Free SawStop Brake

[Mike Henderson]

I was cutting a small piece of wood and before I knew it the blade was below the table and I had a small cut on my thumb.
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Don't even know exactly how everything happened. While the piece was small, I'd made the same cut many times before.

Anyway, just a nick, bit of blood and a ruined Infinity blade. I hear that SawStop will give you a replacement brake if you send them the old one.

Mike

[Interesting set of thoughts went through my head. First, was "What happened?" Then, when I realized my thumb was cut, it was "Oh, XXXX", but really thankful I didn't cut my thumb off. Finally, feeling stupid for setting off the brake. Really glad I had the SawStop.]

[Getting the blade and the brake out was a challenge.]

[glenn bradley]

Glad you weren't hurt Mike. I have used the blade wrench as a sort of pickle fork to gingerly persuade the blade and cartridge to wriggle off the arbor.

[Jim Riseborough]

What happened to the teeth just after where it was activated?

[eugene thomas]

I think you saw stop is paid for now.....

[chase standifer]

EDITED: I didnt zoom in on the picture and notice that the blade was already removed and the teeth completely gone. I just lost the carbide on mine.

[mreza Salav]

It is interesting that not just the carbide but the teeth are completely gone.
Were you using the guard and the splitter? Do you have the photo of the piece you were cutting?

[Larry Frank]

Sorry about the loss of the blade...Very glad you were not hurt

[Carl Hunsinger]

I think you saw stop is paid for now.....

Indeed. Another ER statistic averted.

Carl

[Mike Henderson]

What happened to the teeth just after where it was activated?
Looks to me like the teeth in that part of the blade were just ripped off by the brake. It's possible the brake "bounced" before grabbing the teeth. I haven't found the carbide teeth anywhere. Yes, I did have eye protection on.
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I think your saw stop is paid for now.....
Yeah, that's my reaction, also. I had a visit to the ER long ago just for stitches and it was $1,000.


EDITED: I didn't zoom in on the picture and notice that the blade was already removed and the teeth completely gone. I just lost the carbide on mine.
That blank portion of the blade is ahead of where the blade is buried in the brake. I don't know why it skipped like that. That blade is not going to be able to be repaired.


It is interesting that not just the carbide but the teeth are completely gone.
Were you using the guard and the splitter? Do you have the photo of the piece you were cutting?
I was using the riving knife. Here's a picture of the piece I was cutting. It's a shop made dovetail marker. One side was too wide and I was trimming it off.
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Here's how I was holding it to push it through the saw.
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I must have twisted the piece at the back of the blade and it got picked up by the rear teeth.

And here's my thumb. Not too bad. I had a band-aid on it and took the picture when putting on a new band-aid.
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Would have been bad on a non-SawStop saw.

Mike

[One interesting thing is that SawStop must have made some software changes in the brake. You know how it used to take a long time to get ready after you turned on the switch? With the new brake, it comes ready almost immediately.]

[Ronald Blue]

Not to be critical but that makes me cringe just looking at what you were attempting. That in my opinion was a dangerous cut to attempt. Just how it looks to me. Glad you only got a nick.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

My manual says (I have an older saw) they'll give you a new brake if you send yours in IF it tripped on flesh contact.... It's worth a call to their customer service..... They can say no, and you have to buy a new brake anyways.
Love my saw.... Hope I never trip it.

Accidents happen......

[Mike Henderson]

Not to be critical but that makes me cringe just looking at what you were attempting. That in my opinion was a dangerous cut to attempt. Just how it looks to me. Glad you only got a nick.
Yep, I know it was not a good cut. I needed to trim that one side and it needed to be parallel to the other side. The table saw will do that, but I agree the cut was not the best.


My manual says (I have an older saw) they'll give you a new brake if you send yours in IF it tripped on flesh contact.... It's worth a call to their customer service..... They can say no, and you have to buy a new brake anyways.
Love my saw.... Hope I never trip it.

Accidents happen......
Yes, I already bought a new brake. I couldn't wait until I got one from SawStop. And as I mentioned earlier, it seems that they made some improvements in the brake (the brake has quite a bit of logic and software in it). When I turn the switch on the saw on, it comes to green almost immediately. Much faster than the old brake.

Mike

[Carl Hunsinger]

Not to be critical but that makes me cringe just looking at what you were attempting. That in my opinion was a dangerous cut to attempt. Just how it looks to me. Glad you only got a nick.

Holy crap! I've seen and probably done some dangerous cuts....

Carl

[Mike Heidrick]

Sorry it happened to you. Glad you had the brake.

[Joe Jensen]

Holy crap! I've seen and probably done some dangerous cuts....

Carl

I used to do some cuts like that when I was young and then one caught and pulled my finger into the blade of a 1940s Craftsman. Luckily I didn't lose the finger tip because the blade was only 1/8" over the table top but it was enough to cut to the bone across the top of my finger, around the tip, and across the pad. Index finger on the left hand. Took maybe 10-15 years for the scar tissue to not be overly sensitive. I do cuts like that now with jigs and hands far away or with a bandsaw.

