Costly day yesterday with SawStop

[Jay Jolliffe]

I was dadoing the back of some molding & hit a staple so that set off the break cartridge. Put a new one in and started to finish what I started & I set off another dado cartridge. In doing that it ripped about 12 teeth off the dado blade....So a new Freud 8" dado blade & two dado cartridges...I'm going to send the one back that didn't hit anything to see what they say.....

[Ben Rivel]

Ouch... Sorry to hear that. Hopefully they will send you a free replacement cartridge.

[Wayne Jolly]

It's a good thing that YOU didn't set it off, but that still deserves an OUCH!

Wayne

[glenn bradley]

I fired one with a piece of conductive material that I didn't know was conductive. Ever since that, I make a test run with the safety system in override to see if there is an indication that there would have been a firing. This has saved me a few times. Sorry about the stack, that hurt$.

[Andrew Hughes]

My blades cut right thru staples I don't understand how you guys would tolerate ruining a blade over a small piece of metal.

[Bryan Wiesendahl]

My blades cut right thru staples I don't understand how you guys would tolerate ruining a blade over a small piece of metal.


Mainly because your blades also cut right through flesh and bone. It's a pain in the ass every other time, but that ONE TIME that it's your index finger going through, it's worth it

I've set mine off cutting aluminum. Late night in the shop doing a deadline. Made a bunch of cuts on the aluminum already and just that last time I forgot to turn the key. BANG, and a sudden realization that I was super tired and should probably sleep a bit.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

If I had to pay $250 for every time I got nicked by the blade, I could buy a new slider.

[Ben Rivel]

If I had to pay $250 for every time I got nicked by the blade, I could buy a new slider.
Youve been nicked by a powered up table saw blade THAT many times?! Me thinks perhaps its time to re-evaluate some table saw safety practices and get back into better and safer usage habits...

[Brad Barnhart]

I guess I haven't jumped on the whole sawstop theory yet. Not to be negative, or ruffle feathers, but, I think most machinery accidents happen because of lack of knowledge of the machine. Granted, there is going to be some fear of the saw, with good reason. But that can be overcome with practice & use of the saw. Fear of the saw teaches respect for the equipment, & caution. Over the years of being around all kinds of man eating equipment, the first thing to do is listen to the machine. Then study whatever it is you're going to put thru it. You wouldn't put a piece of wood thru your planer w/metal in, would ya? Then why put it thru your table saw? Sawstop or not? You can plainly see the blade is spinning at a high rate of speed, so, in turn, what's the inevitable? I guess my main question is why spend a national debt on a saw that costs even more money every time ya do something you knew would cost ya an injury with a real saw? Hell, think things through before you even turn on the saw. How difficult is it? Stop & think before you make a move. Look for staples, etc. Its your money. JMO.

[Bill Space]

"In doing that it ripped about 12 teeth off the dado blade....So a new Freud 8" dado blade & two dado cartridges..."

Well, at least it was a Freud dado set and not an expensive Forrest or similar! :)

Accidents happen. All the best planning and practices do not seem to make all accidents go away. Fact of life. So the SawStop technology is valuable if the worst case happens. If the cost is bearable, then why not have a SawStop in the shop?

I do not have one and never will. But I do not think those who do are wasting their money.

Even the SawStop is not 100 percent effective, from what I have read in the past. Perhaps rumors though, but if you saw the video where the owner of the company put his finger against a running blade to illustrate the technology, his finger was moving very slowly, as compared to the speed of a kickback.

Personally I commend anyone who spends money to increase his chances of minimizing damage to himself if the worst case happens. Do you wear chainsaw chaps when cutting trees? I do. Yes I am careful, yes I have been using a chainsaw for decades, but what if? I would rather have the chaps between my legs and the chain, than just thin cotton material.

Thanks to the OP for posting about his misfortune. Perhaps a heads up to those who may be considering a SawStop purchase. Potential future cost of ownership.

To me this is simply a potential additional cost for the added protection offered by the system.

I myself will never own a SawStop (for some of the reasons others have posted above). Buying one is a personal decision. Like anything that increases ones odds of a favorable outcome, if things go wrong, owning one has to be a good thing.

