cbf123

To "ajgilderson". It seems you missed the fact that it was the insurance company that sued Ryobi, not the injured man himself. The insurance paid out to cover the injury, then sued Ryobi to recoup their own costs.

That said, I do agree that the flooring company should have been found partly at fault for not properly training their employees and not using the safety guards.

It's not surprising that it was a flooring installer that ran into this. There's no safe cheap and fast way to do a long tapered rip cut on a 2" wide strip of flooring. The best option is likely a track saw, but that's not cheap or fast.

I find it interesting that FWW's coverage is so slanted. It's like you have a personal vendetta against Gass and Sawstop.

On a totally different note, one thing that many people are missing is that home reno contractors (and especially flooring guys) run their saws without safety equipment and without either fence or mitre guide *all the time* because the final board often needs a very shallowly angled rip to line up with the wall.

In my own house I used my bandsaw, which is far safer. There exist dedicated flooring saws now, but I suspect a lot of contractors don't have them yet.

Heck, my dad (who should know better) freehands stuff on the tablesaw regularly.

I wasn't willing to pay twice the price for a Sawstop Industrial compared to my import cabinet saw (the only option at the time). But if ubiquity can bring the price difference down to a few hundred bucks for a cabinet saw, I say it's money well spent.

I don't see a problem with the gov't regulating tablesaws. They control safety standards for vehicles, aircraft, electrical power systems, etc. so why not this? Heck, they already specify safety standards for the electrical components, why not the mechanical ones?

The "let me do what I want" argument only holds water if there is no societal cost when people make a mistake. I'd be fine if someone buying a saw with no protections also meant signing a waiver that you're on your own if something goes wrong. And that means Medicare, Medicaid, health insurance, etc. would all be null and void for any injury related to the saw.

As for blaming the employer--absolutely there is no excuse for not training employees. However, even with proper training accidents do happen.

Why duct tape? It's sticky, sheds threads, and the surface is crosshatched.

Clear packing tape works perfectly. It's thin, uniform, and glue doesn't stick to it at all. Even better, it's cheap.

The biggest problem I have with MDF is the fact that it's weaker and heavier than solid wood, so horizontal surfaces need to be carefully supported otherwise they'll sag under their own weight over time.

I made a 48" temporary countertop with a layer of mdf over a layer of construction ply, with plastic laminate on top and edged with oak. No aprons, supported at both ends. Over 8 years it has sagged noticeably. A solid wood equivalent wouldn't have done that.

I think MDO would be a better substrate for veneering. The smoothness of MDF with the higher strength and lighter weight of veneer core.

Honestly I've got most of the power tools and critical hand tools I need now, so my wishlist is getting more esoteric and specialized.

Some spare plane blades for special grinding, maybe a fore plane dedicated to rough work, a smaller crosscut saw, fine-toothed dovetail saw, etc.