SawStop Reliability

[Jason White]

Have had my PCS for two years. Zero problems.

[Martin Penning]

Thanks everyone for all of your thoughts/comments. I am going to keep the order. I am definitely very safety conscious not just for me, but even more so for the grandsons (as several referenced).

It seems that every time I turned around there were reports of SawStop malfunctions. I don’t recall hearing about any failures to trip, but many false trips and it made me worry that possible design changes or quality control issues were happening.

So, thanks again to everyone for your help!

Martin

[Larry Frank]

One needs to define false trips. In the almost 10 years that I have had my Sawstop, I have had two trips. Both due to my stupidity. I adjusted my Incra miter gauge for a cut and it contacted the blade.....WHAM. A lot of people have had this happen but not a false trip.

There are a few that are associated with bad cables or wiring. Sawstop has typically been quick to fix these and I call them false trips.

[Jim Dwight]

I think the decision is made but I will add my experience. I bought my SS in 2018, I think, in preparation for retirement. I had several other saws before it but the SS is better in every way - except the safety features are a little bit of a mixed blessing. Don't get me wrong, I want them, but having to switch cartridges to put on a dado stack make an already somewhat long process even longer. I rarely get flashing lights and a failure to start but it happened some initially. Never was anything really wrong but it wanted the gap adjusted or something. I've only triggered the brake once and it was with a 3/4 inch dado set in the saw. I was raising the blades through a Colliflower throat plate and nervous about the thin masonite center. So I put a scrap 2x3 over the throat plate. If I had clamped it, it would have been fine. If I had turned the saw off before lifting the 2x3 it probably would have been fine. But I was stupid and lifted the 2x3, it caught in the dado stack and I would have lost the end of at least the middle finger on my left hand without the brake. I had used a table saw for 50 years or so but you only have to get stupid or impatient once. I think the cartridge swap may have contributed to my usually impatience but I fully knew better than to do what I did.

I think the colliflower is a fine addition, by the way. I make my own inserts now out of plywood or hardwood and like them better than the masonite ones. I switched to doing dados with a router, however. I don't love their screaming but I don't do a lot of them, they are normally very shallow (more for locating the piece than adding glue area) and it is working fine for me.

[Myles Moran]

PCS for 2.5 years (I think? Gosh time flies) and run probably around 1k board feet through it. Zero issues, and honestly if it tripped tomorrow over nothing, I'd buy a new brake, send the blade to Forrest for repair, and continue using it afterwards. I've been through PT for a broken ankle and I have no intentions of doing it again, especially for a hand injury. If tomorrow a router table and/or a bandsaw with the same technology came out I would 100% be purchasing them that day.

[Rod Wolfy]

Had mine about 4 years. No trips. I feel much better about friends that are non-woodworkers using it. I've had a Jet 52", a Felder & a Bosch portable. I prefer the SS.

I'm not sure on their market share, but is guess that it's like ⅓ the current market of saws aquired.

I've only read a few actual mis-fires. One string was attributing it to poor quality plywood or particle board or of China. The theory was that there was some metal in the glue or something to make it conductive.

[Tim Janssen]

Bought my PCS 12 years ago. Still love it. Equiped it with a Grizzly slider 10 years ago.
Cheers,

Tim

[johnny means]

I was one of the early adapters, back when they only made one model. That saw has been in a commercial setting cutting wood since 2008 with zero issues. I've worked with many others since then and never seen one fail. The one in our shop now was flooded in 2 ft of water a couple of years ago and never skipped a beat.

[Randy Heinemann]

I own the Jobsite model because it's really useful to be able to fold it up and move it out of the way in my shop as I don't use it everyday anyway. As far as the brake and other problems. I have had no problems in the time I owned it and bought it just when it first came out; maybe 4-5 years ago. I did trip the brake but it was my fault; using an aluminum fence which I didn't set properly to clear the blade.

[Kris Cook]

I have a SawStop 3HP PCS on order. (It’s been on order for about 6 weeks.). I subscribe to a number of forums and have seen a lot of reports of problems. I know that people talk a lot more about the problems they’ve had and not nearly as much about the positive results. But, none the less, I’m growing concerned about so many reports of issues.

This saw replaces a General 350 saw that I bought new 25 years ago. That saw never failed in any way, but especially since I’m getting older I wanted the SawStop safety features for myself and my several grandsons as they learn. <br>

So, based on all of the above and your experiences (and first hand knowledge), should I cancel the order?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you may have.

Martin

Thanks everyone for all of your thoughts/comments. I am going to keep the order. I am definitely very safety conscious not just for me, but even more so for the grandsons (as several referenced).

It seems that every time I turned around there were reports of SawStop malfunctions. I don’t recall hearing about any failures to trip, but many false trips and it made me worry that possible design changes or quality control issues were happening.

So, thanks again to everyone for your help!

Martin

Martin - not for the reasons you originally considered but you might want to cancel the order depending on the wait time. When I replaced my saw last year I was going to get a Grizzly but they were backordered a few months out. Ironically, Grizzly had SawStops in stock and I bought one.

I just checked and THEY STILL DO.

[Brian Tymchak]

Martin - not for the reasons you originally considered but you might want to cancel the order depending on the wait time. When I replaced my saw last year I was going to get a Grizzly but they were backordered a few months out. Ironically, Grizzly had SawStops in stock and I bought one.

I just checked and THEY STILL DO.

Woodwerks here in Gahanna, OH also has SS in stock.

https://www.thisiswoodworking.com/

[Martin Penning]

Thanks again, everyone, for your comments.
Martin

[Mike Mason]

I made a dozen inserts all at once out of 1/2" baltic birch. I use the rip fence to hold the insert in place while raising the blade.

[Prashun Patel]

I owned a sawstop for several years. I tripped the blade 3 times because of contact with the aluminum miter fence I own. False trips or careless user trips are to be expected. It’s expensive because you have to replace a brake and a blade.

I also changed my way of working with respect to dados, which require their own brake. I just stopped using a dado blade.

I found the saw otherwise perfect. I was nervous at using such an electronics heavy tool, but it had never failed.

I have since sold that PCS and no longer use a table saw. It’s just too dusty and big a beast for me any more.

I will last say that for myself while blade contact can be more drastic an accident, kickback is a less intuitive and hence more likely accident in the case of a grandson… so caveat emptor.

[Patrick Varley]

I also changed my way of working with respect to dados, which require their own brake. I just stopped using a dado blade.

Same. I'm much more likely to just put a FTG blade on and make multiple passes unless I have to make a bunch of dados.

I've been tempted to get the Woodpecker Rip-Flip system to make that easier (among other reasons).