[Ben Rivel]

I guess I haven't jumped on the whole sawstop theory yet. Not to be negative, or ruffle feathers, but, I think most machinery accidents happen because of lack of knowledge of the machine. Granted, there is going to be some fear of the saw, with good reason. But that can be overcome with practice & use of the saw. Fear of the saw teaches respect for the equipment, & caution. Over the years of being around all kinds of man eating equipment, the first thing to do is listen to the machine. Then study whatever it is you're going to put thru it. You wouldn't put a piece of wood thru your planer w/metal in, would ya? Then why put it thru your table saw? Sawstop or not? You can plainly see the blade is spinning at a high rate of speed, so, in turn, what's the inevitable? I guess my main question is why spend a national debt on a saw that costs even more money every time ya do something you knew would cost ya an injury with a real saw? Hell, think things through before you even turn on the saw. How difficult is it? Stop & think before you make a move. Look for staples, etc. Its your money. JMO.
From what I have read most of the table saw accidents that happen out there are to guys that have been working with the tool for many years. And it seems that is WHY the accidents happen, they use the tools day in a day out, are always pressed for time and start to work faster or otherwise become complacent in safety rules and then get caught off guard, not paying close enough attention and lose a finger. The hobbyist at home has all the time in the world to think out and plan each cut making sure its done properly and as safely as possible. That said, sure there are lots in both the hobbyist and professional world using the tools and dont know how to use them safely, but in the research I had done it seemed more professionals or heavy/daily users were injured than those that have the luxury of working with such tools only as a hobby.

That said, as has been said a ton of times before around here when these Anti/Pro SawStop conversations get started: if one is looking to buy a brand new 3HP, 36"+ professional cabinet saw, the SawStop PCS really isnt that much more money and the build quality alone is worth it even without the priceless safety feature.

[Rick Potter]

I just have to ask. 12 TEETH? Does that include chipper teeth? What I am wondering is how much of a revolution did it take to stop that dado blade? I realize it would include both outside blade also.

Just curious. This is the fist time I have seen someone report on a dado firing.

Thanks,

[Ben Rivel]

I just have to ask. 12 TEETH? Does that include chipper teeth? What I am wondering is how much of a revolution did it take to stop that dado blade? I realize it would include both outside blade also.

Just curious. This is the fist time I have seen someone report on a dado firing.

Thanks,
Maybe I misunderstood the OP, but it sounds like the brake fired, then he reused the same dado stack with a new brake. If thats actually the case, 1. Im amazed he could reused the stack, and 2. Being that the stack had already been in a brake it might have loosened up several teeth and the second time it fired into a break those ones and new ones were knocked loose.

[Larry Frank]

I do not quite understand?? After the first time, why not use a metal detector to look for metal. If you set the cartridge off perhaps time to figure out what happened and how not to do it again.

If I fire the cartridge on mine, I will not use that blade against unless it is checked by an expert. No way would I just put it back in the saw. A piece of carbide could come out like a 22 rifle.

[Wade Lippman]

My blades cut right thru staples I don't understand how you guys would tolerate ruining a blade over a small piece of metal.

Sawstops usually do also. Unless the wood is wet, it shouldn't trip on a staple; or so the instruction book says.
Last month I ran a brand new blade into a screw. I nearly soiled my pants, but nothing happened.

[Ben Rivel]

Sawstops usually do also. Unless the wood is wet, it shouldn't trip on a staple; or so the instruction book says.
Last month I ran a brand new blade into a screw. I nearly soiled my pants, but nothing happened.
Exactly what I was thinking too. Unless your finger was touching the staple the brake shouldnt have fired.

[Jay Jolliffe]

The wood was not wet. It was fg Fir...I did use the blade again because it did not bend or get damaged. The damage came the second time it went off. It cleaned all the teeth off 2 chippers & 2 off another 1/8" chipper. It also took teeth of the inside & outside blade. I'm not stupid enough to run the same piece with the staple in it. The next piece was metal free & set it off after about 24" down the board.

[william watts]

Sawstops usually do also. Unless the wood is wet, it shouldn't trip on a staple; or so the instruction book says.
Last month I ran a brand new blade into a screw. I nearly soiled my pants, but nothing happened.

I agree with Wade. A staple shouldn't fire the cartridge. Yesterday I cut a nail in some old recycled walnut, no problem. There may be something else going on if two cartridges fired. One for a questionable reason and one for a unknown reason.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

I just have to ask. 12 TEETH? Does that include chipper teeth? What I am wondering is how much of a revolution did it take to stop that dado blade? I realize it would include both outside blade also.

