ryno101

"Is that a challenge? I bet I COULD put my head through that hole... if I get the last of the stubble on my chin... hand me that inch and a half chisel, I think it's sharp enough."

There has been a large amount of vitriol flying around in this forum about this, and while I'm opposed to mandating this technology for all saws, it's not because of my view of the government, per se.

Ultimately, I think that the free market should determine this issue, and we should not let users performing dangerous cuts drive legislation. The injury that spurred this legislation in the first place was CLEARLY caused by user error. The guy was ripping hardwood flooring on a cheap saw, without using the fence, a blade guard or a push stick. The fact that the technology existed to "prevent" his injury doesn't imply (IMHO) liability on the part of the manufacturer of the saw, it's HIS EMPLOYER that should have been held liable!

Whether adding SawStop technology costs $100 or $500, that cost will ultimately lead to the elimination of the low-cost, benchtop saw, which is not built to handle the stresses of stopping the blade. Like many, my financial situation meant that if I wanted to get started in woodworking, there was no way I was going to be able to go out and buy a $800+ table saw. I'm now on my 3rd table saw in 6 years of woodworking. I will continue to buy the best tools that I can afford, and would love to get a SawStop, but my Craftsman "hybrid" cabinet saw was what I could afford.

I see this legislation as having the potential to eliminate the "weekend warrior" DIY'er, or worse, turning woodworking into something no longer accessible to all, regardless of their economic status.

I'm all for safety, when it doesn't contribute to the growing gap between the "haves" and the "have nots". If the jury on the case that spurred this had been woodworkers, we would never have gotten to this point.

I've got a set of bench chisels on my wish list... Unfortunately, it's not likely I'll be getting them.

Um, does this count as a cool avatar? I've been wanting to get a set of these cookies, to go with the new bench I'm building!

Popsicle sticks... they're perfect as stirrers, glue spreaders, shims, and they are the same size as a thin-kerf table saw blade, good for jig set-up.

I started off woodworking about 18 months ago, and bought a Jet benchtop contractor saw with a base, thinking it was the best saw I was going to get for the money. Power was adequate for my needs, dust collection wasn't too bad, and the saw was, for the most part, well made.

The most frustrating part of owning that saw was dealing with the fence. It was made from 3" x 1" extruded aluminum, wasn't square to the table, wasn't even square to itself. In order to get any consistency (the sides of the fence bowed out by about 1/8" over the 3") I had to add MDF faces and shim like heck. Because of the small size of the T engaged with the fence rails, every cut I made took forever. I had to slide the fence, measure from fence to the front and back of the blade to make sure it was square, and hold it gingerly in place while I locked down my settings. Making quick, repeatable cuts is one of the major advantages of a table saw for woodworking, and the Jet, while still an excellent contractor saw, is just not made for woodworking.

After owning it for a year, I bought a Craftsman hybrid with a commercial Biesemeyer fence, and I'll never look back.