Table saw launcher makes kickback even more dangerous
Anyone who has ever used a table saw knows the all-too-real risk of kickback. A serious concern for all woodworkers, kickback occurs when a piece of wood gets caught on the saw blade and is propelled backward at incredibly high speeds. But what if you could use table saw kickback to create an impressive dowel launcher capable of destroying fruit, glass, metal, and anything else in its path? In a recent video, YouTuber TheBackyardScientist demonstrates his homemade table saw cannon, which can launch projectiles at 202 ft/s. Please, do not try this at home.
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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