World's Shortest Man

On a separate note, I guess sawstop probably doesn't spend too much money marketing to butchers (or anyone else who'd actually want to cut hot dogs with it).

I'm glad to see this post. I've been wondering about how this works. I'll shill out the extra bucks for this.

OK - but how am I going to cut my hotdogs?

we got this in our school woodshop its great i absoultly love this saw

no, it's a shame your friend wasn't a retarded retard back then.

no, i'm sorry for that. i thought it'd be funny. it was not.

but ps, i kept your friends fingers. my lil severed digit pleasure pointers

Once thing they didn't say: What happens when it resets? Now can you cut anything?
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...

@Kurt Richter: you have to replace the fuse wire that burns in the trip mechanism. You can still cut after sawstop trips but your blade is now garbage now having dug into the aluminum pawl and brake block. So a blade change is in order.

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.

The motor brake they use will damage the saw itself. Because it stops the blade so suddenly it can bend the main shaft of the saw creating an expensive repair. Of course you would still have your fingers. Playing the hot dog trick for your friends with your new saw would be ill advised.

Why have a motor brake at all? It seems like the blade retracting into the housing is safety feature enough...

Haven't I read somewhere that most digit-severing accidents happen on chopsaws, not on table saws? Maybe I'm wrong.

A gizmo like this could give kids in shop class false confidence. Fear of a spinning blade and respect for guards is what should keep fingers away from saws--not blind faith in hidden technology that might or might not be installed and working properly.

"A gizmo like this could give kids in shop class false confidence."

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.

“A gizmo like this could give kids in shop class false confidence.”

I dunno, if my finger were nicked like that hot dog was, I think that would be enough to make me very careful. Ouch!

Um, yeah...I learned pretty quick not to set the blade so high on a table saw. Fingers cut off can be avoided with appropriate safety measures and practices. Idiots.

well, this saw was obviously invented because of retards who can't think of that the saw can cut of your finger if you put it directly in front of the blade and start cutting. and remember:
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...

macduff agrees with some of saw stop's technology, macduff's simple technology uses existing table saws, large or small but has the fence fixed or in a stationary position on a sliding support platform that transverses the width of existing tables to give the width of cut, the fence will not flex or deviate and is always parallel to the blade, safety devices are all placed up front of the blade, not behind the blade!!!! are all automatic in width and height of material, will automatically hold pressure down and against the fixed fence, with the pawls in constant contact with the material at any adjustable position along the length of the fixed fence. many designs to choose from to suit the individual operation all on a work table 50 * 30 ins. slainte mhath macduff