highfigh

One thing that needs to happen ASAP is for the DIY shows to deal with safety for tablesaws and tools in general. I watched a few seconds of a show last weekend and the idiot clearly had no clue about safely ripping lumber. He was pressing the wood into the fence, with his hand directly across from the blade, with no riving knife or fence. No eye or hearing protection, no outfeed table (he had a noticeably inexperienced person pulling the work through) and I'm certain that he'll have a major incident in the near future. I have seen and done many things with a tablesaw, but this really pizzed me off! This is the reason so many people mangle their hands with power tools- they see some nimrod on TV and figure, "That doesn't look difficult. Honey, I'm going to Home Depot for some power tools!" without a single thought about how they need to be respected.

If the attorneys used these videos in the cases that caused some of the most recent decisions to award huge settlements to plaintiffs, the networks should be on the hook for a large portion. This is bulls*&t! The manufacturers have been making these machines for decades and only bad practices/inattention/no or bad training cause accidents like these.

Did anyone else notice that the damage to Thull's arm was a jagged break, not clean-cut by a spinning saw blade?

If the damage to Thull's arm is from what was described, it's his fault, regardless of what he said. He didn't support the material as it left the saw table and that's one of the most basic rules when using a table saw. He got a lawyer to make a strong case in order to persuade stupid people to see this as "the big, bad machine manufacturer ruined my life and I want money!" IIRC, Gass is a lawyer. There's no way he designed the Saw Stop device for any reason other than to make money. The speed with which he got his patents and other legal support wouldn't be possible if he was just "a guy with an idea".

$100/unit? Not as a retro-fit. Each cartridge costs more than that now and you can't just add it to an existing saw. The trunnions and bearings wouldn't withstand the forces exerted when the blade is made to stop as fast as it does when the aluminum block jams into the teeth. Then, there's the cost of a new blade. Not that the cost of the cartridge and blade should be more of a consideration than physical damage but with all of the people who have safely used a table saw for decades, I have to think that the risk lies with the user and this shouldn't be mandated by law.

Personally, I think the home improvement shows bear a lot of the responsibility for sending the message that anyone can do what they show on the programs. I see unsafe tool use every time I watch one of these hacks tackle one job, or another. I don't always see blade guards, push sticks, eye/ear protection and in some cases, I see a completely untrained person using a power tool that could cause a lot of harm. They need to make it clear that these can be operated safely, but it takes a bit of thought and planning.

I narfed my left index fingertip with my brand new T&G router bit. Did I whine and sue someone? Hell no! It was MY fault. I did something stupid and I will never do the same thing again because I learned from my mistake.

It doesn't show that all plans are free, just certain ones like the platform bed and Stylish Modern Credenza (which replaces the handsome credenza).