This is so cool! A 'safety' table saw that detects your finger.

[Upscale]

My mistake. Occasionally, I've been accused of being too serious. I guess this is one of those times.

You've got to include the emoticons for me to at least have a chance of laughing. :-)

[Upscale]

Honestly, I think you're being a little short-sighted. I certainly don't agree with Sawstop trying to get its technology mandated, but I can easily see it's value. There's always going to be the unknown that suddenly appears to bite you in the ass. The Sawstop to me is the same as a seatbelt in a car. It's there *if* something unforeseen happens. Nobody, or at least very few people I know go out driving to be unsafe, yet accidents happen.

As to my opinion on seatbelts for cars, I have a picture that is categorical evidence that seat belts saves lives ~ my life in this instance.

[Leon]

Well lets see here. WWII on sale $100. New Cartridge IIRC $80. $180 x 30 = $5400. You cannot buy 2 new SawStop cabinet saws for that. Screw the new saw. You cannot replace a finger for that. I guess it has a lot to do with what your priorities are.

[GeeDubb]

When was the last time somebody lost their finger in a saw accident due to somebody running into them? I'm sure it's happened (and I'd be really pissed if somebody did that to me...) but (IMO) the ratio of serious car accidents to saw accidents has got to be a very large number. If I cut my finger on a saw, most likely it's my fault, not the fault of somebody else. If I'm in a car accident it will probably involve somebody else and won't necessarily be my fault. This is where mandatory safety devices should come into play.

Glad your still with us.

Gary

[Leon]

I'd say 99.99% of the accidents were from carelessness. Personally I know of no one that is 100% careful and not careless at some time until they die. It only has to happen once at the right time. Again, I ask, have you ever cut yourself with a knife?

It's up to people to be careful and know when a

That has a little to do with it but I cut half my thumb off after the cut, after walking away from the saw to lay the board down, and after turning the saw off. You really don't know of all the possibilities nor can you be prepared for them 100% of the time. In my case, the SawStop would have prevented my injury.

Well hopefully you will never need to test your opinion.

On the other side, having something like that

Like putting a LOADED gun up to your head and pulling the trigger because you know the safety is on. Like crashing your vehicle into a concrete wall because you know that it has air bags. I really do not think that some one would be careless around a blade spinning at 3500 rpm. The visual would be enough to scare you.

No, a splitter can help prevent a kick back but is absolutely no guarantee. If the splitter prevents a kick back and you realize it, its a good chance that you made a mistake. Still the riving knife is far superior to the splitter. It does not have to be removed for many cuts that would require the removal of the splitter. While the riving knife is no guarantee against kick back either, it can be used in more instances than a standard splitter and it typically works better because of its proximity to the blade.

Not hard to do at all. But every one on this group, actually everyone is capable of making a mistake at any time.

How much do you want to bet that most of

Do you use a standard blade guard when cutting dado's?

Good luck Brian and don't take this the wrong way but you seem to be a little naive as to how many different ways an accident can happen given the numerous operations that can be performed on a TS. While it is totally your decision and opinion that you are personally careful enough to deem the Saw Stop not worth the money you have pointed out to me more than a couple of instances where you are absolutely wrong. Again, be careful.

[Leon]

I bet a bunch of people said that then the common POS guard, that comes on almost every saw, was mandated also. Perhaps you do not see the need for more safety equipment but enough people did to warrant SawStop making the commitment to see this through.

[Chuck Taylor]

Out of curiosity, Leon, a few weeks ago you were speaking highly of Powermatic's new table saw, which lacks this safety feature. Have you changed your mind?

[Odinn]

On 3/2/2006 6:37 PM Upscale mumbled something about the following:

Personally, I think seatbelts should be removed, and the driver's seat be placed in front of the front bumper of the car and a spike placed in the center of the steering wheel. Might get drivers to actually pay attention to what they are doing instead of pretending they are driving in the Daytona 500.