Just curious. This is the fist time I have seen someone report on a dado firing.

Thanks,

The brake is about the size of your hand, so take your hand and cup a blade and that will give you a good idea of how many teeth will dig into the brake. Being a dado stack, that just increased the amount of teeth he lost.

I have a sawstop and have never had an issue with it. I'm as careful with it as I am with any other saw I've never touched. Like another poster here mentioned, the sawstop isn't that much more expensive than any other comparable cabinet saw in the market today. The safety feature is just a bonus and you'll be thankful when you do need it.

The biggest reason why I own one is I work solely in the evenings, some times up until 2 or 3 am. I have a full time day job and only get to work when my son and wife are off to bed, that leaves me tired most nights I'm in the shop. I try to be as careful as possible and call it a night when I feel it's about that time but you never know what can happen at midnight.

[Jon Nuckles]

I had my dado brake fire a week ago. It went "pop" as soon as I pulled the paddle to turn the saw on. The blade was not even turning and was not damaged. The technical service rep said the most likely cause of the firing was that the brake was set too close to the blade. I thought the saw wouldn't start if that were the case, but that is not true. He also told me that users sometimes get a second brake activation right away if they reuse a blade and a tooth with a hairline fracture comes loose and hits the brake cartridge. Perhaps that is what caused the OP's second firing. After reading this thread, I'm glad I am out only the cost of one brake!

[Carl Hunsinger]

The wood was not wet. It was fg Fir...I did use the blade again because it did not bend or get damaged. The damage came the second time it went off. It cleaned all the teeth off 2 chippers & 2 off another 1/8" chipper. It also took teeth of the inside & outside blade. I'm not stupid enough to run the same piece with the staple in it. The next piece was metal free & set it off after about 24" down the board.

My wild guess as to what happened is this. 1) the brake fired due to staple 2) OP examined the dado stack, saw no apparent damage, and replaced the brake and reused the dado stack 3) Note that I said the OP "saw" no apparent damage to the stack. In reality, there was a fracture in the carbide, and a part of a tooth came loose, shorting the blade to the brake, and thereby firing the second brake.

This is just a total guess as to what happened. IMO the blade should NOT have been reused without sending it back to Freud first.

Carl

[Dave Zellers]

IMO the blade should NOT have been reused without sending it back to Freud first.

Carl
I'm no fan of Saw Stop table saws and will never own one but if I did, I would NEVER reuse a blade that had just slammed into the brake. Trusting a visual inspection after that kind of trauma is crazy IMO.

One of the wonderful things about carbide is that it will cut through a staple without even a second thought. Fingers are preserved by paying attention.

[Rick Potter]

I want to thank Jay for posting about this. May I suggest we not try to assign blame, but use this thread as a learning experience about WHY it happened. I am certainly learning.

Rick

Hoang...I do have a SS, but haven't used a dado on it yet.

PS: Carl's post sounds pretty logical to me.

[Jay Jolliffe]

I'll send both cartridges back & see what they say...I agree it was a bone head play trying to use the dado blade after the cartridge stopped it. I saw no visible damage & I only had 10 more pieces to dado...That cost me another $90.00.....Won't do that again...

[John K Jordan]

I love reading these discussions. I have a PM 66 but these post and responses always add a bit to my general knowledge, and remind of the wide range of opinion on almost any subject.

[Rod Sheridan]

If I had to pay $250 for every time I got nicked by the blade, I could buy a new slider.

Mike, if that's true you need to evaluate your operating procedures, you should work a lifetime without a single blade contact incident...............Regards, Rod.

[Brad Barnhart]

Mr. Ben, I'm going to have to disagree w/you. Not out of rudeness, but experience. I'm a self-taught woodworker. Before I began my woodworking venture, I drove OTR, & been around trucks & equipment since I can remember. Even as a beginner, I had a few wrecks with tools, but still have all my fingers. Every tool we encounter has consequences if its not handled right. My TS is an old 8" Craftsman, w/no guards, just a plain ol' saw. That's what I taught myself to use. I don't have a pocket full of money to buy a fancy saw like the SS, & have no use for it. I guess my opinion doesn't really amount to a hill of beans, but, before you accuse experience for mistakes, take a good look at why the SS saws are on the market. Most guys that have money to waste on tools, & just getting into woodworking, always want the biggest, shiniest tools they can afford, right? Be honest! But, their knowledge of the tools is VERY limited. The next thing that happens is they wind up in the ER because they think they already know all about the machine!!! And the first thing that comes out of their head is "I don't know what I done wrong!" Am I right? Then they come to us trying to figure out what happened. I realize everybody has to learn, but, again, common sense kicks in, too.

