Metal Detector for a Saw Stop?

[Mark Grotenhuis]

Hey guys,
I just bought a saw stop and I was wondering do I need a metal detector? I do saw a lot of rough sawn wood from various sources. It's my understanding that if the saw stop hits metal the brake trips. Has anyone had this problem? How many people have tripped their brake in error? aka, wet wood, hitting metal etc ?

[Gary Breckenridge]

Figure the cost of a new Saw Stop blade and control unit compared to a metal detector. I have run into metal even in store bought wood.:)

[Simon Dupay]

It won't trip if you hit metal, unless it's grounded.

[Cody Colston]

I don't know the answer to your question but I do know that I would have asked the question BEFORE spending the $4000 or so on a Sawstop. :rolleyes:

[Michael McCoy]

I'm not trying to be overly simplistic but you said you use a lot of rough lumber. That wood is going to be going through several other tools before it gets to the table saw and those cutters and blades aren't cheap either.

[Tim Thomas]

I own a metal detector and I don't even have a SawStop. I think it's a good idea to try to get all the metal out of your boards no matter what kind of work you do, or what tools you do it with. (Just ask one of the Neanderthals here how much of a pain it would be if they ran one of their expensive planes over a sunken nail head. :D) And your timing couldn't be better, because the Lumber Wizard and Little Wizard metal detectors are on sale at Woodcraft right now for 20% off.

http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=3820

I have the Lumber Wizard and I use it on every piece of wood I'm going to work with. It works great and the wand shape allows you to scan a lot of boards quickly. I think it is definitely worth the cost as I have already pulled quite a few staples, nails and screws out of boards that could have caused damage to my tools and/or created a safety hazard.

[Ben Rafael]

I use my kid's metal detector on all my lumber. I find a staple or some odd bit of metal every few months or so.
It's worth the investment. A piece of metal will nick jointer and planer blades.

[Mark Grotenhuis]

So no one with a saw stop has ever tripped the break in error? This is very encouraging news if true. I bought the saw stop without knowing all the details due to 3 things: 1: I recently lost the tip of my finger to my powermatic table saw, 2: I have a friend who has one and loves it, and 3: There was a price increase on oct 1st that I wanted to beat. Yes $4000 is a lot for a table saw, but would I pay $4000 to have the tip of my finger back? Yep, I would. Would I pay $4000 to prevent it from happening in the future? ... Definitely.

[Scott Rollins]

I have a sawstop and it will trip if it hits metal (like a miter gauge). I think it will bypass a small brad as long as you hit it right. The technology looks for two teeth to come into a conductive material. and from the sawstop site faq #7..

7. What happens if the blade comes in contact with a nail or staple in the wood?
Generally, the safety system will not activate when a nail or staple is cut. Although conductive, these objects are not large enough to cause the safety system to activate unless they are grounded to the table or operator when they contact the blade.

[Kevin Groenke]

When we did an initial test of our sawstops, I cut through dozens of staples and brad nails to see what would happen... nothing happened. As I understand it, as long is the metal is completely embedded in the wood, the sensing current isn't "absorbed" and the brake shouldn't go off. If a metal fastener makes contact with the blade and the tabletop, or the blade and your body, the brake would go off.

Obviously this observation isn't absolute AND metal fasteners are not too good for carbide tips, so you should try to avoid them. Even if your sawstop doesn't go off, your planer or jointer knifes will pay the price. A Lumber Wizard could pay itself off pretty quickly.

-kg

[Mike Heidrick]

There is a nice hook in the rear left of the sawstop under the table. That is where I keep my lumber wizard.

[Tom Veatch]

http://www.tylertool.com/lumwizmetdet.html?utm_medium=shoppingengine&utm_source=googlebase

10 bucks under the woodcraft price. Don't know what shipping costs would do to the delivered cost of either or whether it's a strict apples/apples comparision. Different model numbers?, different paint job?