Table saw kickback is a retched thing.
It is powerful and dangerous and can knock a crafter clean out of his socks if given the right circumstances.
Caused by the pinching and biting that occurs when an engaged blade makes contact with a section of a workpiece that has already been cut, kickback is a phenomenon that thrusts or flings a workpiece out of a table saw and directly back at its operator.
Because the workpiece is flung with the force and momentum of the table saw's engaged blade, the stock can shoot out of the machine at speeds sometimes greater than one-hundred miles per hour.
Accordingly, kickback is both dreaded and damaging, and although it can be surprisingly common, it can also be prevented with a little caution and know-how.
To begin at the beginning, table saw kickback can be caused by various defects or errors in any one of the various facets of the table sawing process.
Frequently, though, table saw kickback is the result of an operator using an insufficient saw blade.
Insufficient, of course, is an umbrella term for saw blades that are dull, dirty, broken, warped, bent, too small, too fine, or otherwise inappropriate for the application being performed.
Any one of these characteristics in your blade can result in a nasty episode of kickback and an even gnarlier moment of personal anguish as a cherished workpiece comes careening like a rocket at your body or at some other extremely important fixture in your shop.
So, simply use some common-sense with your blade usage and follow these few guidelines, and you should be perfectly equip to prevent the kind of table saw kickback caused by a bad blade.
First, using a blade that is dirty (pitchy), dull, bent, broken, warped or suffering from any other such cosmetic defect will produce greater contact between the stock and the blade.
This generates too much heat and friction during the cut (which can damage the blade, the stock and the saw itself) and significantly increases the likelihood that kickback will occur.
Where there is more contact between the blade and the workpiece, the chances are far greater that the blade will catch the workpiece and propel in back with the momentum of its spin.
Second, using a blade that is not designed for the application being performed will also enhance the likelihood of table saw kickback.
Where a blade is too aggressive or, more commonly, where blades are too small or too fine, kickback is virtually an inevitability.
Causing stock to lift-off the saw table, these inappropriate blades will catch and gouge a workpiece which, of course, will spit the stock back at you at generally terrifying speeds.
To be more clear, a blade that is too small is one that doesn't reach about one-inch to one-and-a-half-inches above the stock it is cutting.
This causes too many teeth to be inside a workpiece at one time and forces each blade tooth to pass through too much material before exiting the stock.
As we've learned, this increased amount of contact between the blade and the workpiece results in greater heat, friction, stress, and a greater overall likelihood that a tooth will grab your stock and throw it back like a fire ball.
Where a blade is too fine, or, where the kerf of a blade (its width) is not substantial enough for the stock it is cutting, it (also like a blade that is too small) can not produce sufficient downward pressure upon a workpiece.
This will allow the stock to rise from the table and will generally result with a projectile.
Accordingly, it is extremely important to the quality of your work and to the safety of you and your environment to use clean, sharp, straight and in all other fashions sufficient blades on your table saw.
This vastly reduces the chance of kickback and ensures your results are much closer to perfect.