Woodworkers get a load of this

Ripnem

Watch it to the end and you will probably jump and yelp like I did.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3mzhvMgrLE

RRP

Sawstop has been around for a while now. As a general contractor I assume you have read about it in some trade magazines. Recently a large dollar injury lawsuit was won by a worker who successfully sued his company for not having provided him with a Sawstop! The ramifications of this outcome may turn woodworking companies upside down!

RRP

Furthermore, the trade publication Workshop News has been following and reporting these developments religiously, because it's big. Besides the cost of their cabinet style table saw being around $1,500 more than that of other manufacturers the Sawstop is not perfect. False readings such as wet wood can trip it completely ruining the blades and requiring a replacement mechanism to the tune of $200. Sure $200 is cheap versus a worker's comp claim, but the point is the developer who as I recall is a lawyer himself has been lobbying like crazy to make his product become required by law in wood working shops. Stay tuned...you haven't heard the end of this product!

Ripnem

Ron,

That's one of the challenges of being a GC, your expected to know everything about everything. I've known one man like that and he spent most of his time reading this that and the other thing, while we handled all the work. I heard something about it years ago, but never saw it in action. 200 bucks is peanuts in comparison to sewing a fingy back on and then all the lawsuits, work comp, blabla.

You sure wouldn't catch me putting my finger in a saw. no way

RRP

I know $200 is cheap but if you read how this guy is hounding legislators and OSHA personnel his "concern for the workmen" is pretty thinly veiled! They have recently come out with a smaller "contractor style" saw so even more contractors such as yourself can fall under the mandatory Sawstop purchase and not just the large shops! The outcome of that lawsuit is far reaching!

Ripnem

That's a pretty slimy way of marketing. Wait...that ain't marketing :pinch:

Lawyers....

Gator Bait

 
That's quite a video. I have always been a progressive thinker, to the point that I thought we had this about 35 years ago on our band saw . . . . Nope - My bad. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:



Well, at least I never did that again. I found other ways to maim my poor hands. Two weeks later I almost took a finger off the other hand with a sharpened putty knife. The Doc in the ER thought it was deja vu. LOL.

Gator

 

Ripnem

I came really close to a bad bad day a few months ago. Thank goodness I only had the table saw blade 1/4" above my material. :pinch: Just a little nick

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

the company says that wet wood has no effect, that it's not nearly as conductive as our salty human bodies :laugh:

Gator Bait

 
Hahahaha, Ya, lets all stand under a tree durring the next thunderstorm. NOT.

 

Gator Bait

 
Glad it was only a nick Adam, those critters bite fast, hard and play for keeps.

 

Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker

that's not at all the same thing. trees aren't struck by lighting because they are wet wood.

seriously, though. half the comments on that video are from people guessing that wet wood might be an issue.

just wondering if that's people making stuff up and assuming (which is pretty common on the web), or if it is an actual documented issue. the developer of the saw responded that the difference in conductivity is so significant that wet wood has no effect

RRP

I no longer have my last copy of Woodshop News a monthly publication. They have devoted long articles about the Sawstop. In this last issue in particular it was pointed out that the safety feature has to be turned off when sawing pressure treated wood as it in fact trips the mechanism ruining the blade and the safety device. You know...plunking down $200 each time some boneheaded employee forgets to turn it off or even worst forgets to turn it back on might make an employer think twice about hiring people who are not safety conscious! The adage comes to mind of the best safety device is the one between your ears!

Gator Bait

 
Have you ever been struck by lightening under a dry tree St!ke? Just kidding, I understand the difference (a little). The narrator early on mentions salt a couple times as if that is a significant point. I can only wonder how significant.

Their web site only says,
"The human body has a relatively large inherent electrical capacitance and conductivity which cause the signal
to drop when a person contacts the blade. Wood has a relatively small inherent capacitance and conductivity
and does not cause the signal to drop." (HERE)


 

Fidel

I love it when you talk dirty.

thebtls

Table saw accident to the BONE last year...lucky for the direction of the cut for sure or it would have been done. I may look into a sawstop...Not...got $800 invested in this thumb already, now I know to pay attention, ha

RRP

Sorry to see that - trust me!

26 years ago I popped $2,300 for a top of this line brand new Delta 10" UniSaw for my home, which at that time was state of the art, blah blah blah.


Since then I have spent at least $400 more in safety devices let alone a bunch more in new fences etc. I just believe that the Sawstop is mostly marketing hype by a smart lawyer(s) blackmailing the USA. Their hopeful OSHA warning rip offs just p*sses me off!

Carolina Q

Ouch!! I have come close, but not THAT close. My worst was with a router. The small (duh!) chunk of wood I was practicing on (kickback) now sits prominently on my workbench with the warning... "DON'T BE STUPID!" written on it in bold letters!

Spring Chicken

Know all about it. NOW!...

I was a Test Dummy for them in 2008.



Haven't made that mistake again. Yet...

Spring "What A Difference A Moment Makes" Chicken
Spring Texas USA

Gator Bait

 
OOOOWWWWW!!!!!! You win Leroy, That looks like you tangled with a chainsaw!

 

Ripnem

Leroy,

That's so awful and so lucky at the same time. I'll bet you look at the table saw a whole different way since. Glad you still have all 3 flangies :pinch:

Spring Chicken

It was an interesting couple of minutes there while I made decisions as to where I should lie down to die LOL.

Spring "Drip Drip Drip Drip" Chicken

Spring Chicken

Yea, I have a lot more respect for people who think first then act.

Fortunately, I had set the saw up about a 1/8" above the piece I was cutting. Then my brain went dead and I put the three fingers on the piece as I pushed it through. I was actually cutting a groove in the wood and removed the safety guard. But I set the blade too high. The rest is history.

Growing up I learned to matriculate using my 'fangers' as counters. I just knew I was going to have to learn 'fanger-fractions' if I planned to keep counting the way I learned. You know, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ¾, 8 ½, 9¼, 10 = 8 ½

But I still have all of 'em and they all work. Sometimes, pure luck can replace pure stupid.

Spring "Cipher'n Is My Middle Name" Chicken

tach18k

Well his blade is way too high to be safely cutting, so I hate to see any wiener in a saw.

Clay Q

We have two sawstop table saws in our wood technology program at our technical college. Glad to have them.