Upgrade table saw worth it?

[Ted Derryberry]

This is exactly why I bought a car without seat belts, air bags, antilock brakes with a one star crash rating. None of that safety stuff will ever help. I mean if the car is going to kill me nothing I do to mitigate injury will help.

That's the point, the car isn't necessarily going to kill you. People act like there's a 100% certainty of death if they so much as back out of the driveway without wearing a seatbelt. In fact most people go their entire lives without a serious accident. Table saws are no different, sawstop would have you believe that if you so much as turn on any other saw you're going to cut your hand off. Simply not true. If you carry the "logic" of doing everything possible to mitigate injury then you'll stop woodworking, and driving.

This is exactly what I tell my friends who refuse to skydive without parachutes. Pansies.

That makes no sense at all. If someone is afraid of something they shouldn't do it. Timidity in a potentially dangerous situation greatly increases the chance of an accident. Respect for the situation and confidence prevent accidents. Fear and hesitation causes them.

[Jeff Heath]

I will stay out of the sawstop conversation, except to tell you that if I had the chance to show you a lineup of saws that you could have (not new) for the same money that you would spend on a new sawstop, it would be the last saw of the bunch you would choose.

The best safety feature in your shop is your brain. Learn to make quality push sticks so that your appendages never come close to a spinning tool.

Also, never stand directly behind a piece of wood as you push it through any tool that is spinning at high speed (in this case, a table saw). In the unlikely event of a kickback, it cannot hit you if you are not behind it in the line of fire.

I learned that lesson the hard way 26 years ago with 2 cracked ribs from a kickback. It'll never happen to me again.

[Marshall Harrison]

[QUOTE=Steve Mathews;2780503]I was 100% convinced of buying a Sawstop to replace my current cabinet saw. After viewing the following video I'm now 98% convinced. I was originally led to believe that the Sawstop blade would stop before any flesh was cut. Apparently that is not always the case. But on the plus side the guy in the video didn't lose the thumb.


I think it somewhat depends on how fast you stick your body parts into the blade. Take your time and don't feed to fast.

[Prashun Patel]

IMHO, yes but more because of power and dust collection. The sawstop is a fine saw from a fit and finIsh standpoint. I like the riving knife mechanism and the mobility kit. It is as well made as I, a hobbyist who is willing to spend a little extra when I can for a nice tool, could want.

Put it this way. I consider upgrading my tools when I can because I want to enjoy the bells and whistles and quality, but have not considered upgrading my sawstop PCS

[Nick Decker]

That video seems to be going viral. Notice that he was using a Freud blade with those anti-kickback "humps", which Sawstop recommends against because the brake doesn't stop them as fast.

[Bill Space]

You have decided to upgrade to a higher level saw. Good for you. You will
not regret it.

So it happens to be a SawStop, all the better.

Myself, I can’t believe how much better a real cabinet saw is over the sears contractor saw I used to use exclusively. You are going to be a happy camper when you get the new saw. That is the most important thing...along with the safety advantage.

[glenn bradley]

I have a Saw Stop but, your saw is pretty well reviewed, built with trunnion adjustment in mind and only really lacks a riving knife to reduce your pucker factor. If you are thinking of steppiung up to a 3HP cab version I would go for it. If you are going to get another contractor saw I would wait. You can easily build a box around your router extension wing and get very good collection at the fence and box if you have a decent DC. IF your DC is lacking, a new saw won't really help that ;-)

[John LoDico]

I have the same set up as you -- 3650 with a Benchdog insert. Great little saw, isn't it? But, yes, I'd recommend the upgrade if you can swing it because why the heck not? You'll get a well-built saw with more oomph than we have now plus a little piece of mind. I'd also ignore the few silly comments here, which are rare for such a generally helpful site. Usually people who encounter blades on table saws don't just walk away with a "bandaid." And the very definition of "accident" is something that's unexpected, out of the ordinary -- a thing that occurs even when you're doing your best to avoid it. Happens to the best of us, the bravest of us, the most cautious.

[Mike Henderson]

I was 100% convinced of buying a Sawstop to replace my current cabinet saw. After viewing the following video I'm now 98% convinced. I was originally led to believe that the Sawstop blade would stop before any flesh was cut. Apparently that is not always the case. But on the plus side the guy in the video didn't lose the thumb.

