RobbyW

I have been using a tablesaw for over 40 years. Twice, I have been bitten by the saw. Once when a push stick broke and once when I was cutting a dado and I did something stupid. Luckily, both time resulted in injuries that were more to my ego then my hands and bandaids took care of the problem. But they could have easily been worse.

Looking at the side of most of the manufacturers, I have to point out that the guards and splitters they provide on most of the saws until this year were junk. They got in the way of safe operation, couldn't be used for many operations, hard to align, etc. etc. etc. Many magazine reviews pointed this out, starting many years ago, but none of the manufactures really did anything to fix the problems until UL required the change to riving knifes. They could have made the change on their own, but didn't. Now they reap the rewards.

Second, many of us woodworkers routinely remove all of the safety equipment as soon as we get the saw. I have to admit I junked the splitter and guard that came with my old Rockwell contractor's saw. But I did replace the splitter with a Beisemeyer splitter setup and I have a hunch it has saved me a bunch of times. I do know that when it is on the saw, I haven't had any problems. I have replaced the original splitter blade with Shark Guard splitters from Leeway Workshop. They are as good as I am going to get for my saw. I am still looking for a good guard, but haven't found anything I really like yet. Guess I am going to have to make my own. Something that doesn't interfer with my using the saw and seeing what I am doing while collecting the dust along the way is what I want.

After looking at the Proposal to CPSC above, I don't think that the requirements can only be met by SawStop technology. Other methods could be used. The patents protecting the flesh sensing part could be a major blockade, but the requirements don't look like it. I am an engineer and if I were going to write a set of requirements, they would look very like the proposal. It will be interesting to see of the other saw manufacturers can get around the patents or decide to buy in.

If I could afford a SawStop Professional, I would buy it in a minute. It is a well made saw and has the advantage of the SawStop technology. SawStop truly came up with a better mousetrap and I salute them for it. Mr. Gass has promoted his invention well and I don't blame him for trying to make a buck from it. U.S. society is built on allowing someone to benefit from their work and his case is no different. If the controls of his saw and the riving knife release were on the front of his saw, I would call it perfect.

With all that said, I have to say that we should be responsible for using our equipment correctly. Use splitter and make sure that our hands are in a position so that if something were to happen, they won't contact the blade. It drives me nuts when I see a woodworking show and the saw doesn't at least have a splitter on it. They make a big fuss about unplugging the saw before changing the blade, but proceed to use it without guards and splitters. As someone said further down this list, "Put your brain in motion before you use the saw".

My biggest wish on almost any workbench for use with power tools is a place to store tools with the power cords connected, while keeping the dust and chips under control. Drawers don't cut it - Dust and chips collect in them. Cabinets are a pain because you end up on your knees digging around in the back of the cabinet. Shelves are quick to get the power tools out of and back into, but dust and chips are a problem there too. Downdraft tops are a possibility, but any opening big enough to grab router chips is big enough to have parts fall into.

Maybe a convenient way to plug the dust collection port on the tool into the dust collector and some sort of sensor for the tool power feeds that turns the dust collection on when the power tools are in use. I think putting it on the leg of the bench is a possibility.

For power connection, I screwed an outlet box with a duplex (dual) outlet on each leg of my workbench. Then I added those six outlet covers to each one so I have twelve outlets on the front of my bench. With the outlets on the legs, the cords are usually out of the way. Your picture may be a joke, but sort of like that with the six outlet covers added. I tried overhead outlets and outlets on the back of the bench, but I quit using them because I was constantly fighting cords. Plug strips under the bench edge interfere with clamping and the cords tend to get in the way.

A vise on each end on the front face of the bench, round dog holes, a substantial top (mine is made from face glued clear douglas fir 2x stock), a strong base (maple trestles), and some Rockler biscuits to elevate the piece being worked on over the bench top.

My favorite tool has to be my old Rockwell Contractor's Saw. A friend who was working at Rockwell on the space shuttle project bought it for me without a motor. I added a Grainger's Dayton 2 HP industrial grade motor with a high service factor and never looked back. The addition of a Beisemeyer fence, a link belt and new pulleys when the old ones wore out and a careful aligning have made this saw a pleasure to use.

Other power tools I reach for frequently are a 12" disk sander I made, my old Rockwell drill press and my Jet 14" bandsaw.

My favorite hand tool is probably the prewar #5 1/4 Stanley plane my father gave me. It fits my hands well, it light enough to be a pleasure to use, heavy enough to handle almost any task I throw at it. The addition of a Hauck blade has turned it into a gem.

My next favorite hand tool has to be my Record vise. I use it constantly without thinking about it, because it works well and I don't have to waste a lot of time fussing with it. A General try square rates up there too. I like it because it has an 8" blade with measurement markings, combining two jobs into one.

I have a benchtop disk sander and oscillating spindle sander. The disk sander is bolted to a cabinet and is one of my most used tools. The oscillating spindle sander is mounted on a stand and a mobile base. It gets chased all over the shop as my space needs require. It doesn't get used as much as the disk sander.

I have a cabinet with a rotating table top that has my grinders and buffers mounted on it. One 6" grinder has two aluminum oxide grinding wheels for sharpening. One 6" grinder has been turned around on its base and fitted with two hard felt buffing wheels for touching up edges. An 8" grinder has a wire wheel and grey grinding wheel for rough work and cleaning off metal. I just spin the top around to the grinder I need and away I go. Someday, I am going to add a 1" belt sander to it, which will fill the spaces on the top.

I also have an older Delta 13" planer that is officially "benchtop" but it weighs more than 100 lbs and is definitely a grunt to lift. It is on a mobile stand and gets moved around when needed. I have thought about building a stand that has the spindle sander on one side and the planer on the other, but it would be pretty lopsided. If that much weight got away from me, it would hurt. Cast iron doesn't bounce very well either.

The rest of my tools are all stationary types: Rockwell contractor's saw with 52" Biesemeyer fence and table, Rockwell drill press that I have had forever, Jet 14" lathe and a Jet 14" enclosed base bandsaw. None of these are on mobile bases, but all of my new cabinets are.