[J.R. Rutter]

Or, maybe you have other people in your shop and realize that despite how well you might teach them, they could still have an accident on your equipment and then you could be open to all sorts of hurt, including a visit from OSHA if they have a slow week. For me a SawStop was a no-brainer. It is a nice saw (I've owned General 350, PM 66, and Unisaws) and I use it the same way that I use any other table saw. It has saved me from an end of the day mistake that might have just been a nick, but could have just as easily split my thumb down the middle.

I absolutely get the need to respect and learn tools, but there is definitely a market that the SawStop covers very well. This market might not apply to most Sawmill Creek users, but it is still legitimate.

[Rick Potter]

On the subject of why did the saw fire on a little staple, I would think one end of the staple encountered the blade while the other end of the staple touched the table, completing the circuit.

There would be no firing if the circuit was not complete. You tube shows people cutting through nails, as long as they don't contact the table or miter gage.

[Don Sundberg]

We are looking at a new TS for work and my recommendation was a SawStop if only because the insurance co will demand it soon enough. We have an old Craftsman contractor saw that needs a full rebuild (the arbor bearings are shot). The person working in the crating dept uses the TS a bunch compared to past users. It does a fair amount of ripping to make 1 x 4's out of 1x6's and 2 x 8's out of 2 x 12's. We only stock 4 raw materials to build all pallets.

[kevin st john]

I am employed as a Registered Nurse and I can say I have yet to meet a person who planned on having an accident. With that being said, I just purchased a SS PCS 3.5 hp. And I am amazed at how well the assembly instructions were laid out.
Now, what sold me on the SS was the fit, finish, and the safety feature. To me it seems to be a simple way to prevent a major medical expense and I would rather spend the money saved on woodworking tools.
There will be a day when all saw manufactures will have some sort of safety device that activates. Insurance companies are going to require it because they are the ones who pay these huge bills when someone accident gets their fingers cut by a tablesaw. And those bills from table saw accidents most likely end in the six figure range, if not the seven figure range when you include all of the various surgeries that are required to save a digit or two on a persons hands.

[Jerome Stanek]

My concern with a Sawstop is that you need to get a job done and the brake triggers and you don't have a replacement and have to wait for one or taking the time to reset a new one that may make you hurry

[Robert Engel]

Fingers are preserved by paying attention.Thank you very much. ;-)

[Thomas L. Miller]

Yes, a SS and the "consumables" (blade and brake) are priced at a premium. But, have any of you folks priced trauma care lately? If doing a cost analysis, that should be part of the equation.
Tom

[Warren Wilson]

This thread whets my appetite to hear reviews of the Bosch REAXX saw -- I hope they are going to meet their planned release date of June (and that Sawstop is unable to use the courts to prevent further technological innovation along this line).

[Ben Rivel]

This thread whets my appetite to hear reviews of the Bosch REAXX saw -- I hope they are going to meet their planned release date of June (and that Sawstop is unable to use the courts to prevent further technological innovation along this line).
Yes the REAXX does sound like a better solution, but since they only make a jobsite saw its not one thats going to compete much with the SawStop market as Im willing to bet they sell more contractor and cabinet saws than they do their jobsite saw.

[mreza Salav]

Why do all SS threads have to turn into name callings the other camp?!!
Whatever decision you make (to buy or not to buy the thing) respect others for their choices.

[Susumu Mori]

I believe many of us actually understand, or at least have a good sense about, accidents; how costly it could be and how damaging to our life, but I'm not sure if that is really the point.

We all know that there is clear danger to walk down or crossing busy streets. I have seen cars struck people in the middle of crossing. We all know how terrible it could be if we are struck by a car. Could be worse than a saw. But still, we walk around without protection. It doesn't mean much if someone tells us we need proper protection gears because accidents are horrific. Yes, accidents and trauma could be horrific, but we still walk with t-shirts. I guess the point is, we all balance the amount of risk (1 in million every time we walk a street) and cost/discomfort of extra protection. We usually think we can manage (or more precisely "take") the risk by reasonably careful in streets.

