RogerDF

While doing my due diligence with Sawstop prior to a purchase, I learned that Sawstop will buy your brake module if you activate it with actual flesh. The module includes many data points that can be extracted for analysis and tuning of their software. Those data points include the number of 'tooth touches'. The average number of touches, the guy told me, is 2.

That said, for the Sawstop mechanism to work, you must be injured. There must be an electrical contact between you and the blade. If you are young with sweaty fingers, it won't take much. If you are old and have calloused fingers, the blade will have to hit meat.

So if you slap your hand into a blade, you are going to bleed. I think it unlikely that you will suffer an amputation.

I have a Sawstop and I prefer the presence of the additionally safety to the lack of it. I've had a one saw or another for about 30 years without injury. I got a SS about 6 months ago and it was an easy decision. At the root of my thinking was, "Why the heck not?".

I have a Sawstop ICS and love it. For months after getting that thing, I kept finding little design florishes that made it easier to use. This is not just another cabinet saw with a safety feature. It's a really great saw.

Sawstop is well on the way to pushing other saws off the market.

For schools, Sawstop is a no-brainer. There is a form letter circulating among wood shop teachers that they send to the superintendent and board members. It basically says, "If some kid cuts his thumb off, you have been warned. Don't blame me". The Sawstop generally shows up in a week or so.

For cabinet shops, a Sawstop is a heck of a lot cheaper than rising insurance rates. I'm told that insurance companies are paying attention to whether or not a shop has a Sawstop.

At my local Woodcraft, the manager told me that he is on the verge of dropping the PM and Delta saws. A customer comes in to look at saws with his/her spouse and it's generally the spouse that demands the Sawstop. The manager tells me that he has a hard time keeping the Sawstops in stock. The PM and Deltas aren't moving.

That leaves the small timers: contractors (like Osorio) and the weekend warriors. In the case of the latter, I think a case can be made that the $99 saw in the hands of an amateur is dangerous in many ways and maybe there should be no such thing as a saw made that cheaply. I had one once and it was so dangerous that when I got a better one, I disassembled it and threw it away to make sure no one ever used it. I can easily imagine a budding hobbyist discouraged and dropping out because repeated failures due to a cheap saw.

Honestly, I wonder what will happen if the CPSC does require flesh detection. Originally, Gass didn't want to be in the saw business but now he's in it. His engineers are busy at work adapting the technology to jointers and cutoff saws. I'm not at all sure that he will be interested in licensing the technology.

This is just the easel I am looking for. I want to make a stand for my 55" flat screen and I want it to look like an artists easel. I am at a bit of disadvantage in that I am not an artist, have no artist friends and have never seen a studio easel up close.

Would you happen to have any more photos or, better yet, drawings that you could send me.

my email address is rogerrdkfus

Thanks in advance.

Plastic cans are coming. I use General Finishes water based varnish and have had a lot of trouble with rust. The newer GF cans are plastic but still have a metal Chime (the rim and lid) which still rust. At $18/quart, this was pretty frustrating.

I can't remember the name of the company but there are all plastic cans out there. I ordered a dozen and transferred the labels from my collection of water based varnishes and stains. The nice thing about water based is when they are empty, I can wash and refill them.