I was at the yard where I get most of my pine yesterday and I overheard a conversation about Saw Stop. One of the guys was saying that the Saw Stop safety mechanism will sometimes engage when no hand/finger/whatever touched the blade. Any of you guys have experience with Saw Stop?
Thanks, J
Google this group and you will see tons of discussion on this topic.
My understanding is that if any embedded metal touches the blade it will activate the stop mechanism. Also wet or green lumber can also trigger it. Basically I think anything that has a lower resistance than dry wood will result in activation, so maybe some painted and laminated surfaces will trip it as well.
I'm researching the SawStop for purchase by a school district and have contacted the manufacture directly and received a reply, but I still don't have a reliable answer to some questions. Like what happens with a fast feed rate? On their website
Also, they don't have any data (at least none that they would share with me) related to kickbacks. As I'm sure everyone here is aware the speed at which a kickback occurs, I have doubts on the usefulness of the SawStop mechanism in a kickback situation.
Mort
Joe Bemier wrote:
This was actually the first time I'd heard of this impressive system, but
"The photo at the right shows what happens on a SawStop saw when a hotdog (representing a finger) hits the spinning blade at a speed of about 1 foot per second. "
Forrest
Thanks, Mort - very useful. Also, very interesting that you should mention feed rate because those guys touched on that point and I did not recall it until I read your message. Considering the cost of replacement of the mechanism I would need to feel confident that the thing is not going to trigger due to say
*imperfections* of some kind. Unfortunately, I was not able to get more info but it sounded like one of the guys owned the machine and was not happy with it.Good luck with your research. My concern with having these machies in a school would be that kids might develop a sense of security working on one and then go out into the real world and use a conventional saw and have an accident.
Also, I did not consider Kickbacks but I'll bet you are correct.
Thanks, J
You know, I think I could watch that thing fire on 10 hot dogs and not develop a sense of security to putting my hand into the blade.
todd
Oh, geez, here we go *again*. SawStop has been discussed here (and just plain cussed) at great length _at_least_ three different times. :-b
Do a Google Groups search on this NG for Saw Stop (or SawStop, without the space) and "false positive". I imagine you'll find a bit of info...
Sorry if it seems redundant - my search turned up some info but I did not see muc detail regarding *false stops* or false positives as you put it.
You should do a little research before making these assumptions. According to SawStop, wet lumber is not a problem.
A cut is better than an amputation.
SawStop is not supposed to prevent kickbacks. That said however it is one of the few brands that offer a riving knife in the US. You still have to use you head, its still not a good idea to look down a gun barrel even though the gun has a safety.
Forget the cost of the mechanisms. Even if they trigger once a week your insurer is certain to order you to upgrade as soon as the insurance contract re-ups. One trip to the emergency room with a student will buy one heck of a lot of cartridges and blades.
The review I read stated there was a test mechanism you could use to see if the machine was likely to trigger.
Some false stops reported here were due to a user using a particular electronic watch that fooled the saw. IIRC the manufacturer sent a resistor to ad to the saw to solve this problem.
Most of the owners like the saw even though some have reported some false stops. The manufacturer helped solve the problem. LeeValley is replacing all of their work shop saws in their store with the SawStop.
FWIW I would much rather have a false stop than not have a stop when it is suppose to stop.
The riving knife is for the kickbacks.... not the SawStop mechanism. On that note look up information on kickbacks and riving knives and you will find that they are effective (if you actually use it!).
John
Hello Stout - I did and my Reply is below.
But, this does bring me to add my two cents on the subject of
*redundancy of topic* as this seems to come up from time-to-time. I woulld suggest to you guys that there is nothing wrong with such under certain (probably many) circumstances. At times I get the feeling that once a Thread -with a particular Subject- has been posted and run its course, that is supposed to close the door on the subject. For example; because we had a post on Saw Stop I am supposed to search and read. If I don't find an adequate answer to my currrent question- too bad. This attitude assumes that everything anyone ever wanted to know about the subject was contained within that original Thread and there can be no further input, no new information, no additional opinions, etc. From my perspective this group has a significant number of members who float in and out. It is possible that not everyone with something to say added to that original message. Further, in this case the subject deals with a rather new technology. There might be new information. In fact, I was here on the group when the thread passed through earlier this year. Before I posted today I looked at the SS website (again) and then googled and yahoo'ed the subject. I was still not satisfied that I had an answer so I posted the specific question. At the very least I can hope that the thread helps Mort make his decision.
Cheers, J
If you did, you wouldn't be asking the same question that has been asked and reanswered several times. Your question "Any of you guys have experience with Saw Stop?". Googling Saw Stop alone would have revealed that, Yes, several people have experience with Saw Stop. Your statements regarding the "safety mechanism" and its tendency to engage with no flesh contact, has also been discussed ad nauseam.
Your are more than welcome to ask this question on a daily basis (it's a free world), but nevertheless I though my suggestion might be helpful.
Flame me if you want...
You weren't satisfied when you found out that several people have had experience with Saw Stop?
That's a good one. Someone using a sawstop, but wearing a watch while operating it.
"Particular" electronic watch. Seems like it was a digital.
A google search of rec.woodworking will turn up a thread a few months ago.
In this thread a small commercial shop had some mis-fires that were eventually diagnosed to one particular employee. A filter sent free of charge by Sawstop, prevented further mis-fires, and a few days later this same employee had his thumb saved by the mechanism.
Alan
Do you have any incident to relate in which an insurer "ordered" a school district to replace all of its non-sawstop saws?
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