Everybody has different level of balance. Some of us feel the extra $500 and $100/each "pow!", do not warrant the risk reductions it offers. I'm not sure if that is a bad decision. Having said that I think many of us would welcome new safety features become available and competitions would make such techniques ubiquitous with much less costs. As Martin said, not only table saws but also many other operations because the table saw blade-touching could be only a fraction of the entire risk. It doesn't even address the kick-back which seems to have higher risk. And we sure don't want to spend $500 for each risk,,,,,

[Anthony Whitesell]

Thank you very much. :-) I agree but you won't convince SS purchasers they haven't made a good buy.

I think chopping a finger off on a miter saw is like, 3X more likely.
Maybe I need a "chisel stop" I've cut myself twice this year.



I don't normally chime in on the SS threads, but this post hits a chord with me. As my high school math teacher would say "statistics can prove anything". Mr. Gass has published this same point only you have to extrapolate the data for yourself. If you don't do the homework you see only what is written. That is, per the number of tablesaws in use the accident rate is X (one every 9 minutes per SS website). Also written is the most number people are injured while using a tablesaw. What is also written is less people are injured while using miter/RAS saws and bandsaws. In more reading you will find the prevalence of miter/RAS saws and bandsaws is significantly less than that of the tablesaw. But these are the absolute numbers. This is where the extrapolation starts. If you look at the numbers in percentages, bandsaws and miter/RAS have a higher percentage of users being injured (# of injuries divided by # of saws in use). So while one may debate the '3X' figure, I agree that (and Mr. Gass/SS does as well though not explicitly stated in their own writings) it is actually more likely that a given person will be injured while using a miter/RAS saw than a tablesaw. It just happens there are less miter/RAS saws in use therefore less people using them which translates into a smaller (absolute) number of people getting injured.

[Roger Feeley]

When I got my Sawstop, I wanted to know more and pressed their tech support. I wanted to know the timeline of a brake event.

Assuming detection as time index 0:
at 3 milliseconds, the blade has stopped
at 15 milliseconds, the blade has dropped below the bed of the saw.

The variable is detection. The blade needs electrical connection and for that, the saw teeth must make contact. For a young person, detection is easy because their hands aren't as dry. For an older person like myself with dry skin, the blade is going to have to find meat. So I would expect that I would at least need a band-aide.

So, the question here is twofold:
1. What a saw blade can do in 3 milliseconds.
2. How fast does your finger move and how far in 3 milliseconds.

I just googled table saw speed and found a site that says the average Unisaw blade spins about 4,000 rpm. So 4000 x 60 teeth would be 240,000 teeth passing per second. Multiply that by .003 (3 milliseconds) and we get 720. But that's not a good number. Remember that Sawstop told me that at 3ms, the blade HAS stopped. So the actual number should be much less than 720.

Back to SawStop. In that same phone call the tech support guy told me that the chip on the brake counts tooth touches. Also, any time there has been an actual finger-save, Sawstop wants that brake for analysis and will give you another one for free. The tech support guy told me that the average number of tooth touches for a finger save brake event is two.

But to the second question. How far and how fast can a finger move in 3/1000ths of a second? It depends. Are you pushing too hard on a board because of a dull blade and your hand slips and goes into the blade fast? Or are you making a normal cut and your hand just inches into the blade at the speed of the board. Or maybe you are reaching over the blade and don't have the guard on and you brush it. The grisliest scenario is that you have a heart attach and face plant into the blade (SS guy said it has happened). Yikes! Just too many variables.

I wrecked a stacked dado set with a brake fire with my SawStop. I have a Jess-em miter gauge with an extruded fence. It had (past tense) these really nice brass thumbscrews to hold it in place. I was using the dado set to nibble some wood away and didn't realize that those screws had come loose and my aluminum fence was moving with the wood. POW! and that was the end of the dado set. I still have the gauge but it has cam clamp screws so I can see the lever position easily. We live and learn.

[Dave Zellers]

You started with rpm so you need to divide by 60 to get to rps.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

Your math is a little off. 4000 rpm (rotation per minute ). You have to divided by 60 to get seconds which is 66.66 multiply by 60 teeth equals to 4000 teeth passing one point per second. Multiply by .003 will be 12 teeth contact within .003 seconds. At normal feed rate, that is just a nick.

