Unbelievable trust in his invention

Wow, just wow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3mzhvMgrLE&NR=1

It's the sawstop video for those who don't feel like clicking on the link.

Those aren't new- they've been available for nearly a decade, but that is a very good demonstration.

Every high school woodshop should have that saw....I don't care if it costs double the amount of the normal one.....the savings in lawsuits, the the nasty life changing injuries, etc. make that make easy

In reply to JoeyM:

They figured out that it is cheaper to just not have anything sharp at school.

JoeyM wrote: Every high school woodshop should have that saw....I don't care if it costs double the amount of the normal one.....the savings in lawsuits, the the nasty life changing injuries, etc. make that make easy

I think they just get rid of shop classes instead, unfortunately.

They are in the process of lobbying Congress to make their product mandatory for all table saws: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/25/136617222/advocates-urge-lawmakers-to-make-table-saws-safer While I think it's a good product, I'm not so sure about requiring its use.

And if Congress doesn't mandate them, juries will. There have already been a few cases where people have successfully sued table saw manufacturers for not including this technology on their saws. Here's one example:

Ryobi sued for not including SawStop

Bob

The first time I saw this episode I got a little nauseous. I understand it's pretty effective, but the thought of sticking my hand into a table saw made my skin crawl.

It would just end up being another crappy safety item to disable. Especially since it looks like it destroys the saw when it deploys. What happens when you cut aluminum? If it works like a touch lamp, cutting metal (which is what I use mine for 90% of the time) would cause a problem. Here's a novel idea, don't stick you hand in a table saw, it hurts.

Very cool idea regardless of how much damage it does to the saw.

That saw has a lot of James Bond Villian bloopers built into it.

You'd think this is a foolproof idea, but there are a number of reasons this isn't installed in every student shop. I knew about these when I worked in the university architecture shop 5 years ago. Number one problem is that for the trigger to be sensitive enough to prevent injury, you also get a fair number of false trips. Green or wet wood, alternate materials like foams or plastics, etc. can set off the brake. Each time that happens the saw is down for a while (which is just AWESOME when everyone has to have their final design project done in a couple days), and you've toasted a $60 module as well as whatever blade was in the saw when it happened, which could be as much as a few hundred bucks for a good dado set. Not to mention that there is absolutely something to be said for teaching a proper fear of the incapacitating ability of large power tools to young, invincible types. This thing makes them think they can't get hurt. What's that saying, you try to make everything foolproof and you just end up creating a better fool?

Plus in a school shop the table saw is necessarily sitting next to a bandsaw, drill press, planer, shaper, etc, all w/o the technology.

There are a bunch of ways to cut your fingers off.

Josh wrote: You'd think this is a foolproof idea, but there are a number of reasons this isn't installed in every student shop. ...

Don't forget the combined stupidity of a group of teenagers.

Teenager 1: I dare you to stick your finger in this saw and test the SawStop.

Teenager 2: I did it last week. I dare you to stick your tongue in the saw!

Group of Teens: Do it! Come on, it will be so cool! We'll post in on Youtube! You'll be famous!

Yea, when they come up with the "dumbstop" line of machinery it might be worth it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PzPfzLeDa0

The place I used to work at was a Sawstop dealer. Josh is dead-on with everything he said.

I think it breeds complacency, the thought of "Oh well, if I catch my finger, it will stop" can get you hurt when you move on to other machinery.

Personally, from working in the tool repair business for about five years and seeing just what kind of person damages their tools, I can say that if you've ever needed the guard on your tablesaw for it's intended purpose, you shouldn't be operating the saw in the first place.

Same goes for the Sawstop.

Shawn

Also don't cut metal with them.

You can cut some metals on a tablesaw.

You just need the correct blade, technique and to not be an idiot about it.

I'd hate to think how many linear feet of aluminum I've put through a tablesaw.

Shawn

Josh wrote: . Not to mention that there is absolutely something to be said for teaching a proper fear of the incapacitating ability of large power tools to young, invincible types. This thing makes them think they can't get hurt. What's that saying, you try to make everything foolproof and you just end up creating a better fool?

+1. Exactly.

So the example has him SLOWLY pushing the very tip of his finger into the blade. The hot dog is pushed slowly into it as well. I didn't see them push anything quickly into the blade (you slip or your hand slides for instance) so I think pain and suffering would still happen.

Trans_Maro wrote: You can cut some metals on a tablesaw. You just need the correct blade, technique and to not be an idiot about it. I'd hate to think how many linear feet of aluminum I've put through a tablesaw. Shawn

I mean don't cut metal on a sawstop saw without disarming the mechanism. We have one at the shop and the shop teacher was given some composite foam to cut and didn't realize that the foam had metal in it. The metal transmits the electricity from your body to the blade and bang goes the charge.

there was a story about this technology on NPR last week. I didn't understand how it worked, so thanks for sharing the video. Makes sense to me now

vwcorvette wrote: So the example has him SLOWLY pushing the very tip of his finger into the blade. The hot dog is pushed slowly into it as well. I didn't see them push anything quickly into the blade (you slip or your hand slides for instance) so I think pain and suffering would still happen.

You may still get pain and suffering but you'll get to keep your hand as well.

Simply cut is better than cut off.

Shawn

Well, being the freedom of choice sort that I am, I am very much opposed to mandating the use of this thing.

Semi-clever idea, but I don't want it myself.