Table saws CAN be scary, but there are some rules/guidelines, and things to pay attention to, that should eliminate 99% of potential danger. In no particular order, just some ramblings off the top of my head as they come to me....
1: Never use the rip fence AND miter gauge at the same time. I.e. using the fence as a depth stop to cut repeatable lengths of stock off a long board. To do that safely clamp a scrap piece to the front of the fence so once the piece is cut off, it's diagonals aren't longer than the distance from fence to blade. That will keep if from twisting and being pinched between the blade and fence and launching at you. Because it will eventually. You may get away with it for a long time, but it's a high risk operation that is waiting to bite you.
2: Never use the rip fence to cut something wider than it is long. For the same reasons above, it creates a pinch point when the diagonals are greater than the distance between fence and blade, and that will launch a piece at you faster than you can crap your pants. It's called a rip fence for a reason. It's for ripping long stock to size, not cutting stock to length. Build a crosscut sled with a stop for that.
3. Set the blade height "just" higher than the thickness of stock. That will make it physically impossible for you to actually cut your finger off even if you rode across the blade with it. I don't recommend getting sloppy and complacent with hand and finger placement, but it's an easy fail safe to employ. Some woods, and blades are better cut with the blade at full height, so the teeth are coming down through it, so use your best judgement. A blade that is only sticking above 1/16" of an inch can only theoretically take a 1/8"x1/16" chunk out of your finger....... The downside to this, is that the blade is now pushing back towards you more than it is pushing down, so keep that in mind. Ripping will take more effort to feed stock through, especially on a smaller low HP saw. If you keep the blade guard on, you can raise the blade height to put more down force on the stock if it is tough to feed. Don't jack the blade height, and leave the guard off though, you're inviting unnecessary danger.
4. Blade guards are made for a reason. They keep your digits our of the nogo zone around the blade. If your hands are touching the blade guard you're doing something wrong, stop feeding.....They also act as a splitter to keep wood from closing the kerf and pinching the backside of the blade when ripping, and some of them even come with anti kickback fingers. Until you are comfortable, and competent I suggest you leave it on, and learn to work around it. Mine has rarely been on the saw since I got it, as I swap between sleds and jigs often and it's a PITA to remove/replace all the time. I do miss the splitter for ripping though, and if I have a lot to do, will throw it back on. Once I get time to setup my woodworking tools again I will be addressing the issue with an overarm blade guard with dust collection and removable splitter. It's long been on my want list.
5. Fingers.....They don't grow back. Think through every operation before you do it. Try and see the potential dangers, and mitigate them. Keep your fingers out of the nogo zone around the blade. Not inline, not beside, and not beyond. Use push sticks, finger boards and hold downs to keep the stock both tight to the fence and tight to the table. They're easy to make, and cheap to buy. Different sizes, and styles are suited for different tasks, so it's best to have an assortment and get comfortable using them. Even stage them on the board/table so that when you're pushing stock through you can grab them when you need them.
6. Keep an eye on the kerf to monitor if it's pinching up behind the blade (if guard removed) and shut the saw down and install a wedge if it is. Or flip it around and come from the other way. NEVER force something through the blade, it should cut freely and be easy to push through. Some wood is a nightmare to rip, and will twist and close up on you as you're cutting (helps to read the grain). If it does it will pinch the blade, the back will lift, and throw a board towards you. This can be prevented by using finger boards at both the front, and back of the rip fence to keep the stock down tight to the table. If you block in the stock, it has nowhere to go (theoretically....)
7. Jig/fixtures are your friend, and worth the time you put into making them. A nice crosscut sled is the best for dealing with small pieces. Makes it easy to keep your fingers out of the blade, and you wont regret making one. WAY safer than a miter gauge. The miter gauges that come with most saws are barely useful, and you'll run into their limitations quickly once you start utilizing the saw more.
8. Never free hand on a table saw. I've seen it done so many times on jobsites, and I've even done it too for sheet goods with small jobsite saws more times than I should. It's a high risk operation, and shouldn't be done, unless you are 100% paying attention. It help to have a helper to help pull the sheet through and keep things moving straight.
