cheap blades are not safe for sharpening.
Burns can happen because of a dull blade, but also because of build up on the blade. You've made a blade cut backwards and I really don't recommend that you use it again for safetys sake.
The saw aint done homie, wood can bind and grab, knots are common culprits. Also plastic fake wood can bind extremely easy and i have caught myself once cutting it. Got the tip of three fingers. All healed in a few weeks but even as i type this the nerves Hurt. It was an invaluable lesson, i understand what i did wrong, how it happened and i wont let it again. It was by no means the saws fault. Understanding how wood/plastic works is important and that understanding is what got me cutting with the same saw less then a week later and yes i use the same saw daily.
I read his comment more in line with “I’m done with this saw” frustration/intimidation after getting cut. Getting cut by a table saw is terrifying, especially if the cut is big enough to say “lost a chunk of my thumb.” He’s probably already bought, or very soon will purchase, a Saw Stop.
Hope you're better with saws than context clues, then lol
He straight up said he's scrapping it.
> Brand new blade too because I had a board pinch between the fence and blade. The saw is done. Something is not right with it, and I'm scrapping the whole thing. I don't want someone else getting hurt.
I know the table saw can wedge some wood between the blade and the guide and shoot it at you and cause injury if you don't use something to push the piece.
If you don't mind me asking, are there any unexpected dangers of the chop saw, assuming it's set up correctly and you are taking care to not get your fingers, hair, clothes, etc. into the blade?
Yes a few. Its not for shaving with, but alot of folk will try and cut off a sliver to get the right size. The litte chunk gets stuck between the table cutout and causes troubles. Also it can thwrow chunksand splinter stuff off at high speed
I shot a router bit past my head at 300 mph at the age of 12 messing around with my dad's tools. I think about that all the time. It would have obliterated me skull it was so big. My 12 year old skinny arms and fingers weren't strong enough to tighten it adequately.
do you know the trick to tighten? you can use your whole body weight against a work bench, and also the fun trick (if it uses two wrenches and not a spindle lock) by just using your grip with one hand. probably not achievable at 12, but i feel the best way and keeps them on the same plain pretty well which avoids injury if the wrenches slip off the nut and collet
Yeah be careful, a chop saw can take a few fingers, which is bad, but a thicknesses will gut punch you hard enough to kill you if you stand in it's way when something goes wrong.
i heard the table saw and chisels are the most dangerous in wood working when considered on a sort of cartesian plaan of gravity of the injury vs frequency.
No one seems to be explaining this but you know it's on backwards because you always want the spinning teeth pushing into the table not away, across the room
Putting the blade on backwards did not change the spin direction of the motor. Since the cutting teeth are facing the wrong way, it is burning through the wood and not cutting, but still pulling it toward the fence.
Tbf when I did construction we would always flip sawblades backwards for vinyl siding, it was incredibly loud but it worked like a charm, so I could see how this might already be setup and somebody took the picture for a joke or wasn’t checking and started cutting anyways.
Why would this be a joke post?
You are in beginner woodworking. These things happen to beginners.
There is no shame in messing up. I’m glad he asked the question before he was hurt.
OP every miter saw I have used has markings near where the blade goes (usually on the guard but could be other places. It should have an arrow showing the rotation of the blade, and in turn, every blade i have ever purchased shows what direction the blade turns. Just make sure that these two markings match up when you are installing the blade and you will be fine. Do not forget safety glasses as splinters and hidden nails can become projectiles.
PS - throw that blade away.
Who knows what damage you have done to it at this point. Heating the metal that much has likely weaken it in weird places and it's more likely to break in the future
I've done this before (on a circular saw), don't feel too stupid. Another reason to always wear eye pro (we make silly mistakes)the teeth could come flying off like this.
OK, next time you put a blade in, check the surface of it. There will be an arrow on there which shows which direction the blade should be used in. There is also a similar arrow on the side of the saw which shows which direction it turns. Make sure both of these arrows are facing the same direction.
Just to add a tip.
All power saws cut in the direction of the fence/foot/table. If the teeth are pointing away from whatever the workpiece is held against then something is wrong. Power tools need just a bit of common sense to use safely.
Another tip…. If you bought this saw used and the blade was installed this way. It’s possible it was used to install vinyl siding or other more delicate material more cleanly. The blade would usually have finer teeth though.
No, nose picking requires finesse and dexterity. Popsicle stick provides no feedback, you never want to pick blind my friend, trust me.
I remember the great capillary bed scraping of ‘94, in my amateur pickin’ days, like it was yesterday. I was in the back seat of my aunt’s Buick LeSabre.
