Saw stop and a glove

[Holmz]

I'm kind of surprised the owner/inventor of the SS has never done a video demo using his actual finger and feeding at normal speed.  What does he have to fear?

People are not a sporting as in the days of old.

 

[anthonyz]

I'm kind of surprised the owner/inventor of the SS has never done a video demo using his actual finger and feeding at normal speed.  What does he have to fear?

People are not a sporting as in the days of old.

Steve Gass on Discovery channel puts finger to the blade. This was the place I found the video.http://www.wimp.com/tablesaw/

 

[Michael1960]

A lapse in concentration is all it takes.  I still treat my SS PCS with just as much respect as any other saw. I use safety devices such as push sticks etc.
I don't change my driving habits when I get into a new car with all the safety features such as ABS, traction control, air bags etc....

 

[jbasen]

A lapse in concentration is all it takes.  I still treat my SS PCS with just as much respect as any other saw. I use safety devices such as push sticks etc.
I don't change my driving habits when I get into a new car with all the safety features such as ABS, traction control, air bags etc....

Exactly!  Air bags don't mean you shouldn't take extra care and fasten your seat belt too.

 

[Birdhunter]

I've got a checklist of table saw safety measures.

1. Safety glasses on
2. Blade guard down and kick back pawls engaged
3. Think through start, middle and end of cut regarding finger and body location. "Where will kickback piece go?"
4. For small pieces, I tape them to a big piece so I won't have to get fingers close to blade.
5. Do something else if tired or distracted.

Anyone else?

 

[jbasen]

I've got a checklist of table saw safety measures.

1. Safety glasses on
2. Blade guard down and kick back pawls engaged
3. Think through start, middle and end of cut regarding finger and body location. "Where will kickback piece go?"
4. For small pieces, I tape them to a big piece so I won't have to get fingers close to blade.
5. Do something else if tired or distracted.

Anyone else?

To keep work pieces firmly against the fence and avoid kick back I use either Jessem TS Stock guides or a Grip-Title Magnetic feather board

For small pieces I use a Microjig Grr-ripper push block.

 

[fdengel]

Exactly!  Air bags don't mean you shouldn't take extra care and fasten your seat belt too.

Particularly since of the two, seat belts don't have a track record of actually killing people who may have otherwise survived (air bags are credited with saving some lives, but there are known, confirmed cases where they have killed people too - statistics are out there if you search around for them).  Some people are more afraid of the air bags than they are of the crash that would have deployed them.

 

[greg mann]

Exactly!  Air bags don't mean you shouldn't take extra care and fasten your seat belt too.

Particularly since of the two, seat belts don't have a track record of actually killing people who may have otherwise survived (air bags are credited with saving some lives, but there are known, confirmed cases where they have killed people too - statistics are out there if you search around for them).  Some people are more afraid of the air bags than they are of the crash that would have deployed them.

Especially true in light of all the Takata issues. As a person who's life was unquestionably saved by a seat belt, way back in the early years when they were not nearly as effective as they are today, I am really beginning to question the perceived benefit of the airbag approach.

Thinking about what it will take to fix the airbag mess makes the Kapex issues look pretty minor.  [unsure]

 

[Stone Message]

Following the last couple of posts...

There is a school of thought that blames all the safety kit in cars for the rise in accidents. Apparently, people feel safer with safety features and so they drive faster or less carefully. Perhaps too many safety features can cause woodworkers to become complacent?

Despite all of this, as I turn the key in the workshop lock I always imagine how I will leave it - either ambling slowly looking for food in the house or desperate to get to the phone to call an ambulance.

Even if you have chain mail gloves, a Sawstop and a piece of shamrock in your pocket - please take care.

Peter

 

[jbasen]

Exactly!  Air bags don't mean you shouldn't take extra care and fasten your seat belt too.

Particularly since of the two, seat belts don't have a track record of actually killing people who may have otherwise survived (air bags are credited with saving some lives, but there are known, confirmed cases where they have killed people too - statistics are out there if you search around for them).  Some people are more afraid of the air bags than they are of the crash that would have deployed them.

If it weren't for both air bags and seat belts I wouldn't be posting on this forum today.

 

[JimD]

I think it adds safety to use a track saw instead of a table saw, even a slider.  Handling bit pieces on a table saw is not easy and if they get moving they are hard to stop.  Conversely, leaving the wood stationary and moving a 10 lb saw through it is pretty easy to control.  And the blade retracts as soon as you stop pushing it down.  Accuracy is as good. 

But I still need a table saw and do not currently have the funds for a SS.  So I try to be careful and to cheer for Bosch.

 

[Michael1960]

I've got a checklist of table saw safety measures.

1. Safety glasses on
2. Blade guard down and kick back pawls engaged
3. Think through start, middle and end of cut regarding finger and body location. "Where will kickback piece go?"
4. For small pieces, I tape them to a big piece so I won't have to get fingers close to blade.
5. Do something else if tired or distracted.

All very valid points. 
Also add - don't forget to lock the fence into position.  I made this mistake recently but fortunately picked it up before any problems.

Anyone else?

 

[Michael1960]

Sorry Birdhunter for incorrectly adding my comments into your reply. 

 

[Birdhunter]

No problem

 

[fifo28]

Just chiming in. I have the sawstop for a number of years. It was my third and probably last saw. I picked it for the features and quality not the safety features. The safety feature just put it over the top after I made my decision. I also like the accessories except the wheels with the lift. It did not work for me but it is a good product

I treat the saw like I would any other saw. The safety feature is just an added precaution I am glad I have but I don't rely on. If I am lucky I will never put it to the test but I can still highly recommend this saw

 

[johnbro]

I have a PM66 which I love and fear. A 3HP PCS is on my radar for later this year--frankly the dust collection and riving knife are as important to me as the blade brake. But if I'm buying up to get the RK and DC I'm going with the SS to get all the safety features--I make my income using a keyboard and can't afford to lose fingers. The more I look at them the more impressed I am with them as a great table saw, not just a safe one.

 

[Greg M]

I was not convinced by the demo and I am worried that people may have a false sense of security having seen it.

The sausage in the glove was not behaving like a finger or thumb in a glove would behave. Look carefully and you will see that as the glove makes contact with the saw blade it stops moving forward but the wood underneath continues to travel into the moving blade. You will also see the glove spring back to its original position with a kerf line going through its original position.

I do not believe that would happen in real life as one would (in the scenario shown) be pushing the wood with the gloved hand and it would therefore continue to travel with the wood below.

Now I am not saying that the Sawstop system would fail. I am just saying that this demonstration does not prove that it would work in a real life situation.

If you have a Sawstop please do not become complacent after seeing this ambiguous demonstration.

I think Todd Clippinger has an excellent video persona.

Peter

First let me say that I watch almost all of your videos and love them.

I think it is a good demonstration of the sawstop.  Think about it, the blade stopped as soon as it came in contact with the skin.  The blade took longer to go through the glove because there was little resistance to hold the glove in place.  The point of the video is that even through a glove once the blade hits skin it triggers the stop.  I watched another video where they took a sausage and slammed it down on the blade.  There was a nick on the sausage, nothing more. 

I trust my sawstop but that doesn't mean that I'm foolish.  I have other tools that are dangerous so I'm careful with all of them.

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Greg

I have no doubt that the Sawstop has and will continue to save digits and maybe even limbs. I just wanted to get across that people should still use the same amount of care that they would on a normal saw - even if it just to save the $$$ for the Sawstop repair after a crash.

Cheers.

Peter