Ever trigger your Sawstop safety cartridge? How?

[Brent Romero]

Still deliberating...

[jim mills]

There are several threads on this topic. Just search

[Jerome Stanek]

the company I used to work for has 2 sawstops and one or the other will trigger about once a month for no reason other than the cheap plywood they use. most of the time the persons hands are 4 to 8 feet away from the blade and not even touching the saw itself.

[Cody Colston]

I think a better question would be, "has anyone ever had their Sawstop not trigger when it should have done so.?"

[Daniel Smith]

Incra's aluminum mitre gauges seem to be a popular culprit.

[Wade Lippman]

Incra's aluminum mitre gauges seem to be a popular culprit.

I nailed one before my SS. Now I am really really careful about it. That can't be a bad thing.

[Mike Henderson]

Yep, I got one by being too fast to measure for the next cut. Touched the barely spinning blade with the rule. More careful now.

I'll pay that price any day to save my fingers. Cody's comment is spot on - "Does the SawStop protect your fingers?" I've not heard of a case where it didn't.

My fingers are extremely valuable to me. I'm very attached to them and want them to stay that way.

Mike

[Prashun Patel]

Incra's aluminum mitre gauges seem to be a popular culprit.

I did this twice. But twice in 4 years. I don't experience the saw to misfire. It HAS spun down (not tripped) when cutting green wood as if to warn me: I'm going to trip if you keep doing this.

[Michael Peet]

I did, firmware problem in the brake cartridge. This was several years ago, the new ones don't have this issue. SS replaced the brake and since it tripped on startup the blade was pretty much okay as I recall.

Thread about it here:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?155007-Rogue-Sawstop-Brake-Activation

Mike

[Michael Sapper]

I had my first firing a few weeks ago while cutting a piece of veneered 1/4" plywood. It was old piece that I purchased as part of a large Craigslist ad. I didn't notice that the veneer was foil backed before making my cut. There was nothing obvious in looking at the wood that it contained foil. The SS triggered about 1 inch into the cut and then I could see the shinny foil. I had my fingers pressing on the back edge of the board so I guess the foil completed the circuit. Lesson learned! SS did replace the cartridge for free! Love the saw!

[David Malicky]

Twice. Once due to nicking an aluminum T-track in a cross-cut sled. Second: we have a 5" flex duct above the blade, in a pull-down arrangement. This flex-duct had a metal wire loop, and fell on the blade. Now our flex-duct has a plastic loop.

[glenn bradley]

Twice. Once cutting a piece that had a piece of metal tape measure attached that I somehow missed (not paying attention obviously). Once cutting some plastic that was static dissipating (read conductive). There is a simple bypass procedure that allows you to make a test run at anything that you think might be a problem. I now do this faithfully . . . hmm, I wonder why ;-)

In a nutshell, the system fires as it should. If you feed the saw a trigger it will fire. Of the gazillion cuts I have made on the saw, I fired twice and was at fault both times. I use an incra miter gauge (steel and aluminum galore) and various sleds and fixtures with metal track in them or metal holddowns. I have never had an issue with any of these although the first time I use a new jig or fixture I use bypass mode to check and see if a triggering would have occurred. For the two firings I must've forgotten to read the sign I have up in the shop . . . "This Machine Has No Brain. Use Yours!"

[Ben Rivel]

I must've forgotten to read the sign I have up in the shop . . . "This Machine Has No Brain. Use Yours!"
Ha thats a good one!

[Rob Lee CT]

Last week I learned you can blow a really quick $150 by trying to rip foil-faced insulation board without turning off the sensor. I'd been ripping 2'x8' blue foamboard and the lumberyard ran out, so they substituted foil-sheathed Thermax boards. Oops. There wasn't even a crease in the foil or the foam, btw - just a couple of busted teeth on my WWII blade. Maybe Forrest can fix it, but a good lesson learned. First time I've triggered the brake in 3+ years.

[Jerome Stanek]

how many have a spare trigger on hand in case you have one go off.

