Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Sep 12, 2009 10:36pm | #1

   Hmmmm, you missed it first time around I guess.  Pretty cool if you like "scary."

   I sent it to my friend who's husband cut off the last 1/2" of his finger last year.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   bones | Sep 12, 2009 11:10pm | #2

   I'd seen the demo with the hot dog, but putting your own finger into the blade took guts. I was married by a judge - I should have asked for a jury.George Burns

1. 
   nikkiwood | Sep 14, 2009 08:48am | #3

   Guts? ............... for sure. But -- notice he wasn't really moving his finger, just holding it near the blade and then gently pushing it forward into the blade. I wonder if the result would be the same if you were pushing a board (as in ripping) through the saw at normal speed, and your finger got caught in the blade. Also, I wonder if the moisture level / conductivity of a hot dog and a finger are the same? Notice they ran a steak through the saw, and it did not trigger the stop.********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

1. 
   DougGF | Sep 15, 2009 02:26am | #5

   A friend of mine is a woodshop teacher in California and his shop has 2 Sawstops.  He has personally witnessed 4 events, 2 would have remove a finger or two and 2 were full-on hands into the blade.   In all cases the injuries required no more than a trip to the school nurse and a bandaid.  I can't image any school woodshop not investing in these. 

   Doug

1. 
   nikkiwood | Sep 15, 2009 02:42am | #6

   That answers my question................<G>I have always felt the SawStop technology was a valuable addition to woodworking machinery.And as you point out, it is particularly worth having in a school setting. I parted ways with them, however, when they initially tried to force legislation that would make their proprietary technology mandatory on all table saws sold in this country.********************************************************
   "It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."

   John Wooden 1910-

2. 
   James R. | Sep 15, 2009 02:48am | #7

   That steak was on a regular TS not the Sawstop.Jim

1. 
   ted | Sep 15, 2009 03:42am | #9

   Look closely, the fence says Sawstop on it. It's a Sawstop tablesaw with the brake mechanism turned off.

3. 
   Boogalee | Sep 15, 2009 02:53am | #8

   They ran a steak thru a saw without saw stop,

   I wonder the idea behind putting his hand in ice water before the demo.

   Even if i had invented saw stop, i would have hired someone else to do the demo.

4. 
   carver | Sep 16, 2009 05:13am | #12

   The steak was without SawStop

1. 
   EdgeGrain | Sep 17, 2009 01:35am | #13

   My friend taught woodworking for 30 years and there were no tablesaw accidents.

   If your friend teaching woodwork has witnessed 4 accidents in such a short time there's a problem with the teaching.

   In my opinion.

2. 
   Jammersix | Sep 17, 2009 03:52am | #14

   The first question that occurs to me when I hear a claim like that is "was there a tablesaw?"

3. 
   EdgeGrain | Sep 17, 2009 04:07am | #15

   His shop had 4 tablesaws, 2 bandsaws, 2 jointers, 3 planers, and a shaper.

   I was a student.

4. 
   carver | Sep 17, 2009 04:26am | #16

   What???

5. 
   Jammersix | Sep 17, 2009 07:54am | #17

   He said that those who never work as roofers don't fall off roofs.

6. 
   carver | Sep 17, 2009 04:57pm | #18

   Who said?

7. 
   Domer | Sep 19, 2009 12:30am | #20

   I have a SawStop and I hope I never activate the brake but hope it works if I ever do.Domer

8. 
   carver | Sep 19, 2009 12:50am | #21

   Absolutely, I have injured myself twice; once on the table saw, once on the jointer. Both times I was fatigued. Neither was too serious but both cast as much at the ER as the sawstop table saw. I didn't pay the ER charges but with the way things are going with insurance who knows?

9. 
   CStanford | Sep 17, 2009 10:45pm | #19

   "My friend taught woodworking for 30 years and there were no tablesaw accidents.If your friend teaching woodwork has witnessed 4 accidents in such a short time there's a problem with the teaching.In my opinion."Amen, the whole story sounds like bull$hit to me.

10. 
    danmart | Sep 19, 2009 01:46am | #23

    Well hears a word from someone in the trenches NOW.

    If you friend worked for 30 years --he started around 1979.

    Kids today are not anything like they were in 1979. They have their Ipods in their ears while you try to give a safety brief.

    You need something to stop kids from doing something dangerous when you turn your back. The sawstop is a great addition to any school setting.

    Its a powerful message to school board members  who met with lawyers before they came to your shop. Seeing is believing.

    If you had 24 young students today I think you might opt for the backup.

    d

11. 
    EdgeGrain | Sep 19, 2009 02:32am | #24

    At the start of the woodworking course my friend would show the class the "maple", a 1 x 3 board 3 feet long, and he would point out that if you acted up, clowned around, and didn't follow safty procedures he would lean you over the bench and make it so you couldn't sit down for a few days. He was backed up by the school board and only had to wack a couple of students per year.

    If a student has an Ipod in their ear they are not taking the course - throw them out. They won't learn anyway.

    It is quite possible to teach the use of a tablesaw to a level where an accident is unlikely.

    I think the sawstop is just fine - but you still need to know how to use a tablesaw safely. For example a Sawstop doesn't stop kickback.

    After 50 years of continuous tablesaw use I may still hurt myself, perhaps I'll get a Sawstop one day. But I think of the many guys I worked with through the years that were missing fingers and it didn't seem to slow them down. And they didn't all lose fingers on the tablesaw - I remember the day one fellow had one twisted off by a pipe threading machine when his shirt got caught and he grabbed it trying to pull it out. There's a lot of knowledge needed to keep your fingers while working in shops or industry - Sawstop covers just a little piece of the issue.

    Edited 9/18/2009 7:33 pm ET by EdgeGrain

2. 
   joinerswork | Sep 14, 2009 02:59pm | #4

   bones,

   You oughtta see the video of the guy who developed the kevlar  (bulletproof) vest, taking a 357 mag round to the chest from about 3' away.

   Ray

1. 
   Jammersix | Sep 15, 2009 04:02am | #10

   And he says "...and if it doesn't work, they will die. As I will."BANG!

2. 
   danmart | Sep 19, 2009 01:37am | #22

   seen that on film and a couple times at Ft Bragg. wow. not me amigo

   d

3. 
   Buster2000 | Sep 16, 2009 02:03am | #11

   i could have bought a Sawstop for about 30% of the new price when the local tool store closed at the begining of summer...  I didn't and I've been kicking myself since.

   Sawstop is such a smart technology.