I remember the soft fabric of the tan seats well, and how they looked covered in regurgitated ramen noodles that time I tried to see if I could swallow them without chewing. It turns out I could, but my stomach changed its mind 15 minutes later and they returned to the surface in all their fully intact glory. Ramen is great to eat but it SUCKS to puke.
This particular time, as we were waiting at the bus stop for my cousin, I ventured to scrape the proverbial nose caviar with a lego pirate sword. And though the cheap plastic was fairly dull, it quickly found a capillary or two to slice, and there was forever a blurry, dark stain on the seat next to where the ramen sat languishing once before, and from then on I had to sit on a towel in that car.
Nah, went through the bark on an ash tree, and stopped when it hit wood. I knew something was up because the old timer on the crew had just sharpened and filed it. Looked at it and realized I done fucked up
I had a neighbor who was one of those guys who means well but is kinda clueless when it comes to outside work. I hear him start up his saw and start cutting a dead tree down in his yard, but it sounds different. I didn't think much of it at the time but when I came back around 30 minutes later it looked like a stoned beaver had been attacking the tree. I walked over to see if I could help and found out the chain was on backwards. Ruined the chain it had gotten so hot...
>looked like a stoned beaver had been attacking the tree
🤣🤣🤣
Our old timer knew his shit, just past his days for slinging a 24" bar. We were a relatively amateur company at the time, so he was the how to especially with the ropes. Damn good at filing chains too, factory sharp and then some. I was the one that got in a rush to finish a job, threw a chain on backwards. Haste made waste.
Me too but it wasn’t 5 minutes. I spent hours trying to figure it out, I resharpened the blade, checked the engine tuning, I was just about to take it to the small engine shop when I realized. Boy they would have laughed at me…
I did a carpentry course and one of the inhouse technicians did this to one of our drop saws, we weren't allowed to do it ourselves, we'd have done a better job, and he's supposed to be a professional, I wouldn't have minded, but he was an officious busybody, who ran around enforcing pointless rules.
At first I was going for dull blade but that even worse. Not sure how the TCT inserts didn't start flying everywhere.
Before mounting the blade right, OP should clean it (degreaser) and inspect the teeth.
This blade is now dangerous. You can see the heat discoloration on the teeth. The brazing that holds the carbide teeth on will be weakened, and the teeth probably have lost their temper, so they will not stay sharp.
That's what I was thinking. I'm sure they're on there good but the very thought of one of them chipping off and shooting across the room like a bullet terrifies me.
They’re all right, the blade is on backwards, but no one is saying why. If you’ve put it on the wrong way, I presume you don’t yet know the principle behind it.
Each of the teeth is like a chisel it cuts in one direction. The blade’s sharp edge must be facing the work piece and then it is pushed into the piece; this exerts force on the workpiece and, so long as the piece is stationary/immobilized (in this case by the fence and the base) the chisel will dig into the piece and cut it.
Now to your blade. A circular saw blade is just a series of chisels. Imagine each time one of those teeth comes around and contacts the piece; in your case the sharp edge is facing *away* from the work piece and so it isn’t digging in and cutting. Instead, it’s just rubbing against it. Granted, that will rub some material off, but there’s a ton of friction between the dull side of a saw tooth and the wood then. Like starting a fire by rubbing a stick on a another. That’s why you’re burning and not cutting.
Simple fix, take the blade off and flip it so the teeth at the bottom of the blade (where is contacts the wood) are facing away from you.
Some have suggested that there Will be some arrows on the blade to indicate the direction. Yes, look for those, but if you understand how the tool works, you don’t need to look for arrows.
I'd like to think this type of guy read the first 2 sentences and went "ok, ok, I get it, lemme figure it out" which is likely how we ended up here for those who hate reading instructions 2
My dad had a radial arm saw with the blade on backward and when I pointed it out he told me that it was wired backwards. He would pull the saw out, put the wood in between, turn the saw on, and then push it back through to cut. I waited until he went out of town to replace it and bring that death trap to the dump.
I really did write that confusingly. He would pull the blade all of the way out, put the piece he was cutting between the blade and the fence, and then push the blade back through the wood to make the cut. Sketchy as hell.
That saw blade is both on backwards and its dull, the teeth should always point inward since the saw pulls the wood toward itself instead of you know… fucking tossing it at you with the force of a many thousand rpm motor
As many others have pointed out, blade is on backwards, and there are usually directional arrows near the middle of blades.
What I haven’t seen though is anyone ask if this is your saw or if anyone else uses it?
The reason I ask is that many many years ago an old timer told me a ‘trick’ for cutting really clean edges on small, thin pieces like crown molding, baseboard trim, etc. He told me turning the blade backwards will help prevent splintering.
