Finger sensing table saw.

[Gingermick]

Apparently works by inducing a current in the blade and measuring any channges to capacitence of the spinning blade. If it detects change it stops and drops the blade.
I got this from the regional health and safety officer from the company I work for.

[Gumby]

Who tested it I wonder

[DanP]

Been about for a while now. Called SawStop.

[Gingermick]

Having a $#^ of a time trying to get this video to format fit for BB. So if its not new, I wont worry. I have a small wmv file if anyone wants to have a look. pm me.

[bsrlee]

'Saw Stop' - seems their show routine involves doing obscene things to frankfurts & chicken drumsticks.

It's expensive if it goes off without your finger being in danger - it welds the saw blade to the brake shoe & you have to replace both blade & Saw Stop mechanism. but its a LOT cheaper & easier than replacing your finger. :eek:

[AlexS]

Apparently it turns an amputation into a laceration.

[markharrison]

Just go to the Sawstop website (http://www.sawstop.com) for demonstration videos.

Unfortunately they are not sold here in Australia. I do want to buy a new saw and if they were on offer I would definitely be interested. Maybe we should all get together and buy a container load like the great Bessey Clamp cleanout at Lee Valley )

[Wassy]

Absolutely amazing. I almost didn't believe it until I saw the demo.

Cheers,
Mat

[mkemila]

Apparently it turns an amputation into a laceration.

If you pay attention to where you put your hands and use guards you can save the laceration as well ($2500 saved).

I have read the reviews on this saw and it is rated as quite a good saw....just pricey

[rrich]

The SawStop product has not been well received by US woodworkers.
(RD version)
The inventor tried to interest most US manfacturers of table saws. Most manfacturers declined interest probably because of our screwed up product liability laws. It seems that the manufacturers would have to offer a retrofit package for all existing table saws. AND any table saw incorporating the SawStop technology would require a redesign. (I said that our product liability laws are screwed up!)

The inventor's next approach was to petition various agencies of the federal government to require the product on all table saws. (Trying to have the government protect us from ourselves.) The petition had some rather graphic photos of amputations. (IMHO, the amputations appeard to look like shaper accidents rather than table saw accidents.) At this point, the hobby woodworking market became very anti SawStop.

The latest marketing strategy by SawStop has been aimed towards the commercial market place. It seems that a SawStop table saw may help reduce a small commercial shop's insurance premiums for workman's compensation insurance. (The whole workman's compensation insurance and system is even more screwed up than the product liability laws.)

This strategy by SawStop should be working but sales have not been especially encouraging. Part of the problem is that not many small shops are not buying new equipment due to the avalanche of Chinese wood based goods swamping the US market place. There's a political discussion here but that's for another place and another time.

The overall drawback to the SawStop system seems to be price. A SawStop 10" (254+MM) cabinet saw with 50" fence, extension table, two zero clearance inserts, an extra spare blade cartrige and two (one for use, one for spare) dado cartridges costs about $3575/US without taxes or shipping. A compariable Delta Unisaw with a biesemeyer fence is $1813/US with taxes and delivery.

If the saw is stopped, the blade is destroyed and a new cartrige is required. With taxes and shipping the cost works out to be close to $200/US per stop of the saw. Wet and chemically treated wood are both known to stop the saw. The saw has a safety feature disable switch under operator control.

I just purchased the Unisaw mentioned above, so I know that the Delta pricing is correct. The SawStop was taken from their web page. Actually I did consider the SawStop before purchasing the Unisaw. The double the cost was a minor obstacle, the lack of a right tilting model was the determining factor. What can I say? I'm just a right tilting biggot!

[Groggy]

rrich, that is an excellent synopsis of how it came about.

I recall all those issues from another forum. In particular, the adverse reaction when the company tried to 'backdoor' industry and get it legislated - bad move - it really ticked everyone off.

[DanP]

when the company tried to 'backdoor' industry and get it legislated - bad move - it really ticked everyone off.

I wouldn't buy one based on that alone. Try to get everyone to buy your product and when they don't, try to force them to...:mad:

Dan

[markharrison]

The SawStop product has not been well received by US woodworkers.

That view is not the perception I am getting from owners of a SawStop saw at WoodCentral. Still that is just a perception based on ownership. What is the basis you have for this rather sweeping statement?

The inventor's next approach was to petition various agencies of the federal government to require the product on all table saws. (Trying to have the government protect us from ourselves.) The petition had some rather graphic photos of amputations. (IMHO, the amputations appeard to look like shaper accidents rather than table saw accidents.) At this point, the hobby woodworking market became very anti SawStop.

True, there was some chatter about the alleged attempt to force this through the legislators. I've yet to see independent confimation for this allegation however.

The last time I bothered to check, in some parts of the USA it is still not compulsory to wear seat belts in a car largely as a result that some folks feel this is some sort of infringement of their rights. We have had compulsory seat belt laws since the late sixties! The biggest mistake SawStop made was trying to sell this in the USA. They would have been better off trying to sell this technology to the Europeans who actually understand OH&S issues.

[Groggy]

That view is not the perception I am getting from owners of a SawStop saw at WoodCentral. Still that is just a perception based on ownership. What is the basis you have for this rather sweeping statement?

True, there was some chatter about the alleged attempt to force this through the legislators. I've yet to see independent confimation for this allegation however.

Mark, I read rrich's post to mean the Sawstop product was not well received due to their marketing, not due to the abilities of the saw itself. In fact, nearly every post I have read on the sawstop gives it credit for a great idea and a step forward in the technology; the machining and accessories are also "alleged" to be of high quality (. The USA woodworkers did not like the attempt to legislate it and saw it as a sleazy attempt to get their product a massive slice of the market.

The actual "alleged" attempt used to be at this link:

http://www.sawstop.com/We_Need_Your_Help.htm

which is now defunct. Reference to it was made in a post by Jeff Kent on 10 Jul 2003 at 10:36am .

[CameronPotter]

Gee! People really must be taking this seriously. I mean, anything that keeps fingers attached where they should be is a good idea, but I am surprised that no-one has made any jokes about saw stopping...

Such as...

My saw has an in-built system, it releases red liquid all over the place when your fingers get too close which warns you to turn it off. I haven't been game to test this yet - thankfully.

Anyway, this many posts without a pointless joke - I couldn't help myself!

Cam