Just had a wet saw kick back on me in a crawlspace

I was cutting tile under a house in Portland last month and the blade grabbed a chunk of old mortar, spun the saw right out of my hands. Smacked my knuckles against a floor joist and blood was everywhere before I even realized what happened. Has anyone else had a portable saw catch on something unexpected like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_xena26d ago

Squeeze the trigger and let the blade stop before setting it down, that saved my hand once.

jordan_young26d ago

Oh man, that's a good tip but I'm always paranoid about accidentally hitting the trigger while I'm setting it down. Like what if the blade's still spinning and it catches on something on the bench? Do you usually press the lock button too or just hold the handle a certain way?

kim.xena24d ago

Good point about the trigger catch, I always lock mine out with the button before I even take my hand off it. Then I set it blade up on the ground so if it does somehow spin, it's not facing anything important. Had a buddy lose a finger tip when his circular saw jumped off a sawhorse and hit his boot lace, all because the blade was still coasting. Now I treat every saw like it's got a mind of its own until that wheel stops turning.