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Two things. First, "what is wrong with you people?" Lawyers. It was clear that there absolutely no reason other than deep pockets for suing the saw manufacturer. There were guards and if the worker had used them, and if the employer had observed the modicum of OSHA requirements there would have been no injury. So, stupid worker, sloppy employer, greedy lawyer (well, maybe just a hungry one).

Second, "why hasn't Sawstop technology been licensed?" It would seem to be a no-brainer for manufacturers to do so. Since they haven't, and they do have experience with lawyers, it would appear that the patent holder has some really vicious licensing. If we get rid of patents, and instead look to the market to establish reasonable margins, the tablesaw might be a good deal safer.

It would have been nice if the "sleeve" issue had a better range where the choice could be selected. I picked the wrong spot three times. Otherwise, pretty cool.

Another possibly indirect influence is notable. Some of the examples of Danish furniture at Danish-Furniture are very reminiscent of classical Chinese work, some of the chairs especially.

While I've never had a steel hammer chip, I've never wailed away on anything while using a steel hammer with enough force to classify the "use" as abuse. I have chipped splitting wedges with a sledge.

On the other hand, I chip stone. I can and have chipped stone all day and know just where each chip will come from and where it will go. The chief lesson learned is that chips are predictable. Any brittle material will chip and the geometry of the strike and striking surfaces, the relative hardness and toughness of the hammer and the object being struck all enter into the result. You would not for instance try to chip glass with a glass impactor.

If you try driving the claws of one hammer under a nail using a another hammer, the plane of the strike interface is going to run through your body, possibly even your head. Since the hammer faces are likely to be nearly equal in the important physical traits (like two pieces of glass or obsidian), either piece may chip. Since the primary degrees of freedom of motion for resulting chip motions are going cluster around the plane between the impacting surfaces; the motion of chips is going to be within a few degrees of that plain. If you can see that point, that's bad. If someone else's body can be intersected by that plane, that's bad. If a surface is present near the blow and and could serve to cause ricochets, that is not good either.

Adequate safety precautions are fairly simple. First, never, ever strike two objects of similar composition and physical character together (well lead or copper will probably be OK, but even brass will sometimes crack and chip). Second, wear safety gear. Third, have others clear out of the potential discharge path of resulting chips. Fourth, a backstop should be a material a chip will embed in rather than bounce off. So peen on a piece of plywood on the workbench, NOT on the cast iron saw table.

JDougherty