Sawstop brake activated

[Ron Daves]

I am a member of a Resort and I use the community shop a lot. I purchased fencing material from Home Depot the other day and proceeded working with it in the shop. I was ripping one of these fencing boards when the Sawstop brake activated. The board had that "not completely dry" feel to it. I'd appreciate any comments on this.

[glenn bradley]

From Saw stop regarding wet wood:


“Saw Stop saws cut most wet wood without a problem. However, if the wood is very green or wet (for example, wet enough to spray a mist when cutting), or if the wood is both wet and pressure treated, then the wood may be sufficiently conductive to activate the brake. If you are unsure whether the material you need to cut is conductive, you can make test cuts using Bypass Mode to determine if it will activate the safety system’s brake. The red light on the control box will flash to indicate conductivity.”


I use bypass mode to check any questionable condition. the only time I have activated a brake is cutting something questionable without checking first via ByPass mode.

[johnny means]

Ripping fencing material? Probably never a good start.

[Bill Dufour]

In summer I like to leave fence boards for at least two weeks outside, in the shade, to dry. I can feel the difference in weight by picking up the boards. Humidity here in summer is around 35%, temperature over 90 during the day. If you climate is much different it will take longer. 2x4 and 4x4 I try to give them a month.
Also , I believe, staples will trip a sawstop if they touch the blade.
Bil lD

[Bill Dindner]

Set mine off a few weeks ago, set my Miter gauge a little too close. Ruined a real nice Forrest WWII

[Rod Sheridan]

Well Ron, it proves that the safety system on your saw was working.:D

Construction lumber is often not dry, and can set off the detection circuit in the Sawstop. There's a test function for that, so you can test the material without firing the blade brake, and then you can run the machine in bypass mode for cutting conductive material.

of course in bypass, the safety system is not available..............Rod.

[Nick Decker]

In summer I like to leave fence boards for at least two weeks outside, in the shade, to dry. I can feel the difference in weight by picking up the boards. Humidity here in summer is around 35%, temperature over 90 during the day. If you climate is much different it will take longer. 2x4 and 4x4 I try to give them a month.
Also , I believe, staples will trip a sawstop if they touch the blade.
Bil lD

Bill, have you ever had a staple trigger the brake? I ask because It was my understanding that the staple would have to be connected to something conductive to trigger. Just an isolated staple or nail shouldn't do it.

[Brian Belmont]

Mine just did this today. I was crosscutting a fence picket from Home Depot. It was pretty green. I had already made about 10 cuts on the wood when the brake activated. Guess I'll use bypass mode next time on wood this wet.

[Mike Henderson]

In summer I like to leave fence boards for at least two weeks outside, in the shade, to dry. I can feel the difference in weight by picking up the boards. Humidity here in summer is around 35%, temperature over 90 during the day. If you climate is much different it will take longer. 2x4 and 4x4 I try to give them a month.
Also , I believe, staples will trip a sawstop if they touch the blade.
Bil lD

I've cut through staples that I didn't see before cutting. Didn't trip the brake. I doubt if a piece of metal inside dry wood will trip the brake (assuming you're not touching the metal while cutting).

Mike

[Simon MacGowen]

Staples won't trigger the sawstop. Not even a nail. A guy showed that on his YouTube video clearly.

Simon

[Richard Wolf]

I have had a staple activate the brake. The staple fell down on the brake and also touched the blade triggering the brake. This was a few years ago. Saw Stop has now changed the brake by putting a layer of clear tape on the brake surface to avoid this situation. If you have an older brake without the tape, you can use clear packing tape to cover the surface.

[Bill Space]

I am a member of a Resort and I use the community shop a lot. I purchased fencing material from Home Depot the other day and proceeded working with it in the shop. I was ripping one of these fencing boards when the Sawstop brake activated. The board had that "not completely dry" feel to it. I'd appreciate any comments on this.

Curiosity question. With a community shop, who covers the cost of cartridge/blade replacement? I have no clue membership in a community shop entails...

Bill

[Carlos Alvarez]

I recently purchased a bunch of construction-grade lumber from HD, and was shocked at how wet it was. Crap quality. I could almost watch it dry and twist up just sitting there. Within days, it had totally changed shape--for the worst of course.

Or maybe this is another reason the SawStop sucks...? :D

[Robert Engel]

Curiosity question. With a community shop, who covers the cost of cartridge/blade replacement? I have no clue membership in a community shop entails...

Bill
Yeah, I'm wondering the same thing.

[Simon MacGowen]

I have had a staple activate the brake. The staple fell down on the brake and also touched the blade triggering the brake. This was a few years ago. Saw Stop has now changed the brake by putting a layer of clear tape on the brake surface to avoid this situation. If you have an older brake without the tape, you can use clear packing tape to cover the surface.

That made sense. I have never activated mine and better go check it out as the cartridge must be the old type.

Simon

[Mike Henderson]

I have had a staple activate the brake. The staple fell down on the brake and also touched the blade triggering the brake. This was a few years ago. Saw Stop has now changed the brake by putting a layer of clear tape on the brake surface to avoid this situation. If you have an older brake without the tape, you can use clear packing tape to cover the surface.

Just wondering - did you report this to SS and, if so, did they give you a new brake?

Mike

[Richard Wolf]

Just wondering - did you report this to SS and, if so, did they give you a new brake?

Mike

No I didn't, it was a long time ago and realized that it wasn't a malfunction of the saw and the fix of the packing tape was published somewhere. I did have another brake misfire when I had a voltage drop on startup. I sent the cartridge in and it was replaced for free.

[Jack Frederick]

I went to my local cedar mill. That is all they cut. Picked up some full dimension 2x4’s. Should say “pond dried” 2x4’s . 8’ers. Some I could twirl like a baton and some I bent my knees and kept my back straight when lifting them. When I first got my SS I set my Accumiter to close to the blade and it went off. SS gave me a one time courtesy replacement, which when it was explained what I had done I appreciated. New blade though.