Safest way to cut this wood with table saw

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fixit7

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Is this the safest way to cut this wood?

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Lowered the blade and made this push stick.

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Completed job.
 

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It also would have been safer to have set the guide up so that narrow piece was to the left of the blade, not between the guide and the blade.
Doing it the way you did that narrow piece tends to bind and want to kick back,
 
I do not see how that would help ?

The wood would still go between the blade and the guide.
 
The point being, that the wider section of wood is much easier to control.
 
It also would have been safer to have set the guide up so that narrow piece was to the left of the blade, not between the guide and the blade.
Doing it the way you did that narrow piece tends to bind and want to kick back,
Then you need to adjust the fence for each cut and the pieces will not be the same size. The thin pieces between the fence and the blade is the proper way to get a bunch of wood all the same thickness.
The blade should only be high enough to cut through the wood and a push stick used.
 
The safer way to cut that would would be to use all the proper saw safety guards. I thought the riving knife behind the blade was universal, and does not hinder the use of the saw. The anti-kickback pawls are good to have too. An overhead frame minimizes the chance of launching wood. And plastic blade guard minimizes chance of your hand hitting the blade. How come your saw has none of these ? Lots of good videos on YouTube on table saw safety.
 

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Then you need to adjust the fence for each cut and the pieces will not be the same size. The thin pieces between the fence and the blade is the proper way to get a bunch of wood all the same thickness.
The blade should only be high enough to cut through the wood and a push stick used.

Assuming he's trying to make a bunch of pieces off the same size. If the bigger piece is the end result I'd move the fence and have that piece between the fence and blade.
 
Using a push block wider then the strip you cut is safer because it gives greater control of the work piece. Yes, your blade will cut the bottom of the push block but my 2x4 push block has been scored at 4 different widths and will still be serviceable for at least a few more uses. The video at the link below goes into excruciating detail. The best part shows how to make your insert temporarily zero-clearance in just seconds.

 
The safer way to cut that would would be to use all the proper saw safety guards. I thought the riving knife behind the blade was universal, and does not hinder the use of the saw. The anti-kickback pawls are good to have too. An overhead frame minimizes the chance of launching wood. And plastic blade guard minimizes chance of your hand hitting the blade. How come your saw has none of these ? Lots of good videos on YouTube on table saw safety.
I removed the safety guards because they got in the way.

I have a SkilSaw model 88603.

If there is a better safety guard, I will buy one.
 
Many times, the safety guard makes it unsafe. I have a $1200. Craftsman cabinet saw, and Took the safety guard off.
 
I removed the safety guards because they got in the way.

It can happen that one or more guards get in the way on a particular cut. When you finish that cut, put the guard back on.

Its a very, very rare situation that the riving knife gets in the way.
 
Increased friction between push stick and work piece is good. Commercial push blocks like GRR-RIPPER have a rubberized material on the bottom.

If you are using the stick to push on the left side of the work piece, that is the wrong tool. For that you should have a feather board. I wasn't happy with the one I shop-made but my cheapie from Harbor Freight has worked fine. When I don't use the featherboard I use two push sticks - one on each side of the blade.

To control the piece between the fence and blade you need a push stick on that side. That is why for narrow cuts I recommend a wide push stick that gets cut by the blade as it passes over. Also, if the cut piece could slip between the blade and insert, you need a zero clearance insert.
 
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Since mounting the router on a table, I noticed some new limitations.

1. Changing bits is much harder

2. Routing letters etc in wood would require removing the router each time.
 
Cutting to left of blade is best for safety and fine for a single cut but if multiple identical pieces needed, resetting the fence precisely for each cut is challenging.

I have also noticed that the bit strongly pulls the wood.
 
I made a sled for my old table saw but have not for this one yet.
 
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