Circular Saw Safety: Two Of The Risks - Flying Debris & Kickback The flying debris risk is solved by wearing safety glasses or goggles. Goggles fit against the face and leave no opening for chips to fall through. However, many people experience fogging of their goggles which is possibly worse than the danger they protect against. Chips can get behind conventional safety glasses, but not likely at a speed high enough to cause eye damage. The danger of saw kickback is a far greater risk than flying debris, from my experience. If the work piece shifts the saw blade can be pinched, and the powerful motor can jerk the entire saw in unpredictable ways. Kickback can be solved by making sure both halves of the wood being cut are fully supported. Kickback often occurs at the very end of the cut, when the off cut (the scrap of wood you don’t need) starts to swing downward. If the off cut is small, say, four to six inches long, it has little weight and won’t swing down. But if a board or a sheet of plywood is being cut in half, then both sections need complete support. I usually cut plywood on the ground, using two long scraps of 2 x 4 under each half. When the cut is complete, neither piece wants to move so kickback is not a problem. Return To Editorial

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