Sawstop - probably a stupid question

The review of the Sawstop system in the latest issue of FWW contains the following: "The braking mechanism springs an aluminum cartridge into the path of the blade as the whole blade assembly drops below the surface of the tabletop, out of harm's way".

If the blade drops below the tabletop, what's the point of stopping it ? If it doesn't drop quickly enough to be safe, why drop it at all ?

only one p in my real address / un seul p dans ma véritable adresse

Reply to
Peter Wells
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A good and fair question - but to me the dangers of this device far exceed this question. The problem with this device is people becoming dependent on it and being careless, and then at a most inopportune moment, the device fails. After all, it is only an electromechanical device, and such devices have certainly been known to fail. It remains that the best safety device ever invented is a clear mind and proper technique. And I realize that the SawStop has been thoroughly tested on hot dogs without failure, but 1: That certainly doesn't mean that it won't fail. And I believe that they don't guarantee that it won't fail. 2. When I want to cut up a hot dog I use a knife instead of my table saw anyway.

Regards, Fred

Reply to
Fred

You mean, after 3 or 4 CLOSE calls, and spending several hundreds of dollars replacing blades and catridges, they will become careless and lose a hand?

You know, I have a neighbor who accidentally set his house on fire three times. The last time (he was thawing a frozen pipe with a propane torch) the house caught fire so bad he lost the whole house (No, I don't know if the insurance company paid him. And his wife and two little girls were with him when he did it).

I guess my point is this:

1) Some people are freakin' careless. 2) Some people are freakin' dumb as a post.

These people will ALWAYS be an issue. SawStop has nothing to do with it. And I can't see how SawStop would make things worse for these people.

Wait - I thought of something.....

If they have SawStop AND they disable it, yes - it could make things worse. But if it's always enabled, and works, it HAS to help.

Reply to
Bruce Barnett

Bruce Barnett notes:

Only helps if you stick body parts in the blade.

Charlie Self "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." Mark Twain

Reply to
Charlie Self

Fred said......

careless, and then at a most inopportune moment, the device fails.

Sorta like brakes on a vehicle then....?

certainly been known to fail. It remains that the best safety device

the SawStop has been thoroughly tested on hot dogs without failure, but

that they don't guarantee that it won't fail.

I guess you then don't use the brakes on your vehicle.....?

I believe a lot of the controversy on this subject was not so much the technicalities but that the company tried to have legislation introduced that would mandate this safety device. It would probably greatly minimize the potential damage done to skin and bone versus the number of failures it may experience but if you're the one it fails on - then you certainly wouldn't agree.

Like brakes on a vehicle - they've been known to fail also.

Bob S.

Reply to
BobS

I'm not their engineer, but I thought it was their 2-stage safety system.

To me - the blade stop is safety system #1. Dropping it below the saw is the backup...

Reply to
patrick conroy

Body parts? Is that why they show test it with a wiener?:)

Reply to
Gino

Gino SameOld asks:

Simulates a finger. You were thinking it simulated a...what?

Charlie Self "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to." Mark Twain

Reply to
Charlie Self

Yeah - get ready. Whether they understand it or not the Government's is probably going to help us out on this.

Reply to
RonB

More like an airbag. If it were to go off at the wrong time, that'd be bad. If it were to not go off when it should, that'd be bad too. And if you rely on it as a supplimental safety feature and disregard the primary safety features (seatbelts, paying attention, not being drunk/stoned/ stupid while driving) then you're asking for a world of hurt.

Yes, that and the fact that they keep not being able to produce it. Having been in both design and manufacturing, I recognize a "we can't make this reliable enough to ship" situation when I see one, and I see one.

But Bob, brakes on a vehicle exist. Much like a retail Sawstop does not.

Reply to
Dave Hinz

I am guessing here but if the blade drops it is likely the tension on the belts will lessen also. If the motor is effectively disengaged from the blade via the loose belts the blade momentum would not have the motor momentum added to the force that has to be stopped by the cartridge.

Reply to
Leon

I would think for the other 95% of the population that may use a SawStop that the fear of a blade spinning at 3500+ RPM may still be the number 1 reason not to become careless. I am one of those people that does not look down the barrel of a gun because it has a safety unless I have removed the shell and am cleaning the gun.

Reply to
Leon

The Sawstop may be like brakes and airbags in some respects, but I have not seen airbags that cost more than an entry level car. The SawStop would eliminate entry level tablesaws completely as you can't add it to a $200 benchtop. Even if you could somehow manage to fit this thing into an entry level saw, the base price would have to double or triple and the cost of it going off would be more than the pre-SawStop cost of the saw. Incremental safety equipment additions to cars and such have certainly added to the cost of such items substantially, but they have not doubled or tripled the entry level price. The cost of an airbag replacement hasn't yet reached the cost of the rest of the car. Dave Hall

Reply to
Dave Hall

I would think that the blade would stop before the saw drops. However, the act of dropping could be a problem in itself. Suppose you slip and your hand goes onto the blade. Thank god the saw blade witll stop spinning (perhaps), but then the blade starts to drop and pulls down. Trapping your little pinky between the tooth of the frozen blade. Suddenly you regret that you made that nifty zero clearance plate....

-j

Reply to
J

Exactly.

Reply to
Bruce Barnett

I saw a Sawstop demo in person 2 yrs ago. From what I remember the rep saying.... the blade is stopped within 2 or 3 teeth on a blade. Stopping the blade so fast takes a lot of energy and dropping the blade helps absorb some of the energy.

I got an e-mail from sawstop saying my cabinet saw is ready to be shipped to me. I put my name on the mailing list 2 yrs ago at IWF. So it looks as though there are actually starting production.

Mike

Reply to
Mike S

You might be interested in knowing that an accident that causes 4 or 5 thousand dollars worth of body damage on an entry level car that is a year or two old may very well total the vehicle when you add in the replacement cost of the air bags and interior trim parts that are damaged when the air bags go off.

Reply to
Leon

In that event even if the saw is off and the blade not turning at all you are going to get cut. The stationary blade is not going to pull you in as it drops, it is simply going to cut, not snag and pull.

Reply to
Leon

Mike be sure and give us blow by blow details about the saw when you get it, Please.

Reply to
Leon

My saw blades seem to have a hook to them. I can certainly imagine that a finger caught under one of those hooks might see some shearing action as the blade drops below the zero clearance insert. Remember, the blade is immobilized so it isn't going to spin backwards to release the finger.

Of course this is just speculation. So neither one of us really knows what will happen.

-j

Reply to
J

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