Every year, table saw accidents injure about 40,000 people and these injuries are often serious enough to require amputation. Working with exposed rotary blades poses an ever present risk to the woodworker, even to the most experienced professional working in extremely safe conditions. Many of these injuries are caused by \u201ckickback.\u201d Occasionally, wood can catch a high speed blade and cause the machine to throw it back, possibly into the woodworker. This alone can result in serious trauma and kickback can be powerful enough to embed a piece of wood into a wall or sheet of metal. However, the more serious concern is when kickback causes a person to lose his balance and fall onto the blade.<\/p>