[Frederick Skelly]

I think you saw stop is paid for now.....

Yeah, definitely paid for itself. I'm sure glad you're ok.

As others have said, Mike, that cut you were making would scare the daylights outta me. Please be careful!

Fred

[Larry Frank]

I use a small sled and jigs on small pieces and keep my fingers a long way from the blade.

Thanks for posting the details as it is a reminder to all of us.

[Jerome Stanek]

That was just a stupid way to make that cut. way to much chance of binding and kicking back along with taking fingers off.

[Sam Murdoch]

I use a small sled and jigs on small pieces and keep my fingers a long way from the blade.


^ At the least. Man o' man I saw that photo and my stomach churned. Danger Danger Danger - Will Robinson.

Glad you weren't truly hurt. Hope you will never do that again.

With Brotherly Love, Sam

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

Glad you weren't truly hurt. Hope you will never do that again.


Yeah, because it'll hit your thumb in the exact same spot, based on your example picture.
I use a very simple cutoff sled to make cuts like that.

[Eric Shapin]

Mike - Thanks for posting. Nobody is too experienced to receive a valid safety warning every now and again. Much appreciated

[Frederick Skelly]

Mike - Thanks for posting. Nobody is too experienced to receive a valid safety warning every now and again. Much appreciated

+1. And I suspect that's exactly why Mike posted it.

[Wade Lippman]

That was just a stupid way to make that cut. way to much chance of binding and kicking back along with taking fingers off.


Calling it stupid is rather rude. "There were safer ways to make that cut".

[Mike Henderson]

Thanks for your comments, everyone. Yes, I made a dumb mistake and I'm glad it only cost me a blade, a brake, and a bit of skin. If I had lost the end of my thumb... well, I don't even like to think about that.

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Calling it stupid is rather rude. "There were safer ways to make that cut".
I don't mind him calling it stupid. Looking back, I think it was a stupid cut:)

Mike

[daryl moses]

I don't mind him calling it stupid. Looking back, I think it was a stupid cut:)

Mike
I agree, it was a "dumb" cut but looking back I and anyone who has been doing woodworking for awhile have also done some pretty dumb things. Hopefully as we get older we also get a little wiser.
Glad your ok Mike, get back on the horse and be safe!!

[mreza Salav]

Thanks for the detailed pictures and explanation Mike. Yes, was a dangerous cut but many of us might have done something like that.
Glad you are fine.

[Mike Henderson]

I agree, it was a "dumb" cut but looking back I and anyone who has been doing woodworking for awhile have also done some pretty dumb things. Hopefully as we get older we also get a little wiser.
Glad your ok Mike, get back on the horse and be safe!!
Thanks. Yes, I've done a lot of dumb things in my life - not just woodworking things. I'm thankful I survived it all without serious injury.

One thing about old age is that it gives me perspective when I encounter younger people who do dumb things. There but for the grace of God...

Mike

[Peter Aeschliman]

Glad you weren't hurt. Thanks for posting. Now don't ever do that or anything similar again!!!! :)

[Andrew Joiner]

I don't mind him calling it stupid. Looking back, I think it was a stupid cut:)

Mike
Mike it takes humility to admit and accept things like this, good for you.

A fast way to safely cut small pieces is to grip them in a wooden handscrew clamp. It's flat, will register against the saw fence and keep you hand well away from danger.

[Joe Kaufman]

Looks to me like the teeth in that part of the blade were just ripped off by the brake. It's possible the brake "bounced" before grabbing the teeth. I haven't found the carbide teeth anywhere. Yes, I did have eye protection on.
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Saw Stop mentions (p.29) that Blades with depth-limiting shoulders may take longer to stop and you could receive a more serious injury and recommends using blades without depth-limiting shoulders.

I have a few new combo blades with this feature and have considered not using them for this reason. The manufacturers of blades with depth limiting shoulders advertise them as a safety feature and anti-kickback features. So, you need to use a less intrinsically safe blade to be more safe......

[Andrew Hughes]

Darn Mike that must been very scary.Glad you didn't get hurt.
I got a great Vhs video you can watch while you recover.:D

[Mike Henderson]

[QUOTE=Mike Henderson;2569760]Looks to me like the teeth in that part of the blade were just ripped off by the brake. It's possible the brake "bounced" before grabbing the teeth. I haven't found the carbide teeth anywhere. Yes, I did have eye protection on.
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Saw Stop mentions (p.29) that Blades with depth-limiting shoulders may take longer to stop and you could receive a more serious injury and recommends using blades without depth-limiting shoulders.

I have a few new combo blades with this feature and have considered not using them for this reason. The manufacturers of blades with depth limiting shoulders advertise them as a safety feature and anti-kickback features. So, you need to use a less intrinsically safe blade to be more safe......
Pardon my ignorance, but what are "depth limiting shoulders"? I went to the manual and found the statement but no picture of what they are.