9. Know where the off button is, and be sure you can find it blindfolded. Big saws usually come with a knee paddle for a reason, small saws should too, but often don't Practice finding it while bent over the saw holding a piece of wood. It will come in handy. Wood moves, and has stresses built in. If a kerf closes up on you with no splitter in, the safest thing to do is shut it down and hold it while it spins down, then wedge it, or flip it over and come from the other side. A table saw can throw that piece like a javelin, and you're not quick enough to get out of the way. You greatly lesson your chances with finger boards, and hold downs. I know I've said this twice, but it's worth repeating.
10. Don't stand inline with the blade when ripping. Stand to the side as you push stock through and you lesson your chances at getting speared should something go pear shaped. It happens so fast you don't have time to get out of the way, so start out of the way to begin with. Table saws are also at perfect nut height. I don't need to draw that picture for you guys lol. I still remember a guy getting drilled in the berries by kickback back in grade 8 shop class.
11. A table saw is a machine tool, and should be treated as such. Keep it in good tune, and good working order. Sharp blades, appropriate for the operation (kerf width, and tooth count, ripping/crosscut etc) Make sure your rip fence and miter slots are aligned with the blade. If anything you want the fence to open up a bit behind the blade so as to prevent kickback. Some fences are better than others, some should be thrown in the trash. A jobsite saw will have pretty limited adjustability compared to a cabinet saw, or mid grade contractor saw so keep that in mind. Keep the table and fence clean and smooth. Paste wax is your friend and will keep stock feeding through nice and smooth, which makes operations much safer. Turpentine will clean off pitch and residue that can build up over time.
12. If I think of more, I'll ad them, or if I find a good instructional video I'll post it. To better visualize my ramblings lol.
Those are just a few of the "rules" I follow when using my table saw, and have kept me incident free when followed over the years. I can't think of any time I've ever launched a board or had kickback, but I'm sure it's probably happened once or twice. I did have a bad one with a RAS when I was a teenager though, but that was 100% my fault. That left a board sized hole in the drywall at the far end of the garage, and a boot sized hole in my ass when Dad found out.
I think big cabinet saws are safer than jobsite saws, as people tend to give them more respect and focus. They're also bigger, more stable, and often have bigger tables and outfeed tables that will help manage stock and keep it where you want it. Small jobsite saws don't have that luxury, and the cheaper price means it's often a gateway tool for beginners into woodworking, and that often means a lack of safety understanding and awareness simply due to ignorance and inexperience, not incompetence. Couple that with the fact that they are smaller and not as sturdy it compounds the dangers. Their shortcomings can be worked around though, and they can be used safely, but IMO they are more dangerous and most don't realize it, or why. The biggest danger with them is simply the small table size and inadequate rip fences. One can build them into a larger outfeed/side table and greatly increase the usability and safety of them, but the rip fences will tend to always be something to pay more attention to. They are handy for what they are though, and nice to setup/tear down on a construction site. They just require more attention IMO.
As for heading to youtube to learn safe usage, I'd tread cautiously. IMO There are a lot of people on there that shouldn't be in a position to teach anybody anything, and demonstrate so many unsafe working practices it's scary. A beginner with no experience can be lead into trouble very easily because they don't understand the potential dangers. The clueless muppets churning out content for clicks and likes don't care and don't know any better. Even experienced folk tend to gloss over dangerous operations even though they are paying attention to the dangers while doing it, a beginner watching might not recognize them, and will not know what to be aware of when repeating the same operation.
Everybody does things their own way (including me), so use your own judgement. There are things that I do, and have written above that people will disagree with and that's fine. You do you, and you're free to do as you please. The things I do and working practices I've adapted over the years have worked fine for me and I accept the risks that I take and understand the consequences when I stray from them. It's not always possible to work in a bubble wrapped safety suit, some things and operations are simply risky and dangerous. One must engage your brain when working with power tools. It's the best safety tool you have.
Sorry for the novel......