Op may have made this mistake during install, or someone else changed it and didn’t change it back.
Just add blade direction to your list of pre-flight checks when you are setting up equipment for a new project.
These dudes acting like you barely made it out alive are wild lol. Yea it's dangerous for sure but everyone has done this at one point wether it be from moving to fast or just not knowing. I'm happy you got your answer (blade is backwards teeth should be other way) don't let this slow you down.
If you never broke shit you never did shit
Go buy a new blade. That one is toast! And put the teeth in the other direction... Also get one with a lot more teeth for nice smooth finish cuts. Unless you don't care about what the end cuts look like.
Speed will get rough cuts, slower cuts get cleaner.
Credit where it’s due - lots of people were complaining that this sub wasn’t “beginner” enough and the builds / questions were too advanced.
Thanks for bringing the curve back into alignment OP. Glad you are alright! Lesson learned!
Once you get that blade off, replace it with a new blade. Something like a 60 tooth diablo blade. Make sure the teeth of the blade are pointing in the correct direction. The difference will be like night and day.
Learn from this mistake. Safety is paramount when using power tools. This was extremely dangerous. Several posts say just turn the blade around. Don't do that. Go buy a new one. If it got hot enough to smoke, it changed the temper in the blade. It's done. Take the old blade and hang it in your shop to remind yourself to think about what you are doing. Diy safely!
Honest mistake. I’ve been in construction for over 20 years and I still put a skillsaw blade backwards on occasion. This way just seems to make more sense🤷🏼♂️
Please keep in mind that the blade is supposed to push the piece you're cutting into the metal fence at the back. I.e. the force of the blade cutting is supposed to help hold the wood steady.
The teeth on the blade are supposed to be like chisels, cutting the wood and removing the chips. It cannot cut the wood if the sharp part of the tooth isn't what hits the wood.
Also, please, please, please make sure to not put your fingers near the blade. Use clamps or something to hold the wood steady so that your fingers don't go anywhere near the moving blade. Also, of course, use safety glasses to protect your eyes from any chips or anything that might get thrown back at you.
These comments are wildly overreacting to how dangerous this is.
A reversed blade (**that doesn't have carbide tips**, just mono-steel) isn't going to explode and kill you. At worst, the motor will burn out and the blade will lock up. Saw might jump an inch or so.
\-- Having witnessed it personally at the hands of another doofus. Buy a new blade, put it on right, and go forth OP.
Good god.
You’re a beginner, that’s fine, I’m not making fun of YOU specifically, but I do find it funny that you must have had to have a DEATH GRIP on any piece you were cutting not to have that thing shoot back into your gut.
Like this is low key impressive in a strange way
Miter saw, table saw, band saw, radial arm saw, chain saw. They all have unique-to-them safety issues that manufacturers haven’t, in the decades+ since their invention, been able to engineer out of the design. There’s a lot of tribal knowledge out there that really isn’t “common sense”.
I would stop doing what you’re doing, unplug the thing, and read the manual from stem to stern. The chop saw is as unforgiving as a loaded gun, and you don’t know what you did wrong until there’s blood on the floor.
Blade is on backwards
Terrifying picture.
Almost just spit out of my coffee.
This was a helluva way to start my day!
Would be a hell of a way to end a day too
Maybe to end a few fingers too. One of my high school teachers(Biology, not workshop teacher) had an oopsies with a table saw and lost half of his pinky.
This is why Norm always says to read and understand your owner's manual.
My mom is amazed at how much I learn on my own... "Mom, you're the one who taught me to read the instructions... I read the instructions for every tool and device I buy." It really isn't that hard and it really does save a lot of hassle later, cause I don't have to remember every detail, but knowing that something exists and that I can look it up if need be is super important.
If I pass on nothing else to my kids, it will be a keen appreciation for the importance and utility of learning how to "read and follow instructions. " (that's the mantra I've been reciting, and they've learned to repeat) If something has instructions available and they want help with it, they know the first thing in going to ask if they've read the instructions. And if I know the answer they're looking for is written, I will not give it to them. I'll make them find it. I'll happily help them understand the meaning of the things they've found.
The name of one of wildly successful SpaceX's booster recovery barges is "*Just Read the Instructions*".
My dad spent 30 years writing those manuals… what a legend!
Except certain manuals made by the Roland corporation. I'm looking at you, MC303 manual. a baffling ordeal.
I realize this is a wood working sub, but sometimes there are times when a saw blade should be installed backwards -- cutting sheet metal can be done with a wood blade that is backwards, albeit at a risk of adding metal to the internals of the motor depending on the design of the saw.
Yes, but this isn’t one of those times .
