How to Take the Risk Out of Maintaining a Previously Owned Gang Rip Saw

There are lots of anecdotes concerning accidents that happen when men or women mishandle an electrical equipment, many of which involve careless behavior, not conduct associated with upkeep. Yet, statistics reveal that over one hundred people within the United States of America are killed year after year whenever they attempt routine upkeep on power systems, a fact which signifies quite a few severe but non-fatal incidents received during servicing. How do you avoid these accidental injuries, or worse, fatalities? Mindful behavior is a fantastic start, however, your basic safety eventually depends on recognizing your machine’s ideal routine maintenance procedure. In the following paragraphs we discuss the maintenance process for a gang rip saw, also referred to as a ripsaw.

The Safe Way to Take Care Of Your Ripsaw

Whether or not you purchase your ripsaw new or as a pre-owned woodworking machine, the 2-part safety process that comes before its maintenance would be the same:

The First Step: Remove Power from the Equipment

What this means is removing all electric powered, mechanical, pneumatically-driven, and hydraulic power. The easiest method to make sure that power is removed before routine maintenance is posting a step-by-step “lockout” procedure that explains how power should be removed. The procedure also needs to say how employees would know that a lock out is essential.

Step Two: Carry Out the Lock-out Procedure

Using the posted lock out system as a guidebook, locking out a saw’s power should be effortless. But be sure to finish the lock-out procedure once you start it. Handing the job off to another employee might be a recipe for disaster.

What Could Happen When the Lock-out Procedure Is Not Put into Practice?

Different woodworking equipment pose different safety risks. But a rip saw poses several, particularly: being mangled by moving parts, being crushed because the saw’s top section moves into the down position, and electrocution. For the saw’s operator, such damages could mean death, which could mean big lawsuits along with a damaged reputation for the company that employed him. Posting a lock out procedure on the saw that indicates when a lock out should be performed is a strong deterrent to both accidental injuries and lawsuits.

Along with ensuring the safe upkeep of a ripsaw, it’s also important to ensure its safe operation by assessing its safety and reliability just before purchase, particularly if the saw is purchased second hand. A 4-part procedure for arriving at quality used woodworking machinery is as follows:

The First Step: Purchase from Professional Sellers of Secondhand Woodworking Machinery

Buying from professional sellers will make sure that your saw continues to be properly assessed for safety and dependability.

Step Two: Check out a Seller’s Record in the Better Business Bureau (BBB)

Whenever a seller truly places customers first, it will not have unresolved customer complaints on its record. Avoid sellers that do.

The Third step: Ask for a Copy of the Saw’s Maintenance Record

Nothing predicts poor performance and constant repairs like poor maintenance. If a saw has spotty maintenance or perhaps a missing maintenance record, do not buy it.

The Fourth step: Conduct a Firsthand Inspection

Conducting a first hand review will help you to assess a saw’s general wear. If you can’t perform the inspection, have a trusted 3rd party perform it for you.

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