I've seen aluminum scrap ejected from a chop saw before, but I've never seen it result in injury and it never happens if you have the work piece properly clamped and you are firm and steady while cutting.
As a rule, neither 449 nor 4464 allows freshman to use the chop saw at all. Older students must have a mentor immediately present and observing. Work pieces must be clamped on both sides if possible (we just use normal c-clamps), and if it is impossible to clamp either side then a mentor must make the cut.
We have not had any safety incidents of note involving the chop saw on either team, and neither team could function without regularly using a chop saw for aluminum tube.
Remember to replace your chop saw blade regularly if it sees heavy use - the teeth do wear down, and once you lose a couple of those you can start having problems.
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Originally Posted by CENTURION
Bring the blade all the way down, turn it off, and don't bring it up until it's stopped spinning.
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This is absolutely crucial. Even a clamped piece can settle slightly once the cut is made, and bringing a spinning blade back up into a piece that has moved even slightly is a bad idea.