I don’t understand your post. The man in the article lost his sight in Vietnam some 45 years ago. It was caused by a hand grenade, not an accident with a saw.
Perhaps. But it costs what, like $50 to reset the thing? That’s a pretty good incentive. I’m plenty careful even with $50 tools; I don’t think that people will abuse it.
You don’t have to tell me that there are other hazards with table saws-- I took a section of 2x4 to the face a couple years ago when the table got kicked and the blade grabbed the board. But if woodshops that do have large stationary saws began using this or similar technology, it might be feasible.
I took that post as a joke, and it made me chuckle.
Hi all! I just had to reply as someone with a lot of experience with the sawstop. I have been a pro woodworker for seven years and have been in a woodshop one way or another my entire life before that. I have installed three of these saws, in three different shops, including the one I use now in a professional shop. The saw is fantastic. Any professional will find the full range of adjustments impressive. It is much more precise, robust and user-friendly than a comprable delta or powermatic. The safety feature IS easy to trip accidentally. There is an override feature which is easy to use, but also easy to forget to engage. We have set it off on styrofoam with a radiant barrier metallic skin, for example. However, as noted earlier, it DOES NOT, AT ALL, DESTROY THE SAW!! Why this myth persists is nothing more than change-fear. The brake cartridge is designed with a crumple zone to absorb the impact of the blade and the arbor bearing is (seriously) oversized to ensure it can take any extra pressure. Setting it off will not affect your precise adjustments or cause damage to any part of the saw except the brake cartridge and the blade. As a matter of fact, when it does go off you may not even notice. Everything is balanced and designed so well, setting off the brake doesnt even shake the saw, it isn’t even loud. The fist time I set one off I didn’t even notice, it just wasn’t cutting anymore. It does take a bit of fiddling and prying to get the parts apart and off the arbor, but it takes only about ten minutes and no special tools to get the saw back up and running. (Just follow the manual). The brake cartridges are about $70 as of 2017, plus the cost of your blade. We use the cheapest carbide blades, ($25), so it is not a big expense if we mistakenly set off the safety feature. (Good woodworking has everything to do with the woodworker and almost nothing to do with how expensive the blade is). Not to mention, an accident will almost certainly cost you thousands and thousands of dollars, if not in medical bills then in workers’ comp insurance premiums, as well as trauma, loss of limbs, or loss of a skilled employee, perhaps to fear or disability. The safety feature is exceptionally fast and well designed. It uses the momentum of the blade itself to do most of the work burying itself in the aluminum block. It is certainly fast enough and sensitive enough to save the operator from a serious injury. It shouldn’t be counted on, of course, and the only way to guarantee you don’t get cut is to keep your hands out of the blade. However, there are no two ways about it- any employer or woodworker who doesn’t buy a sawstop the next time they need a saw is making an irresponsible mistake. No matter how experienced, the fact remains that a table saw is among the most dangerous of all tools. It can do things you don’t expect after decades of experience. There is no reason not to put your limbs first, and sawstop has made such a fantastic product at such a reasonable price, that you don’t even have to compromise anything to do that. It’s a must in any shop, in my opinion.