[Dan Friedrichs]

In more reading you will find the prevalence of miter/RAS saws and bandsaws is significantly less than that of the tablesaw. But these are the absolute numbers. This is where the extrapolation starts. If you look at the numbers in percentages, bandsaws and miter/RAS have a higher percentage of users being injured (# of injuries divided by # of saws in use). So while one may debate the '3X' figure, I agree that (and Mr. Gass/SS does as well though not explicitly stated in their own writings) it is actually more likely that a given person will be injured while using a miter/RAS saw than a tablesaw. It just happens there are less miter/RAS saws in use therefore less people using them which translates into a smaller (absolute) number of people getting injured.

Yes, which is why if you were designing a device to prevent the maximum number of accidents, you'd concentrate on the table saw.

[Jim Bowers]

Send the blades the complete set and have them give you an estimate on the cost to replace the damaged teeth and have them sharpened

[glenn bradley]

Just dropped back in to see if this went predictably. Perhaps it will be a lesson in better social behavior from the security of our keyboards. There are a lot of good people here with a lot of valuable input on many topics. The result of some trigger topics is that any beneficial information gets missed by me as I routinely pass on most EZ-Smart, Festool and Saw Stop threads since this is where the bulk of them seem to go. Let's play nice ;-)

[Darrin Davis]

Just hitting a staple should not have triggered the brake unless you were touching the staple with your hands at the same time as the blade. I've hit metal with my SS before and it just cut right through it.

[Malcolm McLeod]

As I read, I remind myself that this is about a staple......right?

[J.R. Rutter]

Haha, yeah, part of it must have been touching the table. I really wish that metal staples weren't so commonly used. I keep pliers and a knife at the first contact point for beginning lumber break-down, but still manage to have some inevitably make it past and end up nicking knives and cutters.

[Jeremy Toomey]

Yes, a SS and the "consumables" (blade and brake) are priced at a premium. But, have any of you folks priced trauma care lately? If doing a cost analysis, that should be part of the equation.
Tom

I'm an orthopedic hand surgeon and have sadly amputated lots of non-viable fingers as a result of contact with a TS blade.

Quick rundown on trauma cost:
Ambulance ride to ER
ER evaluation
Possible transfer to different ER if that facility does not have a hand surgeon on call
Trip to the OR
Potential overnight hospital stay because by the time I get involved it's always late at night
My professional fee
Anesthesiologist's professional fee
Hospital fee
2 months of followup and relearning to use your hand with one or more shortened fingers.

That doesn't take into account what the patient's vocation is and how this injury potentially impacts their ability to continue with it.

You can burn through 10 dado stacks and cartridges and probably afford 5 brand new saws before you get into the neighborhood of that bill

[Chris Padilla]

If I have to do any more editing the thread will be closed.

I don't understand why these topics can't be discussed with civility.

Normally I'd just close it and forget it but I'll give it a chance.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I am always paranoid about things such as staples are damp wood (where did I put that over-ride key again?).

If SawStop gets back to you about what the cartridges show, post back. May want to open a new thread for it since this one seems to be generating significant traffic.

When you sent in the cartridges, did they provide a mailing label, or did you cover shipping yourself?

[Jon Nuckles]

When you sent in the cartridges, did they provide a mailing label, or did you cover shipping yourself?

Sawstop doesn't pay shipping and you aren't going to get a free replacement cartridge unless the blade tasted flesh. They will tell you what caused the brake to fire if you send it in, though.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Sawstop doesn't pay shipping and you aren't going to get a free replacement cartridge unless the blade tasted flesh. They will tell you what caused the brake to fire if you send it in, though.

If I was unsure, it would be worth the postage to find out. I wonder how completely they are able to analyze the cause. I mean, if they can tell that it was NOT flesh, then you would think that they could avoid firing. Then again, that might require processing not available on the brake without some processing power that would inflate the price and reduce reliability (because the processing thing broke). Besides, they are not likely to provide you insight into what it says anyway.

[Jason Lester]

I tripped one last year, the saw wasn't even running, but the master switch was on. I grazed the blade and it tripped, scared the far out of me. They sent me a replacement brake, said it was unknown why it tripped. The blade was fine, it just pushed into it. It was obvious that it wasn't rotating.