Amazing Saw

John, great post! This device has been around for well over a decade, but there's no possible way to spread the word enough!! I had an accident with a table saw and they had to take a skin graft from my wrist to patch two fingers. Still have the fingers, but also lots of arthritis!

It "seems" like they had made one version some years back that, if it tripped, you could reset and use again. Maybe I misunderstood then and you still had to replace some parts. Either way, this thing is amazing! And no, I would never do that with my own hand - not after going through the experience without one!
 
If you want one of the hot dog saws better get one soon. Festool has bought Sawstop so expect the price to go through the roof.
 
Yeah.

When I was in high school, our shop teacher was giving a safety lecture on a table saw and cut off the tip of one of his fingers in the process. Convincing lecture.
 
The inventor of the SawStop table saw tried to get all the major tool manufacturers to license his invention, and ended up having to start his own company because none of them were interested in making safer saws. (So much for the idea that corporate decisions are driven by fear of product liability lawsuits.) Today SawStop is a major player in the high-end table saw market.

The company's history makes for very interesting reading.
Sawstop on Wikipedia
 
Mark, you're right. I was dumbfounded to learn the exact thing that you just said!! I had only been out of woodworking a short time when this invention came out, and I was certain it would become standard equipment on all saws. Boy, didn't realize just how naive I was!! :roll:

...And that leads me to my fears about technology. It keeps growing faster and faster.....but who is it that's in charge? Who is calling the shots? The people "building" the technology, or the folks paying their wages?? So, my greatest fear is that technology, in the not-so-distant future, is going to totally go off the deep end and go berserk! ....That's my fear and I'm sticking with it! :wink:
 
You'd think so. But of course people still drive around w/o actually wearing a seatbelt. And we encounter folks everyday that complain about the cost of safety devices that "they don't need". I've always been amazed at the number of folks I encounter who's primary safety device is "you just got to be careful". Sure, I'll be careful, but why not have some defense in depth and use what technology can provide.
 


All the safety engineering in the world will not stop the efforts of a truly determined idiot. :wink:
 
A lot of cabinet shops will just hire someone and expect them to know how to safely operate a table saw. They are the only ones that need the sawstop. Anyone that will properly train their help so they really know how to operate a saw won't need it. I can tell within a day or two when I hire someone whether they should be trusted to use saws and I never let someone right off the street use a saw of any type before I get to know them.
 
For years, even after I had to stop handling the lumber, I'd always stop in the power tools section. Would always check out the tablesaws. One thing that caught my attention was how the rip fence on MANY models could be so easily moved when locked.

I would lock the fence, then go to the far end and try to move it. If it locked solidly, great. Usually I could get some amount of movement without that much effort, which is bad! That is what caused my injury.

On many saws (should probably say "most", but...), there is an adjustment that can tighten the cable or rod going to the locking handle and lessen that problem. The only saws I truly "trust" are those that lock solidly on both ends all the time!

When running a board through a saw, if the fence can angle deflect while locked, there's a chance the wood can become bunched up between the fence and blade, causing a kickback. If your hands happen to be close and the wood being cut suddenly disappears, then it's not that far a stretch to imagine your hand going into the saw teeth, as mine did.

I was well seasoned when this happened, with about 12 years of experience. Unfortunately, I was at Dad's shop and was using HIS saw - an old Sears contractor saw - one of them jobs with the angle fence rails. Not exactly the safest system out there!
 
Very true. In 45 years of working in woodworking professionally the only person I saw have any kind of injury cut his finger off reaching behind the blade to lift the board up. He was off work for a couple months and when he came back to work was given a job that didn't involve power tools. He still cut the tendons off in the other hand with a hand held hack saw some how. This guy had no business in any kind of manufacturing.
 
I didn't know the guy, but another woodworker I knew actually witnessed a guy making a cross cut on a table saw and cut 2 finger tips off! :shock:

Stephen, your post also reminded me of a story the wife tells now and then when she's sewing. She once worked in a clothing manufacturing place where they used those really fast, industrial sewing machines. She saw one of the other girls run her hand right into the machine!! :shock: :shock:

I don't know which would be worse - picking up what's left of my mangled fingers or trying to pull the stitching out of my hand! ...I suppose maybe the stitching out of the hand. After all, I don't sew, so if I had stitching in my hand, it was where it shouldn't have been in the first place! *lol*
 
I have two Saw Stop Saws in My SCSU lab. They have acted with a BANG 5 times. One nail, one Treated wood, one wet wood, one conductive rubber strip, and one finger. I was there only for the finger. My student (a self described carpenter with 5 years experience with his dad) was cutting a birch 1X6X20" into a 3 inch wide piece. I was working with another student on a 14 inch table saw next to the Saw Stop saw. He had the guard on the saw, and the anti kickback cams. BUT he was pushing the 2 inch wide piece through with his thumb (no push stick) I watched for 4 seconds until he completed the cut. He shut off the saw and as it slowed down I spoke to him about the danger he was in from the act of not using a push stick. He reached down and picked up the waste piece and in the process touched the still rotating blade with his middle finger. BAMMMMM. The blade slammed out of the saw retracting into the table with only one tooth touching his finger.
It made a tiny V in his finger nail and a scratch through his skin to blood that was 3/16" long in his finger tip.
Interesting reality.
I would not buy one unless some insurance policy demanded it, Then I would protest. Safety must be in the user's head as a condition. Jim
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top