Lowering your Table Saw Blade

I do not. If I have a mishap like yours, it would happen whether the blade has been lowered or not….there is no end to the mistakes I can make.

I do only because with the Shop Smith Mark V I lower the blade when using the band saw. I don’t like a free access blade rotating. With my machine the table is lowered not the blade. I have to raise the table to hide the blade.

I lower it, the reason i do is some times i need to place things on top and dont want to bump the blade. After your mishap i found another reason to do so.

1. Always
2. Protection — for you AND for the blade.

I do most of the time. Cause blades are expensive. And if I’m being lazy, I at least slide the fence over next to the blade. So I don’t bump it. ? safety first. ?

I do every time , since my saw is lined up with my work bench it often becomes part of the bench . I don’t want to damage the blade or my project .

All of the above plus one more reason. I wired an outlet into my saw cabinet that has my shop vac plugged into it. Sometimes I use the vacuum without the saw so I unplug the saw motor. I got into the habit of lowering the blade after every use because once in a blue moon I’ll forget to unplug the saw motor and my saw table does double duty as assembly bench, etc. So that spinning blade is a scary proposition if the table is loaded up with stuff. And yeah, safety first, last and everything between.

I lower my blade after every use. I also unplug my saw after every use. I’d like to say it is because of my acute safety sense, or some sense of self-preservation, but in reality it is because I use the top of my saw as a work surface because it is my only true flat surface. I put a piece of plywood on top and use it as an assembly/work area. My shop is 15X30, and I can’t leave the saw in the middle of the room, so I have to move it out of the way after use. So I do those things for practical reasons other than safety.

I’ll be sure to have my blade lowered from now on.

Depends on if I’m working on the table saw top or not ,I’d say 75% of the Time I lower it.

While we are on the subject , I was trying to finish a project with a worn out blade . Well it blew the breaker , So I go to the panel and flip the breaker back on , only problem is I forgot to turn off the saw . That piece flew out of the saw , 1" X 4″ × 12″ . Nothing got hurt or damaged . Just wanted to share that so someone else doesn’t make the same mistake .

Good thing no one was hurt

One reason I work alone .

Lowering the blade on my saw is a hit or miss situation. Generally, I try to lower it. Mostly, that is to protect the blade.

Since mine is a cabinet saw and the top is machined, it only get used as bench when it’s covered in the vinyl use use for shower pans. At that point, the splitter gets in the way, so it becomes an all-or-nothing thing and I push the button, remove the splitter and lower the blade.

As for accidental starts if the power goes off, it and my jointer use magnetic switches, so they have to be manually restarted.

In the end, it’s just a good practice, if only to protect the blade.

Always lower my blade and unplug the saw when I am finished. I also recheck my blade for 90° when I bring it back up. I guess I do it for all of the reasons above, and have made it a habit.

I lower the blade. when working in a multi person shop it is considered a safety issue. (not safe to not lower) I also use my home saw table top to do a lot of work on.

Habits are good when dealing with whirling knives. \i always lower mine.

Always.

Madts.

Thanks for the replies, I’ve since made it a conscious effort, Wheaties yep that could have ruined someones day for sure.

I lower my blade at the end of the day. I also unplug all tools with no exception as my kids access the garage.

Sometimes I also lower my blade between cuts to avoid cuts to my hands as I try to fit stuff on my table top. It also avoid damaging the bade accidently.