SawStop

[Ronald Blue]

James, I believe your story but my experience was not the same. I was doing something dumb, I was cutting the opening in a throat plate for a 3/4 wide dado stack. I use a colliflower throat plate in my PCS and the inserts are 1/4 masonite - not at all sturdy. So I put a scrap 2x3 over the throat plate to hold the insert down as I raised the dado stack. If I had used my brain and clamped the 2x3 in place it would have been fine. If I had turned the saw off before lifting the 2x3 to check progress I probably wouldn't have gotten cut. But I raised the 2x3, the stack caught it and jerked my hand into the dado stack.

I got a broken bone and 6 stitches. I don't think it was the fact that it was a PCS that made me get stupid. But it did kind of contribute. The swapover from the brake for a regular blade to the brake for a dado stack is not super quick and easy to do and it was the first time I did it. So it took me awhile, there was dust buildup around the blade brake and it did not come off easily. So I was a bit frustrated and was rushing when I finally got it swapped and was ready to cut with the dado set. Doesn't excuse my stupidity, I have used table saws for around 50 years and this was my first cut on one. I knew better. But the same brake technology that saved my finger contributed in a way to my frustration and carelessness.

Nothing is perfect or without drawbacks. I still appreciate the technology. But not all mistakes with a SawStop can be remedied with a band aide. And the brake can also be a source of frustration if you let it which can contribute to bad decisions.

So it saved you losing your fingers or hand. It would have been much worse with any other table saw. The aggressiveness of a dado stack and the damage it can do scares me thinking about it. Holding the throat plate in place I understand. Doing it with your hand is very dangerous. But you know that better than anyone. Hopefully others will learn from this. Maybe a bandaid doesn't fix every possible scenario but if you did this without a SawStop you would be telling a much sadder story. Hope you are healed up now.

[Aaron Inami]

Running a dado on my old cabinet saw was always a stressful experience because I know it was considerably more dangerous than a normal saw blade.

[Joel Gelman]

I think a slider with pneumatic clamps is even safer than a Saw Stop. Just my opinion. When I had a traditional Delta Cabinet saw, I remember a really bad kickback (yes there was a splitter), and thought I was so happy that missed me. That motivated me to get a slider rather than put the money into my second mortgage. With a slider and pneumatic clamps, my fingers are never within 18 inches of the blade (that has an overhead guard) and I am never standing behind the blade. Now, one can argue they are even more expensive than a SawStop and too pricey, but if you were to ask me when driving home from work in my Prius with 170k miles if I would trade my slider for a Ferrari, I would not (unless I could sell it to buy another slider and have leftover money). It would no good for me to lose fingers. No fingers, no job. I know there are dangers to woodworking, and I will not let that stop me from my hobby, but I do my best to be careful. It is interesting that I would have no problem having a drink or glass of wine and then driving (nothing to put me over the limit) but when I operate my machines, zero alcohol always. I hope to never have an "it happened so fast" experience.

[Justin Rapp]

I know a lot of people on the forum will complain that SawStops are too expensive or they should just give their tech away etc. Not starting one of those threads.

I was at a community shop yesterday and saw someone trigger the SawStop. He was doing a bunch repetitive cuts, reached over the blade, and got his finger. He had a cut, but he put a band-aid on it and was back to work in 10 minutes. This would have been a finger amputation at best on another traditional cabinet saw. The guy knows what he's doing, he just got a bit careless (it doesn't take much) and was lucky it was a SawStop.

The tech works. And most TS injuries seem to happen to people who know what they're doing and get tired/lazy/careless. Just keep it in mind!

James,

I don't think you will get the same level on nonsense responses you see on say, Facebook woodworking groups. I honestly think most people here are of a different thought process when it comes to safety. Thank you for sharing your experience and I am glad the person who had a flesh contact with the blade only needs a band-aid. I have my SawStop just under 1 1/2 years and the saw has actually made me work much safer. Since getting my sawstop, I started using more push-sticks, a gripper and also jessem stock guides. And I also even through the SawStop push stick in the garbage because I didn't like the flex it had and felt it could sleep to easy. I also didn't order a spare cartridge so I know if i set it off, i am dead in the water for a day or two. It made me work smarter and safer, not the other way around.

