Table-Saw Technology Aims to Save Fingers

[chucko]

I just see no reasion for a break system to tear up to stop
We make saws for truss companys that cost major $$$$ some of the newer saws I have seen have what looks like a disk break on it. Stops very very fast with no damage.
He has a good idea but needs to make it so it does not damage the saw and or blades....How many 100 dollor blade whold have to be damaged by false tripping before it is disabled by the user.

 

[TomW]

(The following comment came to me from an individual that actually owns a cabinet model saw) "False stops are a possibility, but SawStop has designed the saw to recognize and avoid some of them, and gives the operator the knowledge to avoid and work around the rest of them. False stops should extremely rarely, if ever, happen to reasonably smart woodworkers who have taken a little time to understand the machine." This is very helpful which is why I am passing it along.

Markco, I detect that dollars are extremely important to you - as they are to me. So was my thumb. I don't want to repeat this a second time. I am certainly not a rich person, but I can't put a dollar value on preventing what I have already experienced. I think it would be considerably worse knowing there was something I could have done differently. I am only a hobbiest - but I willing to 'invest" in my future in this manner.

Chucko - you are concerned about electronics and about needing something like this to stop quickly. You mentioned the machines in your shop could stop quickly, too. I don't think the issue here is how quickly can a machine stop once the on/off switch has been turned off; but rather what action will cause the machine to shut down on its own in the event of an accident. If my finger touches a machine or blade in your shop, how quickly would the unit stop. My guess, as quickly as I could get to the switch. That didn't help me at all. In my case, I didn't even know I had done this until I looked down to shut off the saw and noticed my thumb. It was on my "shut off the saw" hand.

I appreciate everyone's nay-saying comments - they certainly provide food for thought. I am actually more interested in the comments from folks that are knowledgable about this saw, or actually have one.

Many of the same arguments discussed could apply to seat belts or airbags in cars, or OSHA regulations in manufacturing facilities. I am not advocating we "stop the presses" and make it manditor for everyone to switch to something - I am interested in how this thing works as well as its reliability.

 

[markct]

im not saying the money is worth more than the finger at all, just that if something is made to where it false triggers two or three times then most folks would simply disable it, thus the feature is no good anyhow.

 

[BrettW]

this is a good discussion, It all boils down to the quality of the engineering of the saw. Time will tell and Tom will keep us up to date on his experiences I hope. I bet that anyone that has an accident will very seriously consider buying this type of saw. I once saw a strange groove in my thumb nail after running my Jet saw and still wonder if I was close to losing it. Still dont know.
bw

 

[fivestring]

Sorry you got hurt and am glad it was not worse.

Were you using a push stick?

Did you have the stock blade guard and splitter on??

Ultimately, safety is the user's responsibility.

We don't need gummit-mandated high $$$ items added to equipment if the majority of accidents are the user's fault.

We could use the same analogy to everything that has accidents:
4-wheelers, automobiles, motorcycles, scooters, blenders, coffee grinders, toasters, grills, propane heaters, coleman stoves, etc.
All of these are accident prone, mostly from user error, but imagine adding $1000 worth of safety devices to a blender to keep you from blending a finger.

Sawstop is a good option, expensive tho.
It's not an option for me at this time.

I rarely cut a piece of wood, no matter how small or large, without a pushstick/pushpaddle. Featherboards are used for the majority of all of my cuts so my left hand stays away from the blade.

It prolly takes me 2-3 times as long to build something using all the safety devices I have but that is the price I pay for my safety.

 

[chucko]

All I am saying is if it messes stuff up and you have to replace parts then people will disable them. A disk brake type system could slam the pads so tight and hard that the stop would be just as fast (I would think). Then they could just push a reset. If someone disables it then it is no good right?

 

[mark777]

TomW,

I wouldn't care if the entire saw were destroyed if it saves some ones precious digits. Must admit that I have a wait and see attitude as far as it's reliability and false triggering.

The intent of the inventor is clearly safety as compared to the intent of the guy who sells twin seats for children on the back of your riding mover.

Interesting post. Regards, Mark

 

[EddieWalker]

I haven't seen or heard anything that indicates this is something that is being forced on anybody. The ability to have the option to increase your level of safety seems like a pretty good option to me.

It really doesn't matter what a saw blade or brake system costs, if if saves me from losing a limb one day, it's cheap!

I also find it hard to believe that somebody who spends the extra money for this saftey feature will decide not to use it. If you don't want it, that's your choice, but knowing that a person has come up with such an amazing new technology is just amazing to me.

My high school wood shop teacher lost his thumb on a table saw. My junior high wood shop teacher lost a finger on a table saw. Both were good teachers who tought and practiced saftey every day. Both were distracted at exactly the wrong moment. It happens.

And for those who are against added safety features, I ask you this. If you had the cash, and your son was going to use your table saw, would you buy it?

 

[Henro]

I’ve been following the discussion with much interest, and have to think why not buy such a table saw if one can afford to? Can only help, and never hurt, it seems. OK, it could hurt the pocketbook to buy initially, and perhaps hurt the pocketbook again if there was a false trip. But how much is finger worth? Much more than all possible hardware costs related to the safety device.

That being said, I can’t imagine buying one myself. I stand back and look at my wood shop. I see two radial saws, two band saws, a jointer, a table saw, two drill presses and an old Shop Smith multi-purpose tool. Also several pneumatic nailers, routers, and on and on.

The table saw is just one danger point. My opinion and best guess is that following proper safety procedures, developing habits that keep one’s body parts both shielded and as far as possible from danger points is really the key to avoiding injury in the total workshop.

I say buy one if you can afford it.

But more importantly, don’t forget that every tool in your shop offers its own kind of opportunity to harm you.

Really, the best safety device is between our ears, if we choose to use it. Costs us nothing, but we do have to remember to turn it on!

 

[fishman]

Well said Eddie.