Check out this table saw...

[Luckydevil]

http://198.173.224.90/home.htm

This thing reads the electrical signals of what the blade is cutting. If it detects a finger it automaticall drops the blade for safety.

Check out the videos, very cool stuff.

 

[Major Ramifications]

That is absolutely amazing!

 

[iiibdsiil]

Could you imagine the practical joke you could play on someone with that? Would be worth the cut...

 

[gb387]

I saw that on TV a week or so ago, that is quite the saw.

I was curious what it took to rest the saw, on tv the saw mad a REALLY LOUD noise sounded like the saw was done for it. But I guess its better than a body part missing.

 

[byrdman]

If you were the guy in that video, how hard would it be for you to willingly slide your finger into that spinning blade? NOT ME MAN!

 

[OI812]

I get a magazine called "Tools of the Trade", and they had an article on this about one or two years ago. Glad to see it in actually use. I know a few people who have done just that.

 

[raceperformance]

That saw was on the Today Show a while ago and they used a hot dog for the demonstration. It barley put a nick in it. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[Major Ramifications]

No way in hell would I use my hot dog to demonstrate the saw !

 

[jpilgrim]

Look deeper into their site, they have a video or animation of the interior of the mechanism in action. The mechanism sacrifices itself to stop and retract the saw blade. It's definitely not resetable except by replacing the unit and blade and maybe the spindle. Better than losing a finger or hand, but I'd be pretty mad if it got a false trigger!

 

[Kurt4440]

I read about a the development of that saw in Fine Woodworking years ago. I know a couple of guys that have lost fingers or parts of fingers on woodworking equipment.

 

[Adam McLaughlin]

We have that saw at my work; not only is it a good saw it is also extra safe.

Nice piece of equipment.

Adam

 

[mrb]

I heard of someone cutting some thin sheetmetal (they aparrently didnt know it was this type of saw) and of course tripped it. They work the same as a touch lamp, senses capacitance from skin touching it (or metal that touches the blade)

The guy who invented it tried to license his technology to all the major tool manufacturers, none wanted it as it would actually increase their liability.

Sell a saw that is dangerous, include all the proper warnings, and youre in the clear if someone cuts their hand off as they knew they were using something that could cut their hand off.

On the other hand, sell a saw that is supposed to be safe and it cuts someones hand off, you are liable.

 

[Doug19]

Been around for a long time and is in a lot of high school woodshops. I have heard alot of mixed reviews but it does work. You have to be real careful with what you are cutting and know if it will trip the blade stop. Look around I remeber seeing a video with a guy sticking his finger into it, and there are pictures of people who have accidentally come to close to the blade.

 

[OccupantRJ]

I saw one demonstrated at the International Woodworking Show a few years back, and was able to get within a couple feet of it. It was pretty awesome. The rep used a hot dog on it to trip it. It makes a pretty loud bang and stops cold. The saw teeth bury into a block of aluminum upon activation. The replacement cartridge was $65 at the time.

RJ

 

[stevejh82]

I teach high school wood working and we have one. They are an amazingly well built machine without the safety features, which go beyond the stop feature. I used to do all of the cutting on our old table saw, but I feel comfortable letting students use the sawstop to do common rip cuts. They are competitively priced with other saws that have the same features, minus the stop feature.

 

[rsanter]

I have seen the saw in person and in action at a local woodworkers shop.
it looks like a well designed and stout machine.
the emergency brake is a piece of cast aluminum that is spring loaded that will release and get caught by the teeth on the blade. it will stop the blade near immediate.
replace the sacrificial piece and you may or may not have to replace the blade and you will bee good to go in 10 min

bob

 

[Elroy]

We have two Saw Stops at work and I can assure you brake deployment requires a blade replacement.

A long term employee, fully versed and capable got ******* in our old saw about two years ago. We were all very fortunate he only lost the very tip of a finger under the nail. So Saw Stop time it was.

We typically set off a brake every 3 or 4 months usually due to the operator failing to disarm the brake prior to cutting foil faced polyisocyanurate insulation board.

True it's only a 10 or 15 minute job to replace the brake and blade but the cartridges run around $80 plus the blade cost so it isn't exactly cheap. Compared to a finger or hand it's a bargain. They make a hell of noise when they go off.

 

[Elroy]

We typically set off a brake every 3 or 4 months usually due to the operator failing to disarm the brake prior to cutting foil faced polyisocyanurate insulation board.

And today was one of those days:

We have two Saw Stops at work and I can assure you brake deployment requires a blade replacement.

That blade is flat out buried in that brake shoe. Notice the extreme deformation present near the mounting pivot. Damage inflicted during deployment and a direct result of absorbing the blades kinetic energy.

Sure you might get that blade out but are you willing to risk having a carbide tooth fling off, only to enter your head like a bullet??

Do what Elroy does, put a new blade on it

 

[metal1313]

once i set up my new shop, in the distant future, im totally getting one of these.
i have a slightly shorter left thumb thanks to a circular saw kicking back and skipping into it. but hey it was headed towards the family jewels so i'll take the loss. but the really important bit of info here, is that even with insurance that little episode cost me around 2 grand. far less than the saw stop table saw. all in all though my total med bills were around 45k, i had to have some minor bone work, have lots of xrays to find out that i cut the bone, and shattered the lower bone, and the joint in my hand, then ended up needing a skin graft. my younger brothers reaction sums the damage up best, i peeled my SH-t like a banana

 

[willymakeit]

Ive worked with table saws ect. for 30 yrs. I'm not knocking this device, but it still doesnt repace a good, properly functioning guard and paying att. I look at my fingers every day and tell myself I'm going home with them.

 

[Snap-Off]

I like it!

 

[Stuart in MN]

Holy thread revival...5 years old.

 

[F3RR3T]

Being around a tablesaw on a daily basis i dont see the need for this. Common sense and lack of distraction is the best method for keeping your fingers out of the blade. Plus i like mine better,

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I've read a fair amount about the development of the Saw Stop. It works, as Elroy has shown. Now that the design is "perfected" and patented, the designer has been campaigning the US Consumer Protection Agency to make it mandatory on all table saws. Needless to say, other saw manufacturers are fighting it, as they do not like the idea of having to pay huge royalties to this guy. He has been pushing his "agenda" for several years now, and the Consumer Protection folks are very nearly ready to issue a rule requiring a blade safety feature on every table saw.

I like the product, but I don't like the idea that someone would then push the idea onto the rest of the country by Federal mandate, in order to benefit himself.

Charles

 

[metal1313]

in a large scale shop i dont see the need for it, but for someone who wants a good saw and only uses them occasionally i can justify the cost, it makes more sense to me.