A bridge guard should be adjusted over the top of the workpiece and not to the edge.

It may appear to be safer to adjust the bridge guard to the edge of the board as the blade is completely covered when the timber is passing over it. In the over the top method, the blade appears to be partially guarded as the portion of the blade is not covered. However, investigations have clearly established that operators are more likely to get hurt when the cutters are close to the fence due to the workpiece kickback than from the guard rather than from the placement of the bridge guard adjusted over the top of the workpiece.

Kickback is the violent and unpredictable ejection of the workpiece leaving the cutters completely exposed at the place where the board was placed for planning. This exposes operators to a greater risk of the hand coming in contact with the cutters when they are unbalanced and are trying to reach out for support or when the feeding hand happens to pass over the now exposed cutters.

However, there is an express need to fit a false fence so as to reduce the gap between the fence cheeks and ensure that only the tool that cuts is projecting through the fence line and lend support to the material being fed into the planer.

Keep in mind that while working with motorized tools you cannot afford to be lax as fast moving sharp objects can cause serious injury and can prove to be fatal at times.