James Watriss
Member
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2008
- Messages
- 277
I, too, own one of them sawstop saws. it's a gem, yes, you can cut dadoes on it, and realistically, I think it's a better saw than most. Heavier construction, lot of thoughtful features... even without the sawstop technology, I think it's a very well made machine. I don't mind the riving knife, I think it's a great compromise for times when the guard gets in the way. I've experienced kickback, so anything that helps to keep that beast at bay is welcome in my shop.
Steve, I think you make a valid points that all table saw accidents are stupid. That's why they're called accidents. And when I gave myself a manicure on an old Tannewitz, it was definitely stupid. I was in a hurry, ripping thin stock, moved my left hand further forward than I normally would have, and zip. Part of my fingernail and nail bed. But I'm no incompetent. I do pretty good work. Minds wander, and not everyone is immune from being stupid once in a while. Hot day, just got in an argument on the phone, head not in the game... I made a dumb mistake. Doesn't mean I shouldn't own a saw, any more than the idea that any adolescent who gets into a fender bender shouldn't have a license. (That's another debate though, because there are many teenagers who shouldn't be allowed to drive anyway.) There are already too many people in the world who own table saws, that shouldn't. Too many of them learn from friends who don't know, or learned on mini saws that don't have the power that cabinet saws do, and are a lot more forgiving of the stereotypical stupid mistake.
I think there are some things that are worth using, like table saws. But the learning curve can be steep on the bigger units, if you don't know what you're doing. Everything we know can be traced back to someone who didn't, and learned the hard way. The other problem is, the accident rate plotted against age or experience looks like an inverted bell curve. A lot of idiots getting injured when they're young amd stupid )lr ignorant, which is different) and a lot of very wise and experienced people getting injured on that one day when their comfort level was too high, and the incremental march toward the very edge of safe behavior came to an end. It happens. Sometimes it's recoverable. Sometimes, it's an independent contractor who has to choose between having the finger re-attached, but going through physical therapy, or being able to go back to work in a week or two, and being able to pay the rent.
Everyone is stupid once in a while. And for someone who works on an (admittedly, brilliantly implemented) cutting table, rather than use a table saw, I find your remarks a little odd. Clearly you didn't dream that up just by sitting around and drinking coffee. Clearly, a competent human being. But if you don't have the common sense that comes from making a few stupid mistakes here and there, I wonder if you really should be using that thing unsupervised.
Steve, I think you make a valid points that all table saw accidents are stupid. That's why they're called accidents. And when I gave myself a manicure on an old Tannewitz, it was definitely stupid. I was in a hurry, ripping thin stock, moved my left hand further forward than I normally would have, and zip. Part of my fingernail and nail bed. But I'm no incompetent. I do pretty good work. Minds wander, and not everyone is immune from being stupid once in a while. Hot day, just got in an argument on the phone, head not in the game... I made a dumb mistake. Doesn't mean I shouldn't own a saw, any more than the idea that any adolescent who gets into a fender bender shouldn't have a license. (That's another debate though, because there are many teenagers who shouldn't be allowed to drive anyway.) There are already too many people in the world who own table saws, that shouldn't. Too many of them learn from friends who don't know, or learned on mini saws that don't have the power that cabinet saws do, and are a lot more forgiving of the stereotypical stupid mistake.
I think there are some things that are worth using, like table saws. But the learning curve can be steep on the bigger units, if you don't know what you're doing. Everything we know can be traced back to someone who didn't, and learned the hard way. The other problem is, the accident rate plotted against age or experience looks like an inverted bell curve. A lot of idiots getting injured when they're young amd stupid )lr ignorant, which is different) and a lot of very wise and experienced people getting injured on that one day when their comfort level was too high, and the incremental march toward the very edge of safe behavior came to an end. It happens. Sometimes it's recoverable. Sometimes, it's an independent contractor who has to choose between having the finger re-attached, but going through physical therapy, or being able to go back to work in a week or two, and being able to pay the rent.
Everyone is stupid once in a while. And for someone who works on an (admittedly, brilliantly implemented) cutting table, rather than use a table saw, I find your remarks a little odd. Clearly you didn't dream that up just by sitting around and drinking coffee. Clearly, a competent human being. But if you don't have the common sense that comes from making a few stupid mistakes here and there, I wonder if you really should be using that thing unsupervised.