SawStop has been careful in their advertising to state the difference between a SawStop accident and a non-SawStop accident. They show a finger with a scratch and a finger missing.

There's no way to know that your hand got into the blade except for your hand touching the blade. What SawStop does is detect that your {finger,hand,arm,whatever} touched the blade and stop the blade before it can do serious damage to you. My hand came in contact with a SawStop blade and I had a scratch on my thumb. Put a bandaid on it and a new blade and brake on the saw.

Well worth the cost of a new blade and brake when I think that I could have lost my thumb.

Mike

[Ted Derryberry]

I have the same set up as you -- 3650 with a Benchdog insert. Great little saw, isn't it? But, yes, I'd recommend the upgrade if you can swing it because why the heck not? You'll get a well-built saw with more oomph than we have now plus a little piece of mind. I'd also ignore the few silly comments here, which are rare for such a generally helpful site. Usually people who encounter blades on table saws don't just walk away with a "bandaid." And the very definition of "accident" is something that's unexpected, out of the ordinary -- a thing that occurs even when you're doing your best to avoid it. Happens to the best of us, the bravest of us, the most cautious.

He asked for opinions and got them. A bunch of cheerleading and "me toos" is far from helpful.

[Dominik Dudkiewicz]

"Worth it" and value are very subjective and personal, and depend on individual preferences, circumstances, including budget, and risk appetite.

From my perspective, I believe a cabinet saw is a good upgrade from a functional perspective and in worth the cost assuming you already have other tools that may provide more utility than the upgrade.

From a safety perspective, the sawstop is certainly safer. But you pay for it, both upfront and ongoing cost of replacing cartridges, or risk of replacing cartridges due to misfires. Is it worth it? Not for me at this point. I'd rather spend the money elsewhere. If I didn't have a good dust collector like a 4-5hp cyclone, I'd put my money there first. I "may" cut off a finger but I "will" be breathing in dust without a good extractor. I'll also know if I haven't cut myself whereas I won't be sure what damage i'm doing with dust until it's too late. For me I can sleep better at night eleminating the dust risk as I never lay awake at night worrying about cutting off a finger.

Again, value is too subjective but I'd consider the value of the next best thing to spend the premium of the sawstop on, and see if it brings you more joy or utility or peace of mind. In economics the cost of something is the value of the next best thing or opportunity forgone.

Cheers, Dom

[Robert Chapman]

Not only is a SawStop safer than a non SawStop table saw, the SawStop is also a beautiful, high quality saw. My sincere advice - Buy a SawStop.

[Rick Potter]

Just last week, I took an ambulance ride after a bad fall. No lights and siren, or oxygen {both expensive add ons}. 10 miles total, and the cost was $1800. It gives me a little perspective on cost.

My wife encouraged me to get a SS two years ago. I got a PCS...nice saw.

[Dominik Dudkiewicz]

Just last week, I took an ambulance ride after a bad fall. No lights and siren, or oxygen {both expensive add ons}. 10 miles total, and the cost was $1800. It gives me a little perspective on cost.

My wife encouraged me to get a SS two years ago. I got a PCS...nice saw.

In Australia the premium paid for a sawstop over similar cabinet saws would pay for ambulance cover for the entire family for life , just saying.

I often hear the argument; is your finger or hand worth more than the price of a sawstop? This of course completely ignores statistics, where the cost of the sawstop must be multiplied by the chance/probability of hurting yourself in order for this question to have relevance. So if I estimate that my chance of hurting myself is 1/5000, then my finger would need to be worth $3500 (cost to "upgrade") x 5000 = $17,500,000. Not sure I'd sell it for that but don't think i'd pay that to keep it.

By all accounts they are a good saw and I don't think anyone is wrong to buy one. But they are not for me as I'd rather put my money elsewhere.

Cheers, Dom

[Roger Marty]

[QUOTE=Steve Mathews;2780503]I was 100% convinced of buying a Sawstop to replace my current cabinet saw. After viewing the following video I'm now 98% convinced. I was originally led to believe that the Sawstop blade would stop before any flesh was cut. Apparently that is not always the case. But on the plus side the guy in the video didn't lose the thumb.


The video shows a blade with shoulders, which is not recommended by SawStop because the blade stopping time is longer.