watertownwoodshop

How would folks feel if some manufacturers make the table saws that were electrocuting people when they hit the on/off switch, or some of the blades were prone to flying off. Would they want to see something done about it, or would they be willing to let the market take care of it. We now expect the wiring to be safe, and the machine to hold together. We are used to the inherent danger of the current technology and can rail against government intrusion/regulation. But it is unreasonable to expect an agency whose mission is to reduce injuries to consumers to ignore a technology as effective as Saw-stop. If research shows that an improved blade guide is as effective as the Saw-stop, then both should be available. But one should not be ignored because the other exists. The other sad fact is that the cheapest saws are the most dangerous, but the prices of those saws will see the biggest percentage increase. So their manufacturers will fight this the hardest.

It would be odd if readers of FWW did not think there were some value to kids learning hand skills. And as a middle school woodshop teacher, i certainly do agree with the majority of readers on this point. However, i do believe that the attitude of the students is so radically different from ours in years past that it requires some understanding. I am guessing that most FWW readers grew up with a sense that doing something oneself had a value all its own. When i started teaching ten years ago (second career) i assumed my students felt the same way. One day i was helping a young man who kept asking me, "Will this look just like something from the store?" I suggested that it would look even better because people would know that he had made something useful himself. He said, "Oh no, i don't want anyone to know that i made it." I was stunned, "Why not?" i asked. "Because then they'll know i go to a sped [special needs] school." Which indeed he did. In our area high end private schools and special needs schools are the only places students get the chance to do woodworking. And that fact alone affects students attitudes to the subject. And sensitivity to that fact is important when trying to instill students with a feel for the value of doing it themselves.