Each shop has different safety rules. In the Wood shop, you must make an appointment with the shop manager for your safety orientation/training before you can work in the shop. ( Check the calendar here. )This is to respect our volunteers' busy schedules and ensure that every member gets the attention necessary for them to be sufficiently trained in the tool usage. Drop-in requests for shop orientation will usually be graciously denied.

That said, if you have a situation where available staffing hours just don't work, please email our wood shop managers via the form at the bottom of the page. We'll work with you to find a manageable time.

Please allow two hours for your shop orientation. Be aware that there may be multiple new members in your session.

Please reach out to the Wood Shop Manager via the link at the bottom of the page to schedule your session with an available volunteer shop staffer.

Improper use has caused several large expenditures in Sawstop cartridges. Each of these is $100, plus a new blade (~$50). It is your responsibility to use the equipment safely and without damaging it.

Effective Immediately, the following Wood Shop rules are in place for ALL saws in the shop.

Rule 1: No green wood (All wood sawn must be dried, clean and free of debris)
Rule 2: No wood with bark without staffer’s specific permission 
Rule 3: You must be specifically certified to change blades on the table saw (See a shop manager for training)

Failure to follow these rules can result in your suspension from the Wood Shop. Users who trigger the Sawstop cartridge are responsible for the replacement costs.

Properly kiln or air dried lumber purchased from a hardwood supplier is recommended. Reclaimed or reused lumber can be a problem as well. Be extremely cautious about reclaimed wood and check it carefully for nails, screws and other debris.

While it may be tempting to take that tree you just cut down and make something, please don't. Green wood (and especially mesquite) is wet and full of resins that are hard on our tools. We recognize that wood turners may rough out bowls from green wood--that's okay, but we request that you do not use the bandsaw to square up the green bowl blanks.

False Triggers on the Sawstop

The Sawstop is intended to prevent injuries by stopping the blade when anything conductive (like fingers) touches the blade before it has completely stopped spinning. The brake will engage when anything conductive touches the blade while the blade is spinning. When the brake engages it destroys the blade and the cartridge, both of which must be replaced before the saw can be used again.

Important: The SawStop does not prevent kickback! Serious injuries can still occur. Push sticks and finger boards should be used when appropriate.

If you have triggered the Sawstop, please report it immediately to a staffer on duty or to the Wood Shop Manager at boss.woodshop@xerocraft.org. The member contribution amount for tripping the Sawstop via a false trigger is $100. You can drop cash in the contribution box by the front desk, or to the Wood Shop Manager.

PLEASE READ FOLLOWING

The following items are known to trigger the Sawstop. There may be other items that we have not yet discovered:

• Charred wood - from fire, engraved by the laser, etc.
• Laser-cut wood
• Chemically treated lumber / pressure-treated wood
• Wet lumber
• Green wood (Not allowed in the Wood Shop)
• Wood with bark on it (Not allowed in the Wood Shop)
• Wet paint or wet glue
• Foil-laminated or metal-leafed wood (like some picture frames)
• Metal shards (staples are often used to apply a tag on a board)
• Cardboard corner guards (usually contain recycled metal fragments)
• Any metal in proximity to the blade E.g. the saw miter sled, rulers, squares, etc.
• Graphite cloth
• Anti-static Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) Polyethylene (contains carbon particles to make it anti-static)

Using Bypass Mode to Disable the Brake

The video HERE, describes the process to temporarily disable the Sawstop brake feature. Be extremely cautious when using this bypass capability, as the blade will not stop if your fingers contact the blade.

Using a Dado Blade

Using a dado blade requires a different brake cartridge or else it will trigger the stop. Do not perform this cartridge change unless you are specifically trained and authorized to do this. Remember to restore the saw to a regular thickness blade and cartridge.

Use only an 8" dado stack. Never use a wobble-type dado blade.

At Xerocraft, we take shop safety very seriously. In the Wood Shop there are many tools that can seriously injure a careless woodworker or an innocent bystander. In particular, any tool with a spinning cutter (e.g. table saws, routers) has a tendency to launch wood with incredible speed.

Never use a tool unless your are familiar with the appropriate safety procedures. If you're uncertain, please contact a staffer for an introduction to an unfamiliar tool.

Our SawStop table saw has special features and circuitry that avoid cutting injuries by rapidly stopping the blade when it touches skin. But there are many more ways a table saw can injure you. The video below demonstrates the dangers of saw kickback from improper usage.

Please note: The person who made this video was taking an incredible and irresponsible risk. NEVER DO THIS!

Video: Kickback on Camera!