Every year, over 60,000 people are injured, often severely, by table saws. To prevent these injuries, SawStop has developed a revolutionary table saw that virtually eliminates the risk of losing a finger. To see what happens when the blade hits a simulated finger (a hot dog), push play or see this link [youtube].
I actually had a friend in high school lose two fingers on a table saw during shop class, it's a shame they didn't sell something like this back then.
This is the same company that tried to sell the motor brake control on its own merits and couldn't -- no user or saw manufacturer wanted it! So now they're trying to pass laws through Congress making this a mandatory requirement, and they're the only supplier. Talk about forcing a monopoly down every saw manufacturer's throat. If they can't sell it as an option based on performance...
I hate childproofing the world on the whole and Sawstop won't stop all the injuries: pieces can still bind and kick, debris can still be launched into eyes, flesh, carbide teeth can still fly, etc. But if this wasn't approx. an additional $1000 more (a comparable Unisaw runs about $1900) I wouldn't mind having one. I hate the legal bullshit the inventor is perpetrating; why can't he just 'make the saw-sell the saw'?
I still have questions though: Why wouldn't UL issue a certification? I've seen the UL stamp on some of the sketchiest stuff in the universe.
And does this gizmo work when your hand is making contact with the conductive metal table as well? Would it prematurely trip if I was pushing a particularly wet piece of wood through? If I had to reset and buy a new blade every time I pushed a green piece of stock through, that saw would be on the truck in about 5 minutes.
Too bad the inventor/jackass has effectively blocked much of the approval process by virtue of his avalanche of patents.
Haven't I read somewhere that most digit-severing accidents happen on chopsaws, not on table saws? Maybe I'm wrong.
Sure, but you could still drill the kids in safety: just don't tell them it's a safety saw and you'll always have it as a fallback.
I dunno, if my finger were nicked like that hot dog was, I think that would be enough to make me very careful. Ouch!
use goggles, gloves to prevent debris in your hands, no lose or hanging clothes, tie up your hair, use a bandana or similar f you feel like, and hold on the 'sides' of the piecde your cutting, so you would have distance to the blade. I'm at a mechanical line, so I know this...