To be honest with you guys, and it could be all the hay balers, sickle bar mowers, brush hogs, etc. that I've been around, but the kindling stick maker doesn't look that dangerous to me. There seems to be enough room between how far the blade goes down and the deck (looks like about 6 inches or more) for even the most ham-fisted hand to go there while maintaining distance from moving parts. I would keep my palms flat on the deck and hold the wood low. Just don't get between the wood and blade! That is of course, for personal or family use ONLY. If hiring outside help you would need a guard and some sort of tongs or other device to hold the wood with. The John Deere 14T wood splitter on the other hand looks kind of like a hook searching for an arm to live on. I've had a couple of 14T's and sometimes they weren't even the most confidence inspiring balers all in one piece, let alone opening them up and setting lots of moving parts free like that!
