1910.213(c): Guarding Hand-Fed Ripsaws
Employers must equip every hand-fed circular ripsaw with a hood that encloses the blade above the table and the material, adjusts to the stock and protects the operator from flying splinters and broken teeth. Each ripsaw must also have a spreader to keep material from pinching the blade or kicking back, plus nonkickback fingers or dogs.
Key takeaways
- 1910.213(c) is part of OSHA's general industry standards (29 CFR Part 1910, Subpart O).
- OSHA cited it 794 times in the last 3 years, in 395 inspections, with $1,740,696 in current penalties.
- 1 death is linked to inspections that cited this rule.
- Most citations: MN (117), CT (64), FL (54).
- Related part: 1910.213(c)(1) (345 citations).
- Free 5-minute toolbox talk for your crew below.
In this article
What this rule covers
29 CFR 1910.213(c) ("Hand-fed ripsaws") is one requirement inside 1910.213 Woodworking machinery requirements, an OSHA general industry standard (Part 1910, Subpart O). It includes 3 sub-paragraphs. The official text below is copied word for word from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). The numbers, injury cases and training on this page show how OSHA enforces it on real job sites.
Official text
(c) Hand-fed ripsaws. 794 citations
(1) Each circular hand-fed ripsaw shall be guarded by a hood which shall completely enclose that portion of the saw above the table and that portion of the saw above the material being cut. The hood and mounting shall be arranged so that the hood will automatically adjust itself to the thickness of and remain in contact with the material being cut but it shall not offer any considerable resistance to insertion of material to saw or to passage of the material being sawed. The hood shall be made of adequate strength to resist blows and strains incidental to reasonable operation, adjusting, and handling, and shall be so designed as to protect the operator from flying splinters and broken saw teeth. It shall be made of material that is soft enough so that it will be unlikely to cause tooth breakage. The hood shall be so mounted as to insure that its operation will be positive, reliable, and in true alignment with the saw; and the mounting shall be adequate in strength to resist any reasonable side thrust or other force tending to throw it out of line. Open (c)(1) 345 citations
(2) Each hand-fed circular ripsaw shall be furnished with a spreader to prevent material from squeezing the saw or being thrown back on the operator. The spreader shall be made of hard tempered steel, or its equivalent, and shall be thinner than the saw kerf. It shall be of sufficient width to provide adequate stiffness or rigidity to resist any reasonable side thrust or blow tending to bend or throw it out of position. The spreader shall be attached so that it will remain in true alignment with the saw even when either the saw or table is tilted. The provision of a spreader in connection with grooving, dadoing, or rabbeting is not required. On the completion of such operations, the spreader shall be immediately replaced. Open (c)(2) 203 citations
(3) Each hand-fed circular ripsaw shall be provided with nonkickback fingers or dogs so located as to oppose the thrust or tendency of the saw to pick up the material or to throw it back toward the operator. They shall be designed to provide adequate holding power for all the thicknesses of materials being cut. Open (c)(3) 246 citations
Source: eCFR, text current as of 2026-10-15. Read all of 1910.213.
Injuries linked to this rule
1 death is linked to inspections where OSHA cited 1910.213(c).
At 3:45 a.m. on December 5, 2023, three employees were operating a resaw stacker. Coworker #1 was operating the infeed side, while Coworker #2 trained Employee #1 on operating the stacker side. The resaw stacker takes pre-cut boards and rips them down to smaller sizes…
Where and how often it was cited
| Year | Citations |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 40 |
| 2024 | 357 |
| 2025 | 247 |
| 2026 | 150 |
Top states: MN (117), CT (64), FL (54), NC (52), UT (50)
Largest penalties
| Employer | Location | Penalty for this rule |
|---|---|---|
| LOUDOUN STAIRS INC. | PURCELLVILLE, VA | $238,090 |
| RICELAND CABINET CORPORATION | WOOSTER, OH | $82,512 |
| BON ARCHITECTURAL MILLWORK, LLC | PENNSAUKEN, NJ | $38,068 |
| RJ STAAB STONE COMPANY OF FLORIDA, LLC | NEWBERRY, FL | $32,265 |
| WOOD-MODE LLC | KREAMER, PA | $26,500 |
Free toolbox talk
A 5-minute crew talk on 1910.213(c), plus alerts when this rule changes. Free.
OSHA interpretation letters
- Request for guidance on saws operated on "cut-climb/reverse-rotation" mode (2002-07-12)
- "Brett-Guard" style blade guard meets hand-fed ripsaw requirements (1990-12-28)
Related parts of this rule
- 1910.213(c)(1) 345 citations
- 1910.213(c)(3) 246 citations
- 1910.213(c)(2) 203 citations
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Frequently asked questions
What guards does a hand-fed ripsaw need?
A self-adjusting hood, a spreader, and nonkickback fingers or dogs.
What does the spreader do?
It keeps material from squeezing the saw or being thrown back at the operator.
Can the spreader be removed?
It is not required during grooving, dadoing or rabbeting, but it must be put back immediately when those operations are done.
About this page
Sources
- 29 CFR 1910.213 (eCFR), text current as of 2026-10-15
- U.S. Department of Labor enforcement data: OSHA inspections, citations and accident records, copied nightly; data as of 2026-10-21
3-year window. Federal OSHA only; state-plan rules are not counted. Plain-language text is a summary, not legal advice; the official text controls. Black Belt Safety is not part of OSHA or the Department of Labor.