Today, Savo Kusić is focused on timber windows, timber-aluminium windows, custom-made windows, doors and quotation requests. This text remains a woodworking archive and is not a current regulation, risk assessment, machine manufacturer’s manual or authorisation to operate machinery.
Important safety note: the measures described come from a historical source and are not sufficient for a modern workplace. Machines may be used only by trained and authorised people, with a risk assessment, functioning guards, safe isolation of energy, dust extraction, personal protective equipment and procedures aligned with current regulations and the instructions for the specific machine.
Frame saws
When working on a frame saw, all rotating and moving parts must be securely guarded, while the guards should not make the operator’s work more difficult.
The crank mechanism, together with the frame saw’s starting and braking devices, must be interlocked so that the saw cannot be started without the knowledge of the worker on the lower floor. The upper and lower floors of the room containing the saw must be connected by properly installed and reliably functioning light signals. The braking devices must be capable of stopping the frame saw in any position. Braking the saw with wooden levers is not permitted.
Vertical plates should be fitted to the frame saw to support the timber cants being cut. This greatly increases the stability of the log or cant. Guiding devices with vertical powered rollers may also be installed. All moving parts of the guiding device should be securely guarded.
The log (cant or half-log) in the frame saw must not be supported by hand. Where no supporting trolley is available, spring-loaded suspended clamps must be installed in at least two places.
Cut pieces of wood that fall between the saw blades during operation must not be pulled out by hand. The drive mechanism and gears of the frame-saw trolley should be securely enclosed.
The rails on which the frame-saw trolleys run must be flush with the floor and connected by steel bars so that the track cannot spread. The front and rear trolleys must have stops that prevent movement beyond the end of the track. The teeth on the spindles that clamp the log should be sharp. An automatic centring device should be fitted to the front trolley.
Cutting knots from a log while the frame saw is running is prohibited.
While a log is passing through the frame saw, it must not be struck by the next log waiting to be cut.
The log should be fed into the frame saw only after the saw has reached its normal operating speed. As soon as any abnormality is noticed (knocking, overheating of the guides, broken teeth, etc.), the frame saw should be stopped immediately.
After setting the frame saw to idle, the brake must not be applied immediately.
Opening the saw frame or starting the rollers while the frame saw is operating is prohibited.
Circular saws
When working with circular saws, the upper part of the blade must be securely covered by a guard that automatically lowers onto the material being cut and covers all teeth except those cutting the wood. The lower part of the blade should also be well guarded.
Rip-sawing machines should be fitted with riving knives. The distance between the edge of the riving knife and the saw teeth should not exceed 10 mm. The riving knife should be 0,5 mm thicker than the width of the set or unset saw blade. The saw slot in the table should not be wider than 10 mm.
The fence should be positioned parallel to the circular saw blade. It should be 1 mm away from the plane of the blade so that sawdust does not become trapped between the blade and the fence. Sawdust should be removed with a pusher.
With mechanical feed, the table must be fitted with anti-kickback devices that prevent the material from being thrown back towards the worker.
The circular-saw carriage that moves the material must have secure clamps, and suitable guards must be fitted to the base.
When working on cross-cutting machines, a sliding carriage or another device should be used to advance the material being cut. The slot in the pusher lever must be 5 mm wider than the width of the set teeth. The circular saw blade must have a protective hood that covers the part of the blade exposed beyond the guard during cutting.
Carriages on cross-cutting machines should be provided with secure clamps.
On rip-sawing machines with mechanical feed, the axes of the feed and hold-down rollers must be parallel to the axis of the machine’s working shaft.
On machines with chain feed, the centre of the chain track containing the blade slot should coincide with the plane of the circular saw blade.
The entire front part of the feed chain should be securely covered by a guard. There should be no open space between the chain and the machine base into which wood chips could fall.
Band saws
When working on band saws, particular attention should be paid to the condition of the braking devices, which are linked to the machine’s starting device. The upper and lower wheels over which the blade runs, as well as the blade itself, should be enclosed by metal or wooden guards. The rollers that move the material on vertical and horizontal band-saw machines should be enclosed by guards. The wheels over which the blade runs must be balanced.
The upper part of the lower wheel of the band saw should be equipped with a brush.
Special tools should be used to remove and fit the blade on the wheels, to prevent the blade from falling or twisting.
