I have witnessed and corrected some terribly unsafe behaviors with the table saws recently. Most recent was an approximately 6-8ft 2x4 having an inch cross cut against the rip fence with no sled. I think perhaps less experienced members aren’t understanding or aware of how dangerous a table saw is. Perhaps this needs to be increasingly emphasized in basics class. I’m of the mind to go make some vinyl labels for the rip fences with “NO CROSS CUTS” on them.
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We do [quickly] cover that in Woodshop Basics - but I will emphasize it more. Please continue to help fellow members [and feedback on what needs greater coverage in class is always welcome].
Thanks!
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I will confess to having misused a table saw for years before someone shared this with me, and I still struggle with WHY it’s Such a Bad Idea™, so for folks like me who struggle with this (believe me, I’m happy to learn, and largely take it at face value that you just should not cross cut with the fence, but some of us like explanations) this is pretty nice explanation (someone correct me if this thing is way off base!):
https://www.quora.com/Why-shouldnt-I-use-the-rip-fence-to-guide-a-cross-cut-with-a-table-saw#:~:text=Crosscut%20power-saws%20should%20never,cut%20perpendicular%20to%20the%20grain.
because Quora likes to cut you off if you’ve read something there before, here’s what it says
Answer: Dismemberment
Crosscutting using the rip fence as your guide will invite rotation and a good chance of being seriously injured from being cut or having a workpiece flying into your body at 100mph. Other answers have hit on this point.
Let’s say you have a board that is being crosscut as in your scenario, so it’s width is greater than it’s length (in reference to the rip fence.) As you cut, the blade is pushing back, to a degree, on your cut/workpiece, this causes the rip fence to now act as a fulcrum. The implication being that the work piece will begin to rotate off of the rip fence towards the user and typically bind between the bottom right corner of your work piece (off the fence) and the blade itself. This can easily and very quickly result in a loss of control. The binding then causes the piece to rotate at a very high rate of speed, further catch the blade and results in an ejection, typically towards the user. This uncontrolled rotation, if your hand is holding the piece (because you would have to be,) can also cause your hand to, again uncontrollably, rotate WITH the piece and into the blade - causing a serious injury or resulting in dismemberment. Even if your hand misses hitting the blade you have ejected a workpiece out of the saw, potentially causing serious injury.
You do not win with a saw. The blade spins at roughly 110/120 mph for a 10″ cabinet saw. You simply cannot react fast enough. So instead, just use your saw correctly to greatly reduce the chances of an event.
The rip fence is only to be used if the aspect ratio of the work piece has the longer side parallel to the fence. If the longer portion of your workpiece is perpendicular to the fence it should be supported from behind by either a miter gauge or sled. This will eliminate the rotation I mention above, as all the force is pushed back into the fence of your sled, seating your workpiece.
Further to note: if crosscutting using a miter gauge or sled you should not use the rip fence as a stop. Doing so creates 2 points of contact in addition to contact with the blade, again potentially inviting binding. Rather the proper procedure would be to use a spacer connected to your rip fence that sits behind the blade. You can now use this as a stop to cut to length, hold your workpiece firmly to your miter gauge or sled and cut - your workpiece disengages the stop prior to engaging the saw blade, giving contact to one point and the blade, rather than two. One fence at a time.
I have known people who have suffered dismemberments from improperly using tools, it is not a joke. Always understand how to properly use your tools, understand how to react in adverse situations and don’t get lazy. You only need to be lazy once.
Never crosscut using a rip fence.
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Oh I understand. I have done stupid shit myself and luckily learned my lesson by being punched in the gut and getting a big bruise rather than running my hand over a blade or worse. We are all clueless and naïve at some point, no reason to be mad at people for making mistakes but it is better if these particular mistakes are avoided.
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It gratifying to note that the two best solutions to this (and other generally unsafe behaviors) were quickly identified above: 1) more focus on this during safety/basics traing classes; and 2) other members keeping an eye out for each other (and the tools!).
Hard to stress enough the importance of the 2nd…e.g. if any driver on the road could issue a speeding citation to any other driver that was speeding, there would be almost no more speeding!
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A lot of people feel weird about calling someone out, especially because we are equals and don’t have any authority over each other, but it is important to do it even if it is awkward. A lot of times they simply don’t know or remember how to do something safely, and were too afraid to ask. On the other side of that coin, ASK! Nobody will think less of you if you don’t remember how to safely use a tool, but they definitely will if they see you doing something dangerous.
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“Stop Work” culture has been discussed here on TALK before, most notably here:
https://talk.dallasmakerspace.org/t/dms-and-injuries/62204/24
Apparently, Metal and Machine Shops have instituted some sort of program, or cover it in class; kinda surprised if Wood Shop has not done the same. Regardless, as you point out, we all have the ability and responsibility to stop any unsafe behavior or misuse of tools…it just goes with the territory in a Makerspace like ours.
My next door neighbor and I are both new first-time owners of table saws. I was walking past his garage a couple weeks ago and he was using his saw with gloves. I let him know in as friendly a way as I could that he shouldn’t be wearing gloves (He knows, but he hates splinters). It was all I could do - his breaker panel is behind a locked gate. 
Yikes… I have had this argument with my mom. She insists on wearing gloves when sanding with a belt sander. She feels like “going bare” seems so unsafe. Trying to explain that sanding down your fingertips is way better than ripping a finger off doesn’t really seem to get through
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It’s been a while since I took Woodshop Basics, but cutting lumber to length seems like a job the chop saw does far better than the table saw, crosscut sled or no. Something to do with moving the blade rather than moving an entire stick of stock across its width.
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And a whole lot safer job of it too…
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Would be easier if it wasn’t a constant battle getting anything longer than the saw’s fence to cut actually square.
When I turned 50 I joined the Denton Senior Center to use their workshop. I had no experience with a table saw. I used the rip fence and a miter gauge. The cut piece flew and hit me in the stomach. I had a bruise that was 3" wide by 6" long for two months. Like an idiot I did not learn. The next time it flew over my shoulder, knocked a clock off the wall and put a dent in the sheetrock. Ed, the shop manager came to me and said, " Jeff, either you slow down and ask questions or get the “F” out of the shop." It was really embarrassing for someone my age to not ask for help. Needless to say, safety became very important to me.
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So let say you have a piece that is 48" x 24" and you want a piece that is 24" x 24". What would be best practice for a large cross cut like that?
Basically too little Parallel contract surface will be prone to rotate as one side gets pushed more than the other, that roation causes the teeth to come out of the nice grove the 100s of teeth before them have carved out and into a brand new section of wood, and when the rotation is enough the new wood surface is too big to chew and so the blade bites, and then it becomes a solid mass off wood vs accelerated by 10000rpm in an imemsley small about of time and you, your buddy, dry wall, metal cabinets will all not fair well if in the path of that piece of wood, just think of space a marble going 17000 mph has the same force as a jeep going 75 so even though the wood is small the speed make it dangerous- possibly life threatening
Use the festtool clamp on straight edge guided circular saw which will clamp up to 8’or 12’ of track
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Use the sled. Cross cuts aren’t not allowed, they just have to be done properly
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If one of the tools isn’t performing up to standard, open a request in the Issues and Requests category. @Team_Woodshop is pretty responsive to issues.
Use the sawtooth and the sliding table with the large miter Guage that goes with the sliding table.
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Sawtooth? and what I need to post