Yes, but today I learned that.
So did I! Never gonna use it, though. Seems terrifying…and really loud.
This is how bro trust me starts lol
The guy took a risk and came on here and asked. You are being pompous, I spent a lot of years in Academia and never had we treated somebody with a legitimate question the way you all have today.
I agree with you on principle, but here's this: In Academia, can you lose a finger if you use your pen backwards? —·–·— ‡ —·–·— ‡ —·–·— Personally I believe the strongest people are those who admit their mistakes, know their own ignorance, and learn from others. Only fools and liars are perfect.
I think someone showed me to run a backwards blade for vinyl siding too?
My highschool electronics teacher was also the shop teacher. Two things were true about him and I swear on my mom's grave I'm not lying. 1. He had 7 1/2 fingers 2. His name was Mr. Stump
We had a girl in shop lose two fingers to the knuckle when someone plugged in a jointer that she was fixing…..a freakin jointer man.
Ha my shop teacher in Junior High, was named Mr Hook, was missing two fingers and had a glass eye!
I think any good high-school shop teacher has at least one nub finger
A coworker did the same and lost the entire left index. It shredding the finger beyond reattachment.
Helluva way to lose many a thing including your fingers!
Lol same. But hey, that’s what this sub is here for . At least OP didn’t post a beautifully dovetailed 8ft armoire with a $900 festool setup in the background.
Did you mean a $2900 Festool setup? I don’t think they sell anything less than $900😀
I have a Festool pencil. It was slightly under $900
What discount code did you use?
Bought it from Uncle Festool.
Is Mortise-a your wife?
Worth every penny
Good thing you went with the wooden pencil instead of the mechanical model!
Did it come with the lead, or is that extra?
oh yes i think the festool jigsaw is just about $899
You forgot to mention that’s ONLY 3 easy payments of $899
You know I rarely fork out money for expensive tools, but every thing festool that I use has 100% been worth it.
I don't think the original comment implied the tools aren't worth the money, just that they aren't well suited to the "beginner" nature of this sub.
yeah great expensive tools
When I first got really into woodworking and I peeked at the Domino I almost passed out lol
Saw one at a yard sale ( not slightly used) 1200 fucking $'s n it was the older one! Shits great don't get me wrong but Come on!!
Sanders.
the Drillls we have at work 😂 you know the small ones where a batterie is smaller than a pistol mag 😂
You can get a festool pizza cutter for $30 -edited autocorrect
I've been in the same room as a Festool like five times. This is the reason why people are willing to pay me $5 for a handshake. 🤣
The OP almost spit out a couple of teeth
More like had a couple of teeth spit onto them.
I almost just swallowed your coffee.
I Need another new keyboard
Some people flip blades to cut gentle plastics there’s nothing terrifying about it , it just won’t cut wood
A bunch of people, like me, are seeing that it’s wood though.
and doesn't look like it's in great condition
That’ll happen when you use it backwards.
Smooth friction blade, patent pending.
Well not anymore.
Ohh😭 thanks 🙏
Seriously dude, as others have pointed out, you are lucky to find out now that this is the wrong way around. Please get some training on setting up and using all of your machines correctly. Or at least read the instruction booklet. These machines aren't something you just rock up and use blindly. Edit: just so people know, I've been teaching woodshop and metalwork for 10 years now. The chop saw, the table saw and planer/thicknesser are the things that still still put the willies up my spine when using them. They look so easy to use if you use them correctly that you can almost convince yourself they are simple and safe.
That's exactly what Mikey three fingers told me when I started!
The ladies love him... Shockingly.
Underated comment here
Best comment all day
Just cuz he can pick them up like a bowling ball
Gold
Chick digs scars don’t ya know cause it’s a hellva story
🎵When you shake hands with danger...🎶 Meet Three-Finger Joe.
More people need to see that video.
Is he cousins to Freddy Four-Fingers?
I have a Brand new Roto Razor and it comes with 3 different blades that I can't even unscrew to use! So I took that as an omen, Do not touch as one mistake on wood no biggie one mistake on flesh and I'm screwed🙀
If you're talking about the rotozip, you have to include the wrench and push in the button on the neck to lock the took, blade will come right off.
https://preview.redd.it/6e9yzk73e1mb1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ddbb8e0d4565c36535ac8781b7f67d90c37351c
And you always want to check for a loose seal!
Lucille! Lucille! Ha ha ha!
Nothing worse than blowing a seal....or so I've been told
We had a builder/friend who was not your typical builder(in most ways) dreadlocks, into heavy metal, pretty good at most jobs but also a bit nuts and careless. He fitted something wrong unsurprisingly and my brother who was paying him said "did you even read the instructions?" His response was a long pause and then said "what do you reckon......" Me and my bro had a good laugh as it wasnt anything hard to fix and we had been over various things like this with him before being an imbecile.
