dvanharn

1. Many comments ignore the fact that this system triggers on the guard, not the blade, so the slower stop speed is not as important as with the moving blade tooth being the trigger.

2. One comment said that Mr. Butler was violating safety rules by trapping a short cutoff between the fence and the blade - not true! He is actually using a projecting stop attached to the fence in front of the blade. When the cutoff is made, the stick he is cutting is held against the miter gauge, and there is plenty of space between the end of the cutoff piece and the fence, just as there should be. Nice try at putting down the inventor!

3. Another comment mentioned slow movement into the blade when most people demonstrate the Sawstop system. When I worked at a now-closed Woodcraft store, most of the employees were given the opportunity to do the hot dog test. I too was concerned with what would happen with a slam of a hand or finger into a running Sawstop blade, so I slapped my hot dog into the blade. Whereas the slow movement produced no cut on the hot dogs, my "slap" produced a 1/8" kerf cut about 1/4' long and 1/16" deep in the dog. If it were my finger or hand that touched the blade turning at 3400 r.p.m., it might have bled a fair amount. However, it would not have required stitches, and a band-aid and a bit of antibiotic ointment would have sufficed for treatment.

4. If I were a building or remodeling contractor with unskilled or semi-skilled laborers using my portable table saw, I would used a device like Mr. Butler's this whenever possible.

5. If I could afford a SawStop cabinet saw to replace my older DeWalt hybrid table-saw, I would do it in a heartbeat. SawStop table saws are solidly built, have an excellent fit and finish, are vibration free, and the brake is a nice bonus.

Dave

I sold Sawstop, Powermatic, Delta, DeWalt and Jet tablesaws first at Santa Rosa Tools, and next at the (recently closed) Woodcraft store in Santa Rosa, California for the past several years. My feelings and observations:

1. Slamming the hot dog into the blade: I got my opportunity to do the hot dog test during the SawStop training at the store. Rather than gently slide the hot dog on it's wooden sled into the blade, I stood to the side, grabbed the hot dog by one end and slammed it into the blade, which in my mind would simulate the worst kind of accident. The blade stopped and dropped with a band, and the hot dog had a wide cut (the 1/8" blade kerf) that was about 1/2" long and about 1/16" deep. It this happened to a finger it probably would have bled quite a bit, but a bit of antiseptic cream and a proper bandage would have worked to treat it. Very impressive!

2. Distilled water does not conduct electricity readily, but salt water does. Wet wood can often be cut without triggering the stop. Pressure treated wood has chemicals like copper salts or sodium borates in it, and will trigger the stop. The saws have a static test mode to help determine if a particular material will be a problem.

3. The the requirement for a really beefy chassis and and an heavy-duty articulated arbor would seem to eliminate any possibility of using this technology in any saw costing under $1,000 or more. No more plastic body, aluminum top Ryobi portable table saws for $120. SawStop had to delay the introduction of their contractor saw, supposedly because of the problem of achieving a cost-effective design with the beefiness required for the “blade slammer.” With cast-iron wings and a Biesmeyer-style fence, it will cost you at least 50% more than the excellent Powermatic 64A contractor’s saw.

4. It's hard for a dealer to make money selling SawStop table saws. I've heard comments that stores can sell many dozens of SawStops and barely make any profit. Power tool margins are not great, anyway, and I’ve heard that the SawStop margins, coupled with their stocking requirements, is a real burden. If the other majors are required to re-design around the SawStop technology and pay SawStop an 8% royalty, SawStop could undersell them easily, and perhaps drive them out of the tablesaw business. It gets messy and complicated when you look at the details and nuances.

5. Nomenclature and part numbers are a mess of incoherent and poorly organized names, numbers and letters. We would go crazy trying to make sure we had the right cartridges, fences, cast iron tables, rails, etc for the right saw. I hated working with that product line.

It appears to me that this was a company of nasty, greedy lawyers and marketers, and not woodworkers and logical thinkers.

However, they did get the engineering and manufacturing done to near perfection. SawStop products are very well designed, fit and finish are excellent, and they are a joy to use. If I could afford one to replace my DeWalt hybrid table saw, I would. I just hate giving my hard-earned money to people like these guys.

Sawstop thoughts:
1. They are very solid, well-made saws – fit and finish are top-notch. I have used an “Industrial” 3Hhp version (the big one) in the classroom at the local Woodcraft store.
2. The brake mechanism is amazing. I had an opportunity to set off the safety brake with a hot dog during a SawStop demo. I “whapped” the hot dog into the running blade instead sliding it gently into the sawblade on a board like everyone else. The result was a cut about ¼” long, about 1/16” deep, and with a 1/8” wide in the hot dog. Had it been my finger, it probably would have bled a lot, and then healed nicely after being cleaned with antiseptic and having a bandage applied. It would have been a minor injury with no need for sutures. A friend accidentally set off her Sawstop brake with a finger, and it left no visible scratch on her skin. School shops seem to buying these saws exclusively.
3. The extra beefiness and cost of building a saw with an articulated arbor to handle the massive forces caused by slamming down the blade and arbor in 5/1000 second seems to be much greater than Mr. Gass originally estimated. The contractor saw was finally released in 2008, 5 years after the initial announced release date in 2003: From Fine Homebuilding #157 (August, 2003):
“Gass estimates that the cost of retooling to accommodate his device could initially add as much as $150 to the retail price of a typical contractor's saw, but he predicts that large-scale production should be able to bring that costs below $100.”
“By the end of this year, SawStop expects to be producing a heavy-duty 10-in. contractor saw (base price: $699), and a stationary 10-in. cabinet saw (base price: $2,199), both of which feature the SawStop contact detection braking system. “
4. Mr. Gass seems to be determined to force the contractors of the world to buy his $1,600 contractors saw (which can be used as a “portable” worksite saw with available cart) instead of a $120 Ryobi from Home Depot. There are stories circulating that when Mr. Gass initially was rebuffed by the major table/cabinet saw manufacturers, he tried, as a lawyer, to promote laws to require his device. This really upset the manufacturers. He decided to design and manufacture his own saw, and indeed, did so. Now that he has his own saw line, and a monopoly on the safety brake system, he seems to be positioning himself to attempt to FORCE the rest of the industry to bow to him and license his technology.
5. The logic of the Osorio vs. Ryobi case means that SawStop can be sued for millions if some disables or removes the safety device on a SawStop saw and injures themself. Any volunteers for a sure get-rich quick scheme?