[Leon]

No not at all. There are several great products out there on the market. Each has it strong points and each deserves a fair shake in the area that it may excel. Unlike the SawStop the Powermatic 2000 does not have the blade stop technology however it unlike many originally American branded saws does have a riving knife like the SawStop. Sooo this may be a first step of the competition taking a second look at SawStops lead with a saw with more safety features. With that said, I am absolutely not saying that the SawStop is the do all beat all final word in table saws. I do however think that if the SawStop is not your cup of tea to not bash the product and technology because of what you may or may not think of the company that is marketing it.

[Leon]

There is a thought and while some what absurd, absolutely not as absurd as the people you are talking about.

[Dave Balderstone]

I've seen people bash the company marketing it, but not the product and technology. The only negative comment I've seen on the product is that it's over-priced, which in all fairness is true.

The company marketing it, OTOH, deserves what bashing they get, IMO.

[Upscale]

Strange how much you missed the point of my message. The point is that accidents can happen no matter how safely you conduct yourself, in any venue. I'm not going to google the subject, but I wonder how many thousands of people in the US alone have missing fingers solely due to tablesaws.

[Upscale]

Brings to mind a television show that's been playing on the discovery channel, called Canada's Worst Driver. Some of these people are *so* bad at driving that I think the testing agent at the driving centre who passed them, should be strung up by their short hairs.

[Odinn]

On 3/2/2006 10:38 PM Leon mumbled something about the following:

As a motorcycle rider who rides 40 miles each way, to/from work, there isn't a day that goes by that some idiot in a cage doesn't try to take me out, either by changing lanes into me, pulling out of a side road as I'm approaching, turning across the road in front of me, etc. 90% of the drivers on the road are busy doing something else, reading, dialing their cellphone, putting on makeup, plucking their eyebrows, shaving, etc, while driving 2 ft off the bumper of the car in front of them. A good majority of the accidents around here are someone rear-ending another car, and I usually hear of about 5 or 6 every morning on the radio. The biggest offenders, SUV drivers. They think they're invulnerable and are the most likely to rearend someone (at least by my observations).

[Odinn]

On 3/3/2006 4:07 AM Upscale mumbled something about the following:

You should come to Hotlanta, Jawja and have a go round with the idiots we have here. I'm pretty sure that 99% of them got their drivers license out of a Cracker Jacks box.

[Greg G]

Add another metro resident to your list of 'those who vehemently agree with _all_ the above observations'.

Sounds like you experienced a heart-racing near miss today...

I used to ride, but after being the victim of 5 bone wrenching, high speed rear-enders (in cars, fortunately), I gave up on the thought. State Highway 41 was the location of 3 of them. I was forced to conclude that bikes are a mode of transportation best reserved for those who life a better life than I - and the track. :-\

FWIW,

Greg G.

[Frank Ketchum]

We have yet to see the evidence of this. Did you buy one yet Leon?

[Leon]

I had 2 Japanese bikes and a Harley. I had less problems with the Harley I greatly suspect because it was louder. I have had people bump into me while setting at a stop light. Living in Houston I finally gave up riding. Highway riding was the only safe riding.

[Leon]

I think the fact that they went into production and are selling is enough evidence. Just in this small group there have been responses from 3 different owners of the SawStop. One is getting ready to buy another, and Robin Lee has indicated that he is replacing all the TS's in his stores with Saw Stops. No, I have not bought one yet. I simply think it is a great idea and if I do ever replace my cabinet saw I will consider it. By then there may be something better out on the market. Powermatic has a new model that I would place between the SawStop and the other American style saws as far as added safety features. The trend is starting to shift in that direction. If you are going to be the only operator of the saw and have no need to purchase a new saw I would say wait. If you are in the market for a saw I would say strongly consider the SawStop if you can afford it.

[Upscale]

That would/does drive me nuts. I've never driven a motorbike, but I've had people repeatedly bump into me in my wheelchair. I'd guess riders on a bike would feel much the same as I feel in a wheelchair, it's an extension of me. Someone carelessly touching it is equivalent to someone touching me without my permission. I've had people bump me twice, but never a third time because I usually turn around with a snarl to chew the perpetrator out.