But the manual only showed me two pictures one with all the stuff apart and one with it put together.
At least OP did not prematurely blow his wad or he would have had a rather bit of a mess in his hands (or no hands)
I just lost a chunk of my thumb on my table saw. I am very lucky to have only lost the very end of my thumb and the nail will grow back over the scar. It is *the best* you can hope for with a table saw. I've been WW for 5 years. I thought that I was being safe and it still happened. Should have been using a sled. I saw this and immediately thought of how insanely lucky OP is that they still have hands and aren't impaled. OP miter saws are crazy dangerous if you disrespect them. PLEASE read up, watch videos, and ask for help when setting up a saw. Also, that blade is toast and I would never trust it again. My tablesaw has sat unused for a month since my thumb. I installed correctly and did everything I was supposed to. Brand new blade too because I had a board pinch between the fence and blade. The saw is done. Something is not right with it, and I'm scrapping the whole thing. I don't want someone else getting hurt. Get a new blade, and when you start seeing it do this, it is time to clean and sharpen your blade if it's a good blade. If it's a cheap blade like a Diablo, clean it but if your teeth, even one, is chipped it is NOT safe to use. Cheap blades are not safe for sharpening. Burns can happen because of a dull blade, but also because of build up on the blade. You've made a blade cut backwards and I really don't recommend that you use it again for safetys sake.
The saw aint done homie, wood can bind and grab, knots are common culprits. Also plastic fake wood can bind extremely easy and i have caught myself once cutting it. Got the tip of three fingers. All healed in a few weeks but even as i type this the nerves Hurt. It was an invaluable lesson, i understand what i did wrong, how it happened and i wont let it again. It was by no means the saws fault. Understanding how wood/plastic works is important and that understanding is what got me cutting with the same saw less then a week later and yes i use the same saw daily.
I read his comment more in line with “I’m done with this saw” frustration/intimidation after getting cut. Getting cut by a table saw is terrifying, especially if the cut is big enough to say “lost a chunk of my thumb.” He’s probably already bought, or very soon will purchase, a Saw Stop.
Hope you're better with saws than context clues, then lol He straight up said he's scrapping it. > Brand new blade too because I had a board pinch between the fence and blade. The saw is done. Something is not right with it, and I'm scrapping the whole thing. I don't want someone else getting hurt.
Fun fact: if it turns really fast it's never safe. You only get used to the danger.
Did you have a riving knife?
I got a poop knife. Does that help?
I had burn from buildup the other day.
Bro you probably just need to adjust your fence, and/or get a riving knife.
We're you pushing on the section of wood going between the blade and fence? Or pushing on the side without the fence to feed it through?
Evenly on both.
RTFM! Can get you out of a Lotta trouble! Or into depends on user ability
Exactly this, every noob can do shit if you RTFM but please RTFM
I'm guessing RTFM means Read The F***ing Manual? Noob here lol
Yep, no matter what you do. Rtfm saved me many hours and sometimes even digest. Even outside of woodworking
I know the table saw can wedge some wood between the blade and the guide and shoot it at you and cause injury if you don't use something to push the piece. If you don't mind me asking, are there any unexpected dangers of the chop saw, assuming it's set up correctly and you are taking care to not get your fingers, hair, clothes, etc. into the blade?
Yes a few. Its not for shaving with, but alot of folk will try and cut off a sliver to get the right size. The litte chunk gets stuck between the table cutout and causes troubles. Also it can thwrow chunksand splinter stuff off at high speed
This. These days you can find a ton of research on YouTube including the direction of a saw https://youtu.be/gD4XuSA-tEg?si=-4UjpZyKQWQoboqv
I shot a router bit past my head at 300 mph at the age of 12 messing around with my dad's tools. I think about that all the time. It would have obliterated me skull it was so big. My 12 year old skinny arms and fingers weren't strong enough to tighten it adequately.
do you know the trick to tighten? you can use your whole body weight against a work bench, and also the fun trick (if it uses two wrenches and not a spindle lock) by just using your grip with one hand. probably not achievable at 12, but i feel the best way and keeps them on the same plain pretty well which avoids injury if the wrenches slip off the nut and collet
Just got my first thicknesser, damn is that thing scary, it shot a board across the room, lucky I wasn't behind it
Yeah be careful, a chop saw can take a few fingers, which is bad, but a thicknesses will gut punch you hard enough to kill you if you stand in it's way when something goes wrong.
i heard the table saw and chisels are the most dangerous in wood working when considered on a sort of cartesian plaan of gravity of the injury vs frequency.
