Interesting Newbie Safety Observations

[IBBugsy]

Just thought I'd post some Newbie safety observations I had last night while ripping some pine boards (1 x 10's and 1 x 12's) down to size.

1) Had a knot jump out of one board and get caught within my Shark Guard. Would have been a pretty good projectile if the guard wasn't there! Original BT3 guard probably would have worked also? Gotta respect those knots!

2) Had one board "develop" a bad warp as I cut it. Cutting released the "tension" or whatever within the board. I stopped cutting and pulled the board back. Looking back at where the cut started, one side of the cut was now warped up about 1/4 inch higher than the other side. Never saw that before but had heard about it.

[mschrank]

yes, I've also found pine to be a "lively" wood to work with. What with loose knots and movement during and after cutting, you just never know what exciting things are going to happen. Not to mention the fun you can have trying to get an even finish

That said, I still have a fondness for pine...probably from having grown up in Montana where oak and maple are practically "exotic" species!

[Stytooner]

Naughty knots.

[L. D. Jeffries]

Warped Pine

I use a lot of un-kiln dried pine (band sawed from my logs) and can attest to "ripping" problems. I've had short pieces (20-25") actually stop the saw even though they were air dried for months. Even the shark splitter won't let it through. Local joke is that they were grown too close to the creek! Actually a lot of the problem is trees that were grown on steep slopes develop a lot of stress on the uphill side in trying to grow straight up. The internal stress/tension can be fierce. Some times I "shim" the cut after it is past the saw blade (have to take out the shark first), usually this works. Wood caan be a real "head scratcher" sometimes.

[Bruce Cohen]

Hey Lee.

It's knot just what the Shark can do, its knot what injury you're being saved from.

Sorry, couldn't resist

Bruce

[cabinetman]

You'll see a lot of odd things happen when operating machinery. As an approach to maximize your safety, the first step is to develop an eye for early warning. In other words, try to forsee an eventual problem starting to develop. Then the second reminder is to not have an initial panick attack and flinch or react in a way that would create more of a problem.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[JimD]

You can tell in advance whether a knot will come out. If it is black all the way around it, the limb was dead at the time the tree was cut. If it is black, part was around, the limb was dying and the black part is loose. If it is not black, the knot will PROBABLY stay put. The wood around the knot has unusual grain and is very prone to warping. Depending on the project, this wood can be very useful because of the unusal, non-boring, appearance. To keep the board straight, you need to leave as much solid wood around the knot area as you can. I also sometimes rip oversize expecting a warp so I can then remove another 1/4 inch or so to straighten the board out.

Jim