Workshop Machine Guard Check Sheet
Show that the guards on a saw, planer, lathe or press were actually looked at, and that a machine with a missing guard was taken out of use rather than run.
SD-35 1 page
Workshop and tools · WT-18
Table Saw Alignment and Setup Record
A free printable table saw setup record: each blade with its matched riving knife, then blade, mitre slot and fence readings, angle stops and guard at every setup.
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2 pages. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Keep each blade paired with its riving knife, and catch drift before it binds or kicks back.
Who it is for
Woodworkers, joinery shops, schools and makerspaces with a table saw or circular saw bench.
How to use it
- Copy the knife-to-blade gap and the largest and smallest blade sizes from the saw's manual into the top.
- List each blade once, with the riving knife that goes with it.
- At each setup, measure blade to slot and fence to slot at the front and back, from the same marked tooth.
- Write any burning, binding or kickback in the faults table, with what was found.
What is on the sheet
2 pages, in this order:
Page 1
Printed under the title: Each blade the saw takes with the riving knife that goes with it, then every setup and alignment check, so drift between blade, mitre slot and fence is caught before it binds or kicks back.
The saw's manual, not ours. No gaps, readings or blade sizes are printed: the riving knife setting, the blades the saw takes and the knife that suits each blade come from the saw's manual and the blade maker. Check the rules where you are for saws at work.
Write-on lines: Saw make & model · Serial or asset no. · Largest blade (manual) · Smallest blade (manual) · Knife-to-blade gap (manual) · Alignment measured with · Reference tooth marked?
Blades and their riving knives — one line per blade; label each blade and knife
Table, 6 rows: Blade · Diameter · Teeth · Bore · Kerf · Plate · Use · Knife · Bought
Setup and alignment checks — readings at the front and back of the blade
Also printed: Blade to slot · Fence to slot
Table, 16 rows: Date · Blade · Knife gap · Front · Back · Front · Back · 90° stop · 45° stop · Guard · By
Page 2
Faults and adjustments — burning, binding, drift or kickback, and what was found
Table, 5 rows: Date · What happened · Blade · Cause found · Adjustment made · By
Ruled lines: Notes — fence or table adjustments, parts ordered
Questions
Why does each blade need its own riving knife line?
A riving knife has to suit the blade it sits behind: thick enough to stop the cut closing on the blade, thin enough to pass through the kerf. Blades differ, so pairing each blade with its knife on paper stops the wrong one going on.
Why are no alignment tolerances printed?
Because they depend on the saw, the measuring tool and the work. The sheet records front and back readings so a change from one setup to the next shows up; what you accept is for your manual and your own standard.
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