Comment by rimunroe
7 months ago
To be clear: I was asking for data about relative frequencies of accidents with varying tools, not about risks from table saws.
But yes, those are all risks. Additionally, like most tools a poorly maintained table saw is more dangerous.
The table saw I grew up using was from the 1940s, so was about 50 years old by the time I started using it in the late 90s. Its fence was always around 1-3° out of alignment. Absolutely no safety features whatsoever. The motor was fairly weak too, and the surface was rough, so you needed to use a bit of force while cutting, which obviously increases the risk of slipping into the blade.
I got a SawStop last year for my new house's shop and was pleasantly surprised by how little force I needed to use to guide workpieces along it while cutting.
See here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39982822
I tried to give the data you asked for.
(I moved from a sawstop to a sliding table saw so i'm nowhere near the blade in the first place)