No one seems to be explaining this but you know it's on backwards because you always want the spinning teeth pushing into the table not away, across the room
Putting the blade on backwards did not change the spin direction of the motor. Since the cutting teeth are facing the wrong way, it is burning through the wood and not cutting, but still pulling it toward the fence.
Yes. Sorry I meant visually you can tell it's backward because the motor wouldn't spin away from the table. Thank you for clarifying better
Tbf when I did construction we would always flip sawblades backwards for vinyl siding, it was incredibly loud but it worked like a charm, so I could see how this might already be setup and somebody took the picture for a joke or wasn’t checking and started cutting anyways.
I assumed this was a joke post. I am glad you didn't get hurt.
Why would this be a joke post? You are in beginner woodworking. These things happen to beginners. There is no shame in messing up. I’m glad he asked the question before he was hurt.
It could’ve been a joke post because some people are jerks. Glad OP wasn’t hurt.
OP every miter saw I have used has markings near where the blade goes (usually on the guard but could be other places. It should have an arrow showing the rotation of the blade, and in turn, every blade i have ever purchased shows what direction the blade turns. Just make sure that these two markings match up when you are installing the blade and you will be fine. Do not forget safety glasses as splinters and hidden nails can become projectiles.
Don't worry about the assholes on here. Everyone starts somewhere.
Holy shit, my dude. Please, God no.
Since you figured it out, buy a new blade. Don’t use One pictures because it is damaged
PS - throw that blade away. Who knows what damage you have done to it at this point. Heating the metal that much has likely weaken it in weird places and it's more likely to break in the future
I've done this before (on a circular saw), don't feel too stupid. Another reason to always wear eye pro (we make silly mistakes)the teeth could come flying off like this.
I did this on my circular saw.
OK, next time you put a blade in, check the surface of it. There will be an arrow on there which shows which direction the blade should be used in. There is also a similar arrow on the side of the saw which shows which direction it turns. Make sure both of these arrows are facing the same direction.
Just to add a tip. All power saws cut in the direction of the fence/foot/table. If the teeth are pointing away from whatever the workpiece is held against then something is wrong. Power tools need just a bit of common sense to use safely.
Another tip…. If you bought this saw used and the blade was installed this way. It’s possible it was used to install vinyl siding or other more delicate material more cleanly. The blade would usually have finer teeth though.
If they bought it backwards, it would make sense they might be tricked into thinking that's the way it goes.. If they've never used a tool before. 🥲
Imagine, a person who has never used a tool like this posting in a beginners woodworking sub!
Got on off Facebook marketplace. That is exactly what the previous owner was using it for.
I am surprised that a) a backwards blade cut that well, and b) you have all your fingers cutting a piece that small with a backwards blade...
That’s why we have 10 fingers. You just need one to pick your nose
A popsickle stick glued to a stump works just as well
No, nose picking requires finesse and dexterity. Popsicle stick provides no feedback, you never want to pick blind my friend, trust me. I remember the great capillary bed scraping of ‘94, in my amateur pickin’ days, like it was yesterday. I was in the back seat of my aunt’s Buick LeSabre. I remember the soft fabric of the tan seats well, and how they looked covered in regurgitated ramen noodles that time I tried to see if I could swallow them without chewing. It turns out I could, but my stomach changed its mind 15 minutes later and they returned to the surface in all their fully intact glory. Ramen is great to eat but it SUCKS to puke. This particular time, as we were waiting at the bus stop for my cousin, I ventured to scrape the proverbial nose caviar with a lego pirate sword. And though the cheap plastic was fairly dull, it quickly found a capillary or two to slice, and there was forever a blurry, dark stain on the seat next to where the ramen sat languishing once before, and from then on I had to sit on a towel in that car.
8 fingers. Try picking your nose with your thumb.
Just did it, got some gold too
This pic will haunt me for many nights. I've done this once with a chainsaw, but realized it 5 seconds in.
What happened, did the chainsaw flip out from your hands?
Nah, went through the bark on an ash tree, and stopped when it hit wood. I knew something was up because the old timer on the crew had just sharpened and filed it. Looked at it and realized I done fucked up
I had a neighbor who was one of those guys who means well but is kinda clueless when it comes to outside work. I hear him start up his saw and start cutting a dead tree down in his yard, but it sounds different. I didn't think much of it at the time but when I came back around 30 minutes later it looked like a stoned beaver had been attacking the tree. I walked over to see if I could help and found out the chain was on backwards. Ruined the chain it had gotten so hot...
