Incredible safety-saw

Not if you're touching the material. In fact, you cannot cut wet wood with it bare-handed, either.

It operates on sensing conduction between the blade and the cut-ee.

LLoyd

Oh, yeah.... and....

It's certainly worth it to avoid a lost digit, but keep in mind that the explosive clutch packs for that thing are MONDO expensive, and only good for one stop.

LLoyd

OOPS! I finally looked at the video. They've changed the brake mechanism since I saw the first reviews a couple of years ago. It looks like only the "shoe" and the blade would have to be replaced with this version.... not bad!

LLoyd

Latest I heard, replacement cartridge was 150? 300? bucks, and it did have a lockout/bypass for cutting wet wood.

Dave

I've never heard of something like this since some minutes ago. Ah, they only sell it to USA and Canada.

Nick

The world is becoming increasingly risk averse. I was taught (at school aged 15) always to use a pusher if your fingers would come within 5 inches of the blade, and to respect the tools in the workshop as very useful, but potentially lethal, friends. The more safety features these things end up with, potentailly the less careful people become using them. The analogy of the car is similar, the more isolated from the 'road outside' you become, the more risks you take. It's reckoned that the best safety feature of a car would be a 6" spike pointing at the driver from the steering wheel ! People would be ultra careful then

AWEM

"Andrew Mawson" wrote: (clip) The more safety features these things end up with, potentailly the less careful people become using them. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ I can name two friends, both very safety conscious, intelligent and well trained, who injured themselves seriously. One is a member of NRA, and a gun safety instructor--shot himself while hunting. The other was a senior lab technician who cut two fingers off while building his house. Your best protection is attention and care, but even that fails sometimes.

This shutoff device came out a few years ago, and proved very effective, but the developer had trouble getting it accepted, because of the cost.

I believe our friends at American Chopper have made some bikes with spikes pointing at the operator. Steve

Nothing is ever 100%

The story is a bit more extensive than that.

This device came out quite a few years ago and was roundly rejected by the bulk of the woodworking buying public and the manufacturers.

The inventor of this failed product then tried to petition the CPSC to make their failed product a mandatory addition to all table saws, something widely decried by the public. At some point this inventor managed to get a saw custom manufactured with their safety device, which is the product you find available now.

Certainly they have had some sales, but the general woodworking public still doesn't want the product and a great many (myself included) consider the Saw Stop company to be blacklisted for their unethical behavior.

Hi Nick,

NPR ran a short segment on this in Dec 2004. See:

Table saws are great at ripping through wood, but the power tools can also cause serious injuries, sending upwards of

They should have hired the same lobbyists that the bbq propane tank companies used.

Wes

On Fri, 08 Jun 2007 14:15:13 -0500, with neither quill nor qualm, "Pete C." quickly quoth:

That was primarily due to the frequent false alarms and the costly replacement of the mechanism, not to mention the 2x too high price of the saw in the first place. Now the fix is "only" $50...if you can find one available. The last time I looked, it took 2 hours to install, too.

Amen to that. Effem -forever- for pulling that crap.

I fully suport Darwinsim.

Wes

It is one of those great ideas that still needs developement. My table saw scares me more than my car, ladders, firearms or liberal democrats.

Wes

PS The jointer is right up there in the scary department. Some have told me I should fear the bandsaw more.

On Fri, 08 Jun 2007 18:31:12 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, Wes quickly quoth:

A healthy respect is better than a fear if you can manage it. Always use pushsticks to save your digits.

Gee, I don't know why...it cuts much more cleanly. (caution: gory as hell)

Well, right off the bat you know the story has zero credibility based on this doosey or a line "students in high school shop class". There hasn't been a high school shop class in the US in at least a decade.

Pete C.

--FWIW I bought one about a year ago; no complaints. I've cut metal with it on several occasions: there's a bypass mode and what I like about this feature is that it turns itself back to non-bypass mode when you finish the cut so you don't have to remember to make the saw safe to use with wood again. IMO it's a very well thought out machine and I'm very pleased with it. The company stands behind their product too: I had one cartridge trigger for an unknown reason and they replaced it, no hassles. Had another one trigger like it's supposed to when I did something extraordinarily stupid so I'm a *really* happy camper. The cost of replacing a cartridge is less than a hundred bucks; maybe $70 or so; where the money comes in is if you trash an expensive blade too. The good news is good blades are getting cheap as well. Still got all ten fingers, heh.

jkmnk "steamer" wrote: (clip) The cost of replacing a cartridge is less than

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ If it saved your finger or your hand it certainly was worth the $70, plus the initial cost of the unit as well. You saved more than that in doctor bills would have been, unless you have incredibly good insurance. And, insurance won't make YOU whole.

But how do you save a finger and trash a blade?

Nice batch of horizontal milling cutters.

Gunner

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