Safety devices on professional grade tools

[ADSR]

Now this is one topic that really gets me annoyed. When i first bought my 36v dewalt 4 piece kit back in 08, the safety on the circular saw made me blow a gasket! If i wanted a thumb activated safety on a circ saw, i would buy a home handy hacker special. I paid 1200 bucks for a pro grade set of tools, why the hell does the saw have a safety? A 29 dollar B&D corded from walmart doesn't have one, but mine does?

Here is my problem with it. Being a framing carpenter, sometimes i have to make awkward cuts. If i'm hanging off a truss, with the saw upside down, and my pinky finger on the trigger, the last thing i'm thinking about is having to deal with an extra safety device on the saw. Are these cordless saws cutting peoples fingers off left, right and center? Are they like the new non venting gas cans? They have to make them safe for all the dumb-dumb's to use too?

Although the safeties are easy to pull out, this leads to another problem, warranty. Now that you've opened the tool, it's no longer covered. They have stickers inside that rip as soon as you open the case.

IMO, tools designed for professional use should have an opt-out safety option.

Where do you guys stand on this?

 

[jjjrmx5]

The tool users are those that get injured and the lawyers hired by the tool mfgr. are the ones that mandate the safety devices. Well, and the Gov't.

Personal injury lawyers, OHSA and worker's comp. would jump all over this like a stink bug on a grape.

Make or modify a tool unsafe to use, injure yourself and then try and sue someone is the mantra that requires the need for such safety devices.

They impede productivity but at the expense of safety and litigation.

Ask the guy who trimed his hedges by lifting his his lawn mower and then go on to sue one injured because it does not say he couldn't in the owners manual.

It's an American thing.

 

[jakemac]

I blame OSHA.

Duct Tape will fix the trigger issue. Just don't let the inspectors see it.

 

[Burgerkong]

My new Skil doesn't have a safety and I am grateful. My old B&D has no safety either. Guess people were smarter back then.

 

[ADSR]

My new Skil doesn't have a safety and I am grateful. My old B&D has no safety either. Guess people were smarter back then.

Corded doesn't seem to have them. It's the cordless circs that have them for some reason. I'm not sure if it's because some people might mistake them for a toy?

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Where do you guys stand on this?

This kind of stuff really gets my goat too. There is no thought given to training new hires to use their brain, the government mandates "safety" instead of forethought. There are other instances of this type of bubblewrapping of society; it is against the law to pull over to the side of the road to allow someone to pass. One of the reasons I fell in love with Alberta when I moved out here 25 years ago was the considerate drivers. I don't see that anymore and that's sad that the government makes laws against considerate drivers because the government would rather make a law than train drivers to be responsible for their own actions.
Rant over,

Richard

 

[MrMark]

It's probably because they are cordless and can go off without being plugged in. I understand why it is there and agree it is annoying to use, but overall it is probably a good thing.

 

[rsanter]

It's because of all the dumb asses out there
I used to work for B&D and we got tools all the time in that had safety stuff disabled. We warranted the tool as long as the disabling of the safety didn't cause the warranty problem

Bob

 

[sloppy]

I blame OSHA.

Duct Tape will fix the trigger issue. Just don't let the inspectors see it.

They are setup kinda goofy it would be hard to tape them. I think you would have to actually mod the switch.. Maybe you could cram tap under the safety but it would be hard to get something to stay without making the saw crappy to use..

I cant stand this on my milwaukee either.. It really seems more unsafe when I am fighting with the safety making a tricky cut..

 

[ADSR]

They are setup kinda goofy it would be hard to tape them. I think you would have to actually mod the switch.. Maybe you could cram tap under the safety but it would be hard to get something to stay without making the saw crappy to use..

I cant stand this on my milwaukee either.. It really seems more unsafe when I am fighting with the safety making a tricky cut..

I pulled the one out of my Dewalt 2 weeks into owning it back in 08. Took 10 minutes. I'll be doing the same to the new fuel circ saw i'm getting in a couple weeks.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

I am all for safety; but some of those devices are poorly designed....

 

[MJB24]

Corded doesn't seem to have them. It's the cordless circs that have them for some reason. I'm not sure if it's because some people might mistake them for a toy?

With lockout tagout you can lock up the plug when working on it. With battery there is no lockout other than taking the battery off. This might have something to do with it.

 

[bcradio]

I pulled the one out of my Dewalt 2 weeks into owning it back in 08. Took 10 minutes. I'll be doing the same to the new fuel circ saw i'm getting in a couple weeks.

So you pulled it out? Wouldn't that just leave the safety enabled all the time?

I have the Dewalt 36v kit too, but I have not touched the safety switch as I just use it for home projects which isn't super often.

 

[mrjaw14]

yeah I have some ridgid tools and the recip saw and circ saw both have those annoying safteys. I don't like safetys on my guns either...won't be too long before those are mandated on all of those too I suppose.

 

[MJB24]

yeah I have some ridgid tools and the recip saw and circ saw both have those annoying safteys. I don't like safetys on my guns either...won't be too long before those are mandated on all of those too I suppose.

Luckily we have the some sort of legal protection on that for now. I can handle the grip safety on my XDM and XDS.

 

[Farmall450]

Corded doesn't seem to have them. It's the cordless circs that have them for some reason. I'm not sure if it's because some people might mistake them for a toy?

Yes, a heavy metal saw with a sharp metal blade.

 

[Southernbuild]

I frequently carry cordless tools from a hook on my tool belt. Ever since the day a sawzall turned on, that was hanging from my toolbelt, while I was climbing a ladder, I've grown more accepting of safety switches.... So, this leads my to wonder if the safeties because the tools are mostly moved / stored powered, unlike corded tools, which are mostly just powered where they are being used.

 

[ADSR]

So you pulled it out? Wouldn't that just leave the safety enabled all the time?

I have the Dewalt 36v kit too, but I have not touched the safety switch as I just use it for home projects which isn't super often.

No sir. It's a lobe type rocker.

 

[crewchief888]

it's to keep consumers who think they know what they are doing from injuring themselves, and then blaming the manufacturer of said tool.



theres a LOT of people out there that really have no business with a power tool in their hands.

 

[comedyman809]

they have these things called lawsuits
people like to sue
if someone bought a dewalt tool and cut their fingers off, they sue dewalt, and dewalt says, well he should of known better, and then they lose millions.
not worth the liability for some people that like to bypass safeties

 

[Packard V8]

FWIW, some of the lawyer switches make the tool less safe to use.

Just yesterday, I was using a Makita gas-powered chop saw to cut some re-bar. The "choke-on-off" switch was placed so every time I picked it up to use it, when I gripped the handle, my right thumb hit the switch down to "OFF". I had to develop the habit of keeping my thumb up and away, which naturally gives a weaker grip and less control of the big, heavy, dangerous machine

jack vines