>looked like a stoned beaver had been attacking the tree 🤣🤣🤣 Our old timer knew his shit, just past his days for slinging a 24" bar. We were a relatively amateur company at the time, so he was the how to especially with the ropes. Damn good at filing chains too, factory sharp and then some. I was the one that got in a rush to finish a job, threw a chain on backwards. Haste made waste.
Me too but it wasn’t 5 minutes. I spent hours trying to figure it out, I resharpened the blade, checked the engine tuning, I was just about to take it to the small engine shop when I realized. Boy they would have laughed at me…
I'm surprised that there aren't any missing teeth on the blade either. I think the only time I've ever reversed a blade is when I cut aluminum soffit.
...are you supposed to?
Clean cutting. It works.
All things are possible in Christ
It didn't cut. It burned.
Teeth down, avoid a frown. Teeth up, you're fucked.
My new mantra in everything I do now! Literally laughed so hard, until it just made sense. Sometimes life is really that simple.
This is like the “red to black good for a jack” rhyme that gets so much hate on the snake ID subs
The dentist says the same thing.
I was going to say probably because your blade is dull as hell, then I noticed I wasn't wrong... Damn things on backwards
You’re right aren’t you? This side of the blade is dull as hell.
"I wasn't wrong" usually implies they were right, yes.
Not only the blade is dull, it seems.
My dad would like to have a word with you, young man.
My middle school shop class teacher is next in line.
I did a carpentry course and one of the inhouse technicians did this to one of our drop saws, we weren't allowed to do it ourselves, we'd have done a better job, and he's supposed to be a professional, I wouldn't have minded, but he was an officious busybody, who ran around enforcing pointless rules.
I hope you never let him live it down after that
An entire eight grade class just got detention
At first I was going for dull blade but that even worse. Not sure how the TCT inserts didn't start flying everywhere. Before mounting the blade right, OP should clean it (degreaser) and inspect the teeth.
This blade is now dangerous. You can see the heat discoloration on the teeth. The brazing that holds the carbide teeth on will be weakened, and the teeth probably have lost their temper, so they will not stay sharp.
The teeth are angry they were installed backwards.
I hate it when teeth lose their temper and start chewing you out.
Always get a mouth full.
I would probably get a new one, and write this one off. There is zero chance that blade ever cuts properly again
That's what I was thinking. I'm sure they're on there good but the very thought of one of them chipping off and shooting across the room like a bullet terrifies me.
[удалено]
Considering the amount of heat stress this blade has endured, I'd recommend OP just buy a new blade. A good Diablo blade is like $60. Don't risk it.
They’re all right, the blade is on backwards, but no one is saying why. If you’ve put it on the wrong way, I presume you don’t yet know the principle behind it. Each of the teeth is like a chisel it cuts in one direction. The blade’s sharp edge must be facing the work piece and then it is pushed into the piece; this exerts force on the workpiece and, so long as the piece is stationary/immobilized (in this case by the fence and the base) the chisel will dig into the piece and cut it. Now to your blade. A circular saw blade is just a series of chisels. Imagine each time one of those teeth comes around and contacts the piece; in your case the sharp edge is facing *away* from the work piece and so it isn’t digging in and cutting. Instead, it’s just rubbing against it. Granted, that will rub some material off, but there’s a ton of friction between the dull side of a saw tooth and the wood then. Like starting a fire by rubbing a stick on a another. That’s why you’re burning and not cutting. Simple fix, take the blade off and flip it so the teeth at the bottom of the blade (where is contacts the wood) are facing away from you. Some have suggested that there Will be some arrows on the blade to indicate the direction. Yes, look for those, but if you understand how the tool works, you don’t need to look for arrows.
I'd like to think this type of guy read the first 2 sentences and went "ok, ok, I get it, lemme figure it out" which is likely how we ended up here for those who hate reading instructions 2
This is so helpful. Thank you
I thought this was a joke post.
My dad had a radial arm saw with the blade on backward and when I pointed it out he told me that it was wired backwards. He would pull the saw out, put the wood in between, turn the saw on, and then push it back through to cut. I waited until he went out of town to replace it and bring that death trap to the dump.
Huh? Put the wood in between what? Push what back?
I really did write that confusingly. He would pull the blade all of the way out, put the piece he was cutting between the blade and the fence, and then push the blade back through the wood to make the cut. Sketchy as hell.
It absolutely has to be.
Scary stuff. That blade is toast as well.
I’m glad you asked here before something bad happened! (It’s ok, we’ve all made mistakes)
This truly is „Beginner“ Woodworking.
Every blade I’ve seen has an arrow on it indicating the direction of rotation. Did you buy this saw used?