Planers and milling machines
When working on planing and milling machines, the planing knives should have an automatically operating guard. The clearance between the rotating cutter head and the steel table plates should not be greater than 3 mm. The guard should completely cover the non-working part of the cutter head.
The work-table surface and the edges of the planer must be flat, without damaged areas or other irregularities. The guides used to move the planer table should keep it completely horizontal. The lifting mechanism should firmly secure both halves of the table in a fixed position.
The feed mechanism should be fully enclosed. All rotating parts should have secure guards and covers. Material whose thickness differs by more than 2 mm must not be planed on a planer with mechanical feed. The planer must have a safety device that prevents the workpieces from being thrown back.
Toothed rollers must be intact, without cracks or broken teeth. The feed mechanism must have an independent start and stop control. The feed rollers must be securely guarded. The entire non-working part of the milling tool must be covered.
When working with a template, the material being processed must be secured with dedicated clamping devices for the template and the table.
Circular knives and other cutting tools with a diameter over 100 mm must not be used unless the upper end of the spindle is secured in the support shaft.
The non-working part of circular knives or rotating heads must be protected by a metal guard. When working with circular knives or rotating heads, the material must be advanced towards the cutting tool by means of a sliding carriage to which it is securely fastened.
Drilling and mortising machines
When working on drilling and mortising machines, all moving parts should be securely guarded. The material should be firmly secured to the table with dedicated clamps.
Holes in small workpieces should be drilled on machines with mechanical or pneumatic feed.
Drill bits should be guarded and secured in a chuck with a smooth surface and rounded shape.
The mortising chain should have a box-shaped guard that descends to the workpiece surface as the chain enters the wood.
The non-working part of the mortising chain and the gear of the mortising machine must be completely protected by a metal guard. The greatest distance between the mortising chain and the stop should not exceed 5 - 6 mm. The machine table must not wobble.
Lathes and sanding
When working on lathes and copying machines, the cutting tool must be securely guarded.
All rotating parts must have rounded protective covers. After the workpiece leaves the copy lathe, it must not rotate or vibrate strongly. The worker should be provided with a transparent face shield made of shatter-resistant material.
When performing sanding work on belt sanding machines, the tensioned sanding belt should not be creased, nor should it have unevenness or poorly joined ends.
When sanding small curved workpieces, the sanding belt should be covered by a mesh guard, leaving free only the opening required for the workpiece. The worker should have leather finger guards.
Dust, fire and finishing
Pipes for dust extraction should be installed at the workplace. When working in finishing departments and on construction sites, it is forbidden to smoke, light matches and petroleum lamps, perform electrowelding work, and use electric heaters. The temperature on stoves and radiators should not exceed 150 °C, and stoves and radiators should be constantly cleaned of dust.
Paint material should be stored in hermetically sealed containers.
In the finishing department, paints, varnishes and other flammable materials should be kept in quantities no greater than the needs of one shift. Paints and varnishes should be mixed in rooms arranged for that purpose. Chambers, booths, tables, ventilation ducts, fans and similar equipment should be systematically cleaned of paint and varnish residue.
Rags, cotton pads and similar materials soaked in oil or other painting materials should be kept in securely closable metal boxes. At the end of the shift, these boxes must be cleaned. Electrical equipment that produces sparks must be located outside the finishing department. Ribbed-cooling light fittings are installed in glazed openings in the chamber ceiling. Spraying paints and varnishes directly in workshops, chambers or booths with inadequate ventilation is prohibited.
Compressors must be installed outside the workshop. Compressors, chambers, booths and similar equipment should be earthed.
The compressor tank must be placed outside the walls of the workshop. When its volume is greater than 25 l, and the product between volume and pressure is greater than 200 l/atm, it must be registered with the boiler control authority.
The working openings of chambers and booths must face sources of natural light.
Workers who spray paints and varnishes must be thoroughly familiar with the construction of the equipment, the properties of paints and varnishes, and the occupational-safety rules for finishing workshops.
The air temperature in the workshop should be between 18 and 22 °C.
There must be no unnecessary objects in the workplace near the spray booth.
The length of the rubber working hoses must be sufficient.
Equipment for cleaning the booth and maintaining the apparatus must be available at each workstation.
Final note: Before start-up, adjustment, cleaning, tool changes or clearing a jam, follow the current manufacturer’s procedures and safely isolate every energy source. Historical measurements and distances in this text must not replace current requirements, inspection by a competent person or operator training.