Is it something to do with the depth of the gullets? In other words, what is a "shoulder" on a saw blade?

Mike

[Alan Schwabacher]

[QUOTE=Joe Kaufman;2569928]what are "depth limiting shoulders"?

If you go back to page 1 and look at the photo, you'll notice that every 5th tooth has a bump behind it. That's the depth limiting shoulder. The idea is that if you try to cut too fast, that will hit the work and prevent cutting too deeply. Usually this is good, but with a Sawstop it can prevent the aluminum block engaging the teeth completely as quickly, slowing down the blade stopping mechanism. Though apparently it still works pretty well.

[mreza Salav]

I had not noticed that warning about blades with anti-kick back shoulders (my rip blades along with another combo blade have them).
It makes sense that they slow down the work of brake but from your experience seems the brake still does its job.

[Tom Ewell]

Not to be critical but that makes me cringe just looking at what you were attempting. That in my opinion was a dangerous cut to attempt. Just how it looks to me. Glad you only got a nick.

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Gotta agree, thankfully the saw did it's job and saved some hand parts but that's a cut I'd not have made regardless of safety features.

I'm a little surprised that someone with his experience would even attempt that cut, what's more disheartening that he's done it multiple times with success and figured it was a good way to do it.

[Mike Henderson]

[QUOTE=Mike Henderson;2570024]

If you go back to page 1 and look at the photo, you'll notice that every 5th tooth has a bump behind it. That's the depth limiting shoulder. The idea is that if you try to cut too fast, that will hit the work and prevent cutting too deeply. Usually this is good, but with a Sawstop it can prevent the aluminum block engaging the teeth completely as quickly, slowing down the blade stopping mechanism. Though apparently it still works pretty well.
Ah, okay. I see it now. Thanks.

Mike

[David Helm]

I looked at the cut and immediately said to myself, "why not use the bandsaw for that one?"

[Mike Henderson]

I looked at the cut and immediately said to myself, "why not use the bandsaw for that one?"
Because on a dovetail marker you need the sides to be parallel and smooth. The table saw does that - the bandsaw does not. The other side of the dovetail square was square to the front and straight on the side. The side I was cutting was sticking out and needed a bit taken off.

I also thought of using my Ridgid belt sander but I always wind up with the sides non-parallel.

Mike

[Rick Potter]

Congrats on a wise saw purchase Mike. We all like to think we will not make a mistake, but deep down, we all know that accidents happen. Glad it was a minor cut.

I am gonna make a quickie sled for small parts, like I should have years ago.

Thanks for the incentive.

Rick


PS: I recently imposed two new rules for my SS.

1: I only use actual 10" blades, so I don't have to fiddle with the space adjustment. 10"=254MM.

2: No safety bumps.

[Ben Rivel]

That was a daring cut to try and make. Glad youre okay!

[Jim Riseborough]

Looks to me like the teeth in that part of the blade were just ripped off by the brake. It's possible the brake "bounced" before grabbing the teeth. I haven't found the carbide teeth anywhere. Yes, I did have eye protection on.
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st immediately.]

Its strange it bit and sheared those teeth off, skipped over the big tooth (or it just plowed thru the aluminum brake, and then stopped in the next set). I wonder if the little teeth are buried in the brake somehow.

[Mike Henderson]

Its strange it bit and sheared those teeth off, skipped over the big tooth (or it just plowed thru the aluminum brake, and then stopped in the next set). I wonder if the little teeth are buried in the brake somehow.
I haven't separated the brake and blade yet but probably will if I send the brake to SawStop (to get a free replacement). I'll let you know if I find the teeth in the brake.

I hadn't thought that they might be in the brake - I just assumed they went off somewhere - but your comment is good thinking.

Mike

[Update: I separated the brake. No sign of the missing teeth in the brake.]

[Mike Henderson]

I contacted SawStop and they still provide a free replacement brake for one that saved a finger. The process is as follows:

1. Contact SawStop service (service at sawstop.com) and get an RMA number

2. Go to http://www.sawstop.com/support/report-a-save and fill out the "finger save report form". You need the RMA number to fill out this form.

3. Send your brake - without the saw blade - to
SawStop,LLC
ATTN:SVC RMA CASE ID xx-xxxxx (replace the xx-xxxxx with your RMA #)
11555Myslony Street
Tualatin,OR 97062

Mike

[Ben Rivel]

Awesome, good to know!

[Gary Muto]

Mike,

I'm glad you weren't hurt to badly. I really admire your candor in sharing the details. It's a great reminder for all of us.

[Mike Henderson]

Mike,

I'm glad you weren't hurt to badly. I really admire your candor in sharing the details. It's a great reminder for all of us.

What is, is. The truth is always the best (even when the action is dumb:)).

Mike