[Richard Coers]

A Sawstop post is the same as a political post. No greater division amongst woodworkers. I suggest that all Sawstop posts should be off limits just the same as a political statement here. I mean how many times does the argument have to start? We all know how they work and that half the woodworkers hate them and the guy that invented it. Let's drop the subject!

[Karl Loeblein]

He was using a crosscut sled with a stop block. Lots of ways to do that I guess, but with the sled you can't really use the guard.

Wonder if making a guard for the crosscut sled out of plexiglass or acrylic might have prevented this accidental trip which would have saved $150, cost of a good blade and down time to replace everything. Like the saying prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[Dave Roock]

Without arguing, a certain percentage of the population has zero business operating any power tools like a saw. When I worked for a large construction company years ago, we had people on our crews that were not allowed to operate any power tools other than a drill for fastening plates. None of the people who were not allowed to use saws even complained. The downside I see is complacency - other saws such as band saws, circular saws etc do not have those type of stops. No valid reason to get injured = always have 100% focus on the job at hand, no reason to put your fingers near any blades. Best of luck to all.

[Holmes Anderson]

He was using a crosscut sled with a stop block. Lots of ways to do that I guess, but with the sled you can't really use the guard.

Interesting. Why did he reach over the blade rather than pull the sled back toward himself?

[Keegan Shields]

haha some people must not have that "voice" in their head...

[Jim Dwight]

My finger that hit the dado stack is long since healed up. The nail grew back and the cuts closed. I am missing a small chunk so it doesn't look quite the same but most people do not notice. The feeling is pretty much back. It is fine. I agree, I would be missing at least the first digit if I had not been using a SawStop.

In addition to the safety features, my PCS is the nicest table saw I have owned, possibly the nicest I have used.

I thought that after 4+ decades without a table saw injury a SawStop was overkill for me but I'm glad I got it. Anybody that thinks it can't happen to them is fooling themselves. There may be people that can work with tools and never get a stitch but I haven't met any. It is not always a mistake by the user. Bad things can happen.

Habitually using a guard when you can is a good practice but they don't work for dado cuts, of course. Developing good habits worked for me for a long time. Until it didn't.

[Mike Henderson]

While these are minor injuries, I've shed more blood from chisels and carving tools than from powered tools - not even close.

Mike

[But my SawStop did save my finger one time.]

[John Kananis]

I second this.

A Sawstop post is the same as a political post. No greater division amongst woodworkers. I suggest that all Sawstop posts should be off limits just the same as a political statement here. I mean how many times does the argument have to start? We all know how they work and that half the woodworkers hate them and the guy that invented it. Let's drop the subject!

[Jim Becker]

The subject isn't the issue and it's not going to get forbidden because it's relevant to this forum's purpose. The issue is personal behavior. Like many things...a good path to follow is "if you don't like it, don't buy/do it". It's very much ok to have an opinion and express it thoughtfully, but it's not ok to berate someone who feels differently.

Jim
Forum Moderator

[Ronald Blue]

OK Ronald, I have to ask. How does a deer set off a car air bag? Assuming you don't run into the deer on the road.

Deer set off airbags by hitting them. Rendering a vehicle undriveable even though the rest of the damage may be minor. So not necessarily a false activation but an unneeded activation. Unfortunately the greater danger is the deer coming though the windshield because they leap at the right time. Around here white tail deer get quite large. While not common there are fatalities from the deer coming through the windshield. I worked with a guy who met this fate. No front end damage but the force of the deer through the windshield was fatal. Newer vehicles aren't as susceptible to deer activation. Apparently the crash sensors are more in tune to what an impact needing activation looks like. So it's in my opinion a false activation because there wasn't a real collision needing the protection. Much like a SawStop activation from a nail or miter gage contacting the blade rather than human flesh.

[John Lanciani]

Sounds like a blade guard might have been just as effective at preventing injury in this example.