Saw Stop

[Greg McKaskle]

Chris beat me to it, but it was actually demoed at NIWeek 2005.

Greg McKaskle

[davidthefat]

Oh, our team got one of those this year.

[IndySam]

A little tip

Don't try to cut honeycomb aluminum with one

[rees2001]

We have tripped ours a couple of times over the past 3 years we have had it in our shop. Never on a body-part. The first time I had to replace the cartridge was because of mirrored plastic. Just enouh metal in the paint I suppose. The second time was during a summer break and the maintenance department didn't know they couldn't cut metal. The last time was this past Saturday. I didn't give good enough instructions to our new teacher, he figured the over-ride key was in & he was safe to cut metal. Needless to say it barely even touched the plate before tripping. It actually left a mark in the edge that looks alot like an M. We could actully count the teeth that made contact with the metal. 4. It is a really impressive tool if you can afford one.
(& the replacment cartridges cost about $70 each time you trip the machine)

[Chexposito]

to go off of driven crazy, there was someone who had hurt their hand on the traditional table saw in the school shop. it's really good for schools because it takes away some risk of student injury in a shop. Also as far as expense goes... as per the video from time warp: about $60 for a replacement system, or several hundred dollars in medical bills, along with all the other things that come with an open wound injury. I know which i would choose, plus the first thing i'd do when i got one would be to run a hot dog through it.

[engunneer]

Originally Posted by rees2001

The second time was during a summer break and the maintenance department didn't know they couldn't cut metal. The last time was this past Saturday.

I hope they bought the replacement.

For a school, it should be a no-brainer. Just make a rule that anyone who sets it off has to replace it, but they should be happy to pay the $70 instead of going to the hospital! Then you need a way of keeping track of who uses the saw (they sign out a key to turn on the power or some such). Whoever has the key owes the $70.

[mrnoble]

It is incorrect to say that this is expensive. It costs about $150 more than a table saw of similar quality from any other company, and is better than most other comps in ways other than the stop mechanism. It has been around for some time. The biggest expense potential is for the brakes (about $70) and blades. We saved a finger on ours this year, and I'd say it's well worth it.

[MrBasse]

I agree that this is a very cool idea. I researched this for a possible purchase in the school I taught in 4 or 5 years back. We came to the conclusion that if you teach kids to use the saw properly they shouldn't have any danger of cutting themselves. The real danger on a table saw is kick back. I can avoid a spinning blade no problem when feeding work into a saw, but a workpiece coming back at me at 150 mph is another story. If you cut yourself on a table saw blade, you didn't follow directions. Anyone who cuts anything off on a table saw has blatently ignored directions and safety.

My favorite text book I ever taught out of said in big bold print: There is no such thing as an accident, there are however, times when people do foolish things by ignoring established protocol and common sense.

For people who have these saws... what kind of damage does the block do to the blade on the saw? Any rotational mass that goes from 6000rpm to 0 instantly would make me very nervous to re-use. That can considerably up the cost for reset.

[engunneer]

Originally Posted by MrBasse

For people who have these saws... what kind of damage does the block do to the blade on the saw? Any rotational mass that goes from 6000rpm to 0 instantly would make me very nervous to re-use. That can considerably up the cost for reset.

The blade and the brake are completely destroyed (for the purposes of re-use) by the stopping action. Both need to be replaced.
An Inside view

[MrBasse]

Thats what I thought I remembered from my research... So that makes replacement go from $70 up to anywhere from $120-200. Thats a big difference.

[jvriezen]

The story I've heard about other manufacturers avoiding this technology involves lawsuits. Conventional table saws are clearly highly dangerous machines, and conventional injury cases have always sided with the saw company-- basically if you hurt yourself, its your fault because the dangers are so clearly obvious.

If they put in the technology, consumers may have a legitimate lawsuit if something bad does happen (like it doesn't stop or stop fast enough).

P.S. our school updated to these a year or two ago.. I know they've been tripped a few times, not sure by what.

[Phyrxes]

Our school's woodshop has one, we tripped it ripping bumper plywood one year. Apparently wood with too much moisture in it will also set off the sensor, we didn't even consider it since we had just purchased the sheet like an hour before.

[Chi Meson]

I had the luxury of tripping our Saw Stop last year. Rule one:

NEVER RE-USE WOOD! (or make sure you have a metal detector)

There was a shaft of a drywall screw in the 3/4" plywood I was cutting and the blade disappeared immediately. You can get replacement brakes for as little as $50, but a brand new sheet of ply is only $25.

The table is sweet, though. I have never used a better bench saw than this baby. The fence is deep and wide and fixes itself perfectly parallel to the blade. The attached rule is totally accurate; I've never needed to remeasure the fence to blade distance.