Further to the thread on riving knives and specifically the sub-thread of stacked dado head cutters therein, I went directly to the HSE woodworking section in England with the following question:
Dear Sir,
I am not sure where to go with this question and I am hoping, since it is related to your field, you may be able to assist by pointing me in the right direction. It involves the use of stacked dado head cutters on table saws in the private sector.
I have been told that these accessories are not allowed, mainly due to some EU regulations regarding the blade spin-down time and how it is increased beyond regulations by the heavy dado cutter sets. But I also heard on one of the woodworking programmes on the telly (David somebody) that as long as the arbor on the TS was long enough to accomodate the cutters then they could be used. I also know that the sets are sold in the UK (see
Now I don't think that was a particularly complicated statement of the issues. Here is the very prompt reply I received in return:
there are two considerations here. The first is braking. Woodworking machines now have to be fitted with brakes to stop them in under 10 seconds. For details go the link for Woodworking Info. Sheet 38 below.
Secondly, if you are fitting moulding cutters into a circular saw the tool has to be of the limited cutter projection type. See the link for WIS37 also below.
I hope this helps
Regards Brian
I LOVE governments! I think from now on I'll just stack 3 or 4 regulat TS blades side-by-side and make my own cutter.
FoggyTown