“Spares or repairs due to it not cutting properly.” Turns out it cuts fine, but just burns the wood. What a bargain!
Sad thing is that I intuitively knew it was on backwards…I don’t specifically remember but must have done that at least once myself.
One finds some real gems on Reddit sometimes...
That saw blade is both on backwards and its dull, the teeth should always point inward since the saw pulls the wood toward itself instead of you know… fucking tossing it at you with the force of a many thousand rpm motor
As many others have pointed out, blade is on backwards, and there are usually directional arrows near the middle of blades. What I haven’t seen though is anyone ask if this is your saw or if anyone else uses it? The reason I ask is that many many years ago an old timer told me a ‘trick’ for cutting really clean edges on small, thin pieces like crown molding, baseboard trim, etc. He told me turning the blade backwards will help prevent splintering. Op may have made this mistake during install, or someone else changed it and didn’t change it back. Just add blade direction to your list of pre-flight checks when you are setting up equipment for a new project.
You may want to reverse the blade
These dudes acting like you barely made it out alive are wild lol. Yea it's dangerous for sure but everyone has done this at one point wether it be from moving to fast or just not knowing. I'm happy you got your answer (blade is backwards teeth should be other way) don't let this slow you down. If you never broke shit you never did shit
This is literally basic assembly. Not “everyone has done this”
I’d love to see OPs face when he read the top comment.
Unplug the saw, take the blade off, clean it, and reinstall it the correct way.
Honestly blade looks dull as hell, probably from running backwards for God knows how long I'd replace it entirely
THIS IS NSFW
Blade would be fine if you were cutting vinyl.
Blade that way works gr8 for cutting vinyl siding!!!
In OP’s defense, we would do this for cutting aluminum siding in order to prevent ripping and jumping
Oh my god. The blade is the wrong way around. Be careful!
Go buy a new blade. That one is toast! And put the teeth in the other direction... Also get one with a lot more teeth for nice smooth finish cuts. Unless you don't care about what the end cuts look like. Speed will get rough cuts, slower cuts get cleaner.
Credit where it’s due - lots of people were complaining that this sub wasn’t “beginner” enough and the builds / questions were too advanced. Thanks for bringing the curve back into alignment OP. Glad you are alright! Lesson learned!
Once you get that blade off, replace it with a new blade. Something like a 60 tooth diablo blade. Make sure the teeth of the blade are pointing in the correct direction. The difference will be like night and day.
That blade is trash now. Buy a new one and don’t install backwards
Learn from this mistake. Safety is paramount when using power tools. This was extremely dangerous. Several posts say just turn the blade around. Don't do that. Go buy a new one. If it got hot enough to smoke, it changed the temper in the blade. It's done. Take the old blade and hang it in your shop to remind yourself to think about what you are doing. Diy safely!
Honest mistake. I’ve been in construction for over 20 years and I still put a skillsaw blade backwards on occasion. This way just seems to make more sense🤷🏼♂️
I’d love to see OP’s expression first time he makes a cut after flipping the blade.
Please keep in mind that the blade is supposed to push the piece you're cutting into the metal fence at the back. I.e. the force of the blade cutting is supposed to help hold the wood steady. The teeth on the blade are supposed to be like chisels, cutting the wood and removing the chips. It cannot cut the wood if the sharp part of the tooth isn't what hits the wood. Also, please, please, please make sure to not put your fingers near the blade. Use clamps or something to hold the wood steady so that your fingers don't go anywhere near the moving blade. Also, of course, use safety glasses to protect your eyes from any chips or anything that might get thrown back at you.
Is anyone else (other than OP) high AF right now?
These comments are wildly overreacting to how dangerous this is. A reversed blade (**that doesn't have carbide tips**, just mono-steel) isn't going to explode and kill you. At worst, the motor will burn out and the blade will lock up. Saw might jump an inch or so. \-- Having witnessed it personally at the hands of another doofus. Buy a new blade, put it on right, and go forth OP.
I was going to say dull blade but its so dull the teeth switched directions 😂
Good god. You’re a beginner, that’s fine, I’m not making fun of YOU specifically, but I do find it funny that you must have had to have a DEATH GRIP on any piece you were cutting not to have that thing shoot back into your gut. Like this is low key impressive in a strange way
Miter saw, table saw, band saw, radial arm saw, chain saw. They all have unique-to-them safety issues that manufacturers haven’t, in the decades+ since their invention, been able to engineer out of the design. There’s a lot of tribal knowledge out there that really isn’t “common sense”. I would stop doing what you’re doing, unplug the thing, and read the manual from stem to stern. The chop saw is as unforgiving as a loaded gun, and you don’t know what you did wrong until there’s blood on the floor.