Woodworking machine safety
What federal workplace law requires of woodworking machines, and what the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission counted of table saw injuries. Each rule is paraphrased in plain words with its paragraph number, so you can read the original.
Who the OSHA rules apply to
OSHA's woodworking machinery standard, 29 CFR 1910.213, is law for employers: it sets what a machine in a workplace must have. It does not govern a home shop. It is still a useful checklist at home, because it lists the guards and controls each machine was designed to work with. Your machine's own manual is the authority for that machine, and these pages never replace it.
Every woodworking machine
Every machine needs a power switch the operator can reach without leaving the operating position (1910.213(b)(1)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
A machine must not restart by itself when power comes back after an outage, where that could hurt someone (1910.213(b)(3)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
A way to lock the machine off, so it cannot be started while someone works on it, is recommended (1910.213(a)(10)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
Push sticks or push blocks, in sizes and types that suit the work, must be on hand (1910.213(s)(9)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
Sources
- OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.213, Woodworking machinery requirements, read 2026-11-07
Machine by machine
The standard's requirements for the machines most shops have. It covers more (band saws, shapers, sanders, boring machines); the paragraph letters lead to the rest.
Table saws (hand-fed rip saws)
A hood that covers the blade and adjusts itself to the thickness of the stock (1910.213(c)(1)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
A spreader behind the blade, thinner than the kerf and in line with the blade; it may come off for grooving, dadoing and rabbeting (1910.213(c)(2)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
Nonkickback fingers or dogs that hold the stock against being thrown back at the operator (1910.213(c)(3)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
Sources
- OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.213, Woodworking machinery requirements, read 2026-11-07
Radial arm saws
An upper hood over the blade, and a lower guard that adjusts to the stock (1910.213(h)(1)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
The saw installed so the cutting head returns to the back of the table by itself when released (1910.213(h)(4)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
Sources
- OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.213, Woodworking machinery requirements, read 2026-11-07
Jointers
A cylindrical cutterhead whose knives project no more than 1/8 in beyond it (1910.213(j)(1)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
A guard over the cutterhead on the working side of the fence, and one behind the fence (1910.213(j)(3), (j)(4)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
Sources
- OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.213, Woodworking machinery requirements, read 2026-11-07
Planers and molders
Metal guards over the cutting heads, and a hood or guard over the feed rolls (1910.213(n)(1), (n)(3)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
Sources
- OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.213, Woodworking machinery requirements, read 2026-11-07
Wood lathes
Cutting heads covered as completely as possible by hoods or shields (1910.213(o)(1)).
One source: OSHA, the federal standard , sources [1]
Sources
- OSHA, 29 CFR 1910.213, Woodworking machinery requirements, read 2026-11-07
Table saw injuries: what the CPSC counted
The CPSC estimates injuries from a national sample of hospital emergency departments. Its 2017 proposed rule on table saws set out these figures and how the guards on a table saw are meant to work.
In 2015, an estimated 33,400 table saw injuries were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments; CPSC staff estimate 30,800 of them (92%) came from contact with the blade.
One source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that counts these injuries , sources [1]
Of those 30,800 blade-contact injuries, about 28,900 (93.8%) involved a finger, and about 4,700 (15.2%) were amputations.
One source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that counts these injuries , sources [1]
Splitters, riving knives and anti-kickback pawls exist to stop kickback: the cut closing up and pinching the blade, which can throw the work up and back at the operator.
One source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that counts these injuries , sources [1]
Riving knives rise and fall with the blade and, unlike a splitter, can stay on for cuts that do not go all the way through. The UL 987 voluntary standard made them effective January 31, 2014; they were widely available from 2008.
One source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that counts these injuries , sources [1]
Sources