Safe table saw

[CliffinGA]

Ya know even the "safest" equiped saws are dangerous and can malfuntion. I've worked in the cabinet field for 10yrs and around wood woorking equipment since I was 8yrs old. I worked in a restaurant with a Hobart machine with a cut guard and a glove and had an S blade break and fly out the chute and take part of a finger off of the hand not in the glove. It happens and all it takes is that safety equipment to fail and who says it won't??

Just my take,

Cliff

[rbeemer]

hmmm...by this logic, people should stop wearing seatbelts...not having the safety device will make them better, more alert drivers.

hmmm...All Motorcycle riders do not wear seatbelts when riding and most take that same alertness with them when they drive a car, so yes it can make you more alert, but if you understood my post you would see that it is my choice not to have one. Cars do give people a false sense of security, that is why you see drivers talking on phones while driving or putting on make-up. I have not seen motorcyclist talking on a cell phone as most of them know that the chance for injury is not worth the risk.

To address the false sense of security, lets look at it this way. If you had a saw stop saw and the worse that could happen when you touched the blade while running was a cut, would people begin to worry less about where their fingers are when they are using it. Maybe.

Accidents do happen and the only way to prevent them is to not do anything. Sawstop premise is that when an accident happens this will lessen the severity of it. A better way to prevent accidents is to be alert and focus on what you are doing not anything else.

[bobhenry]

hmmm...by this logic, people should stop wearing seatbelts...not having the safety device will make them better, more alert drivers.

I did (quit wearing them) and it does!

I am also glad we still have a choice about wearing motorcycle helmets.

I like having my peripheral vision unblocked and my ability to hear behind me.

I think what will happen if...... then I pick up a push stick and use it instead if my bare hands. I have taken that unwanted trip to the ER also thanks to my table saw back when.

[starleen2]

Ya’ know – seeing the guy test his product by sticking his finger into it may sound ridiculous – but it is also reminiscent of the fellow who put Kevlar to the test for bullet proof vest for law enforcement. He tested it by turning the gun on himself and firing. It sold a lot of vests and convinced the skeptics. Now you don’t have to buy his product – police don’t have to use the vest either – but it is up to YOU that has to decide if its worth it.

[john warren]

ok,,, i use my table saw a few times a year.

how much does this thing cost? would i ever be able to justify the expense?

i have managed to go 60 years working with lathes, saws, drills, grinders, punches, brakes, shears,,,, all sorts of stuff, and threw the simple expedient of not sticking my fingers where they don't belong,,,,,still have them all.

[Reddiver]

I have been using a table saw since high school not with out an accident..I wont post the picture again but it was my own damn fault.. First listen to that voice in your head that says" Thats enough for today "and "Don't do that you could get hurt"
So the end of the day making just one more cut on a thin piece. The piece started chattering on the back side of the blade. put my thumb on it to hold it down the blade grabbed it and that is all she wrote.. I was lucky nasty cut but still have it with all its functions. Saw stop would have saved it I guess.. But that "Accident" was the best safety equipment I could have ever bought.

[Reddiver]

To Pro handyman we have matching thumbs

[Yota Bill]

hmmm...All Motorcycle riders do not wear seatbelts when riding and most take that same alertness with them when they drive a car, so yes it can make you more alert, but if you understood my post you would see that it is my choice not to have one. Cars do give people a false sense of security, that is why you see drivers talking on phones while driving or putting on make-up. I have not seen motorcyclist talking on a cell phone as most of them know that the chance for injury is not worth the risk.

To address the false sense of security, lets look at it this way. If you had a saw stop saw and the worse that could happen when you touched the blade while running was a cut, would people begin to worry less about where their fingers are when they are using it. Maybe.

Accidents do happen and the only way to prevent them is to not do anything. Sawstop premise is that when an accident happens this will lessen the severity of it. A better way to prevent accidents is to be alert and focus on what you are doing not anything else.

LOL...bikers dont talk on the cell phone because they cant HEAR the damn thing! If they could, then they would! Look at how many helmets are available with a CB in them....You know, people have used CB's while driving for years, and its not all that different from using a cell...the difference is the NUMBER of people that are doing it.
Maybe you should take a look at the chances (in percentages) of being seriously injured or killed on a motorcycle in an accident compared to a car or truck (not that it stops me from riding)

I'm sure everyone that has never had an accident is completely aware and focused 100% of the time, they have never had a close call, and always follow the safest procedure, so they dont need any secondary safety devices. I'm sure they also have money trees in thier back yard and Donald Trump often calls them for financial advice.

Look, nobody has said that a person should not be aware and pay attention, and follow the safe procedures, but that alone DOES NOT mean an ACCIDENT cant happen. A device like this is simply a seconday, suplemental device to lower the risk in the event of an accident. Think of it as an air bag in your car. Its there and active, even though you are already wearing a seatbelt. Why? Because the secondary, suplemental safety device has proven itself to lower the chances of serious injury in the event of an accident. Its that simple. It is not meant to be used alone, or to take the place of the operators safe actions.