[Mike Heidrick]

Saved my thumb from me being an idiot on 12/23/14 - 2006 5hp ics sized saw and wwii and original 2006 brske. Worked as designed. Slight knick in thumb. One drop of blood. Had just rk on - now i keep over blade guard on. Over blade guard would have stopped me too.

I had an extra blade and brake on hand and still do. It was running again 3 minutes later. ss sent back a free brake when i sent mine in.

No other misfires/fires.

[chase standifer]

I triggered mine trying to cut aluminum t-track. Screwed up putting the saw into bypass mode some how.

[Gary Cunningham]

Incra's aluminum mitre gauges seem to be a popular culprit.

:rolleyes:
I ruined a Forest 48t Woodworker II. One should verify the proper slot before cutting.

[Rob Lee CT]

I used to have a spare 10" blade brake :D Ordered a replacement for it last night, I'm assuming the SS folks won't replace mine for free since idiocy doesn't come with the warranty. No backup for my dado blade brake; if I blow it, I have other ways to get the job done while I wait for the replacement to arrive.

[Barry Richardson]

I work in a shop with 2 sawstops. Probably fired at least 20 cartridges by now (about 8 years) Fuzz from plexi (builds up a static charge), damp wood, Touching the blade with a jig, or a tape measure before it stops turning, cutting insulation with foil on it, hitting embedded nails or screws, a couple of times for unexplained reasons, and 2 times when it actually contacted flesh.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

how many have a spare trigger on hand in case you have one go off.

I have one regular spare. I do not have a spare for my DADO.

[mreza Salav]

I work in a shop with 2 sawstops. Probably fired at least 20 cartridges by now (about 8 years) Fuzz from plexi (builds up a static charge), damp wood, Touching the blade with a jig, or a tape measure before it stops turning, cutting insulation with foil on it, hitting embedded nails or screws, a couple of times for unexplained reasons, and 2 times when it actually contacted flesh.

It seems the saws and cartridge would be well spent money. However, it also seems the employees would also benefit from a little bit more training to be a bit more careful in using the machines.

[Ron Griffiths]

I triggered one with a fence that was too close. Ruined a WWII blade and the Cartridge. I do keep a spare.

[jerry cousins]

me too with the miter gauge - the brake ruined the blade. i do keep brake spares for the saw and the dado.
jerry

[Mark Blatter]

Last week I learned you can blow a really quick $150 by trying to rip foil-faced insulation board without turning off the sensor. I'd been ripping 2'x8' blue foamboard and the lumberyard ran out, so they substituted foil-sheathed Thermax boards. Oops. There wasn't even a crease in the foil or the foam, btw - just a couple of busted teeth on my WWII blade. Maybe Forrest can fix it, but a good lesson learned. First time I've triggered the brake in 3+ years.

I cut the foil backed insulation quite frequently with no issues yet. I am careful about putting the saw into bypass mode, yet I am always a little queasy with the cut. Then I worry that a small fragment will be hanging around afterwards and trigger a firing.

Does anyone know if a small piece left over from cutting will trigger it? I still take off the guard and insert to vacuum and clean just to be safe after cutting the insulation.

So far no firings for me, and yes, I have a spare brake on hand, but not a dado. A shop where I worked got one about 8 years ago and the owner triggered it the second day by cutting a piece of cheap ply that had aluminum sheeting in it.

[Robert Engel]

the company I used to work for has 2 sawstops and one or the other will trigger about once a month for no reason other than the cheap plywood they use. most of the time the persons hands are 4 to 8 feet away from the blade and not even touching the saw itself.
A friend of mine works in a cab shop they can't cut laminate (I think) on it.
He said it trips 2-3X/yr for some reason something to do with material.

[Dave Haughs]

how many have a spare trigger on hand in case you have one go off.

I do. Have never had to use it in two years. I read all these same posts here and have been cautious. Knowing it's going to cost me $180 if I trigger that thing has made me a more cautious table saw user.

[johnny means]

Incra's aluminum mitre gauges seem to be a popular culprit.

+1 A couple of times. Me and an employee.