no hot dog here

[Michael Mahan]

slow mo finger into a saw

http://msnvideo.msn.com/?channelindex=2&from=en-us_msnhpvidmod#/video/c93fe03c-498c-4284-b09e-a06ba60ebbda

[Michael Weber]

I voted yes but the speed I would do so is directly proportional to the amount of $$$ offered.

[Ray Newman]

I voted "no": anything can malfunction at any given time....

[Victor Robinson]

Depends how much money, and if I'm allowed to dip my finger in ice water beforehand like Steve Gass did.

[J.R. Rutter]

I've done it once accidentally for no money. Felt like getting snapped by a big rubber band.

[phil harold]

I always wanted to see a hot dog or chicken leg introduced to the sawstop at high rate of speed...
now I find one
at about 4:01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnlTGndRi38

[Brian Tymchak]

I always wanted to see a hot dog or chicken leg introduced to the sawstop at high rate of speed...
now I find one
at about 4:01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnlTGndRi38

I've always wondered about that too. Good video. Pretty impressive results.

[Patrick McCarthy]

No, nor would I drive into a brick wall to test the airbag.

[Jeff Duncan]

How much money? Without a number it's pointless. I mean if you offer $10 I'd say no thank you. If you offer $10 million I'll be more than happy to. Tell me how much and I'll vote;)

JeffD

[scott spencer]

It depends on how much money, but I guess I have my price, so I voted yes.

[ken masoumi]

Well,the majority of the replies is no ,does that mean we still don't trust a well designed ,well tested /documented system like sawstop?or is it just human nature to be apprehensive?in my case I voted no only because I believe electronics can fail.

[Rick Potter]

That Tom Hintz video was the final straw in my getting a Sawstop.

One thing I have wondered about is whether it makes a difference between blades. I wonder if a full kerf blade stops slower than a lightweight thin kerf blade. There is a noticeable weight difference.

Any thoughts?

Rick Potter

[Pat Barry]

This system must depend on something else besides your finger touching the blade to initiate the brake, right? Does it mean you have to be touching the body of the saw as well so that your finger completes the circuit? What about 'wet' wood, such as treated lumber? Doesn't that initiate the brake also?

[Michael Mahan]

I always wanted to see a hot dog or chicken leg introduced to the sawstop at high rate of speed...
now I find one
at about 4:01
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnlTGndRi38I hadn't seen That Vid !
WoW pretty impressive to say the least , I was heavily leaning SawStop in my new TS ,That Vid sold me Big Time .
that's the kinda accident that will happen to a unexpected instance that has nothing to do with set-up or of bad practices .
sneeze, hiccup , fainting , your knee gives out at a bad time , any of these type of everyday 'out of the blue' things that can happen to anyone at any time BUT if these happen when @ the Table saw then that is & can be life changing or fatal .

[Michael Mahan]

This system must depend on something else besides your finger touching the blade to initiate the brake, right? Does it mean you have to be touching the body of the saw as well so that your finger completes the circuit? What about 'wet' wood, such as treated lumber? Doesn't that initiate the brake also?as I understand it,
wet wood will set off the brake & No just touching the blade with skin sets it off there is no circuit to complete , IF I understand the tech correctly .

[Lornie McCullough]

I voted no.... I guess I just assume that everything fails or falls apart eventually.

Lornie

[Keith Hankins]

Sure, I'm not cheap, but can be bought.

[John Downey]

Absolutely not. I don't horse around with my guns either, even if I know them to be unloaded. Don't poke rattlesnakes or get in a corral with an annoyed bull..... world's full of dangerous stuff, why be dumb enough to look for more? :D

[Mike Cutler]

Nope!
If there is any accuracy to the claims that the Sawstop has inadvertently fire the brake mechanism, it stands to reason that someday it will fail to actuate, when it should have.

[John Coloccia]

Well,the majority of the replies is no ,does that mean we still don't trust a well designed ,well tested /documented system like sawstop?or is it just human nature to be apprehensive?in my case I voted no only because I believe electronics can fail.

I also wouldn't drive a car into a brick wall, just because I have a seat belt and airbags. Believe me, if the SawStop was designed to the level of safety that I would bet my life on it, it would cost many many many many thousands of dollars...and I know because I've worked on life critical designs. Sawstop is not even in the same league...and neither are seat belts and airbags. These are devices that function when everything else goes wrong, but you would be stupid to trust your life to them....or your fingers or anything else you care about.

Sawstop owners would do well to respect their saws just as drivers would do well to respect not slamming into a brick wall. When the seatbelt locks, and the airbag deploys, maybe you get away with it, but I wouldn't trust that to protect me.

re: inadvertent firings
It wouldn't be a safe bet that just because it's fired sometimes when it shouldn't have (and I don't know that to be true) that it wouldn't fire when it should have. Maybe someone can correct the record, but the SawStop has been out for some time and I have yet to hear of any injury that has required anything more than a few stitches and a brake/blade change. Can anyone point to a truly serious injury anyone has received on a SawStop? I haven't found any...not a one. That's truly remarkable considering that last I checked the SS is the best selling cabinet saw for quite a few years now. Maybe there will be one someday, but let's stop the nonsense. There are many many verified saves, and unless I"m mistaken there are zero amputations, so the thing works...period.

But you won't catch me sticking MY finger in it, that's for sure.

[johnny means]

I voted yes. I'm a big believer and have been since I saw the first stories about Gass's invention. I wouldn't slam my palm down onto the blade. I would, though, touch the front of the blade in such a way that if the brake failed I would still only be minimally injured. In fact, I would do that on a regular cabinet saw for the right amount and it wouldn't take all that much. Really, I go to work every day knowing full well I'm going to get a boo boo now and then. Personally, I never thought Gass's touch was all that shocking. It's not like he really put his finger at risk of amputation.

As far as the chances of brake failure, IMO, there are to many failsafes built into the SS for that to be likely. Far to many things need to go right before the saw will even start up. More likely you'd end up with a saw that mysteriously just won't turn on.