If these were available as a retrofit kit, and at a reasonable cost, then I would probably have one installed already. That does not mean I would get rid of any other safety devices or change the way I do tings, but if an accident did happen, I would much rather buy a new blade and a chunk of aluminum then lose some fingers.

The simple fact is, people in general are stupid, lazy, and do dangerous things, even when they know better (as somone else in this thread pointed out about a safety device in a factory setting that was bypassed in a short period of time). A device like this could potentially save alot of E.R. visits.

[Sawyer]

I feel like I have to intrude on this conversation to represent a slightly different view on the subject. I've been a woodworker for about 8 years now (obviously knee-high to a grasshopper compared with some of you), I have my little one-man cabinetry shop where I have a good heavy 15 year old Jet cabinet saw with all guards and safety features removed, it's what works for me. However I also hold a part-time evening job as a wood shop supervisor for the University of Oregon's furniture shop. We have two 5hp SawStops, one 5hp Powermatic Model 66, and one 5hp Delta Unisaw. In everyday woodworking, the SawStop saws are every bit as accurate and useful as the other two, the only gripe I have with them is they are a little underpowered as compared with the others and reliability doesn't quite match up (too many circuit boards in a dusty environment is my guess). However, I'm recommending to the powers that be that we replace the Delta and Powermatic with two more Sawstops, and the reason is as follows... Every new term (3 months roughly), I get several hundred new students who have never toughed a hammer, let alone a 5hp cabinet saw, into my shop to build design and build furniture. In groups of 20, they get a 1 hour safety lecture from my boss that supposedly covers the safe use of all shop tools (I'm still learning the proper uses of tools after 8 years). I regularly have 30+ students in my shop all making poor decisions at once. We've had our fair share of small accidents, but only one possibility of a severed finger, and thanks to the SawStop, that particular Architecture student still has his right thumb. After being in place for 5 years, and even after the abuse of thousands of students, the SawStop retracted it's blade exactly as advertised and left the student with tiny cut that barely required a bandaid. That one instance saved tens of thousands of dollars and possibly the young man's career (it's hard to draw blueprints with no thumb).

I have my own beef with SawStop, but I believe their technology is sound, their fit and finish is comparable to other similarly priced cabinet saws on the market, and I FIRMLY believe that they have their place.

One more point for those that don't know, the SawStop will engage it's safety mechanism at odd times, like with extremely wet lumber, certain plastic and metal products, but there is an override that you can engage if you want to cut any of these materials, I do it all the time. I've used SawStops for 5 years now and haven't popped the safety mechanism once.

P.S. (last one I promise) Two years ago I had an accident on a Delta Unisaw with a 3/4" Dado blade installed, and although I got extremely lucky and only lost 2 fingernails and a fair amount of finger meat, and only had about 20 stitches total, the ER bill was significantly more than what I would have paid for a top of the line SawStop...

[aggie79]

P.S. (last one I promise) Two years ago I had an accident on a Delta Unisaw with a 3/4" Dado blade installed, and although I got extremely lucky and only lost 2 fingernails and a fair amount of finger meat, and only had about 20 stitches total, the ER bill was significantly more than what I would have paid for a top of the line SawStop...

To use a dado blade on the Sawstop, don't you have to either use the bypass or purchase and remember to install a different brake cartridge?

[Sawyer]

To use a dado blade on the Sawstop, don't you have to either use the bypass or purchase and remember to install a different brake cartridge?

In order to use a dado set on a SawStop you do have to install a different brake cartridge, but it's no big deal, it takes less time than changing a blade and requires no tools... I'd say still worth the peace of mind.

[07rascal]

After a trip to the ER in late Dec, due to a lapse in my attention during a Hardwood flooring install in our home, I was able to keep "most" of my left thumb. It does now sort of look like it used too, just has some pretty strange texture and feelings trying to use it! Animal of choice for this $2K hose up was a 10" Contractors model of a Craftsman table saw.

I found the ultimate "safety device" for this saw of mine. It was called Craig's List! Adios sucker, lasted about 1 hr on CL and it was out of my garage. Figured I did not use it enough to be as safe with it as I should be.

Something about going out the next morning and cleaning a streak of blood off my garage door running from top to bottom from my "recoil" coming out of the blade, is a H*!! of a motivator!

[halfdome, Danny]

In groups of 20, they get a 1 hour safety lecture from my boss that supposedly covers the safe use of all shop tools (I'm still learning the proper uses of tools after 8 years).

I can't believe they let them loose after such a short period of safety instruction. I attended San Diego Junior College in the 1960's & we had a solid semester of nothing but safety. We weren't allowed out into the shop until we passed that semester. Danny

[Sawyer]

I can't believe they let them loose after such a short period of safety instruction. I attended San Diego Junior College in the 1960's & we had a solid semester of nothing but safety. We weren't allowed out into the shop until we passed that semester. Danny[/quote]

Tell me about it!!! It seems insane. I cannot believe there aren't more accidents to be honest with you.

[eamarquardt]

........ is a H*!! of a motivator!

Richard Pryor said (after setting himself on fire freebasing cocaine): "Fire is (also) a great motivater. You can run real fast when you on fire!"

Stay safe.

Cheers,

Gus