[Brandon Holley]

Originally Posted by squirrel

On the safety issue...as said by others, you need to be very careful with a table saw, which is why I suggested finding someone who would do the cutting for you.

The older fellow who runs the shop our students work in missed most of the 2007 build season because he cut off part of his thumb on the table saw in his shop. But table saws are not the only dangerous equipment used for wood working, and accidents can happen in strange ways...another fellow I know lost a finger on a miter saw, cutting wood, somehow the safety shield broke and the broken shield severed his finger.

Also be careful with a shear if you use one...yet another friend broke his artificial foot using one when we were cutting some relatively thin sheet steel on his manual shear. Not painful, so much as expensive, but still it shows that you have to be very careful no matter what equipment you're using.

I don't have any scary plasma cutter stories, but I'm sure there are some.

Once upon a time I saw a kid cut off part of his pinky using a miter saw...he was cutting an ~8" piece of aluminum extrusion, without clamping it down (yes holding it by hand). The saw caught it and whipped it around, it landed on his pinky. Saws need respect.

I've cut aluminum sheet on a table saw before. It is certainly not the best thing to do, but it did work, and I didn't lose any digits or limbs. It wasn't the best experience, and I do not recommend it. It was quite loud though.