Tim, it's not just about responsibility. I try and be as safe as possible - especially after sticking my finger in a band saw and walking away with only a minor cut. On the table saw, I always make sure the surface is clean and will push the piece of wood back and forth, before I turn the blade on. Even though everything seems to be in good order, something can still go wrong. Even though the table saw has "SawStop" written all over it, doesn't mean I treat it any different than a Delta. What I do know, is that my dad and myself are more likely to keep all of our digits, than when he had the Delta.

If the tool can save digits/lives, it performs just as well as the competitors and you could afford to spend the extra $$, wouldn't you buy it?

Probably not, because if it goes off accidentaly and trashes a $100 worth of components/saw blades and I have to wait for new replacement parts to finish my project, I would be p!ssed off.

I "choose" to wear my seat belts, but years ago they were not mandatory..... now they are. I choose to wear a helmet on a motorcycle but don't feel it should be mandatory as it is now in many states. I don't like the fact that new cars have to have airbags out the wazoo. I don't use the stupid trigger locks that come with many new guns.... I believe some states have some silly laws requiring them however.

Because once this guys product gains traction, in time someone will sue Delta or Dewalt because they cut their finger off in a machine without this feature. Well after a few more lawsuits, precedence will be set and manufacturers will either stop making simple table saws, or will be forced to build something similar.

A few years later, someone will sue because they cut their finger in a band saw, next will be a chain saw and after that probably a circular saw.... slippery slope indeed.

Tim, SawStop has been around for at least five years now. My dad has had his for about four and in that time the cartridge never accidentally tripped. It tripped when a miter gauge (aluminum) touched the blade.

It's only a matter of time before someone sues using a regular saw. Even is SawStop wasn't around, it's only a matter of time.

You can get replacement parts at some local stores. I can only see a potential problem on a Saturday night/Sunday.

Don't worry -- even with a saw stop you can still get enough kickback to get killed. A guy did that here not long ago.

So your desire to have people get maimed or die when they make a mistake can stay intact.

It happens all the time in the back country too -- if you venture beyond table saws...

We thought about them. I believe Warner Bros. bought a dozen for their shows. Most of the time the Construction Coordinator does a "box rental" for all his tools, and he's responsible for maintaining them.

What I did do is get my boss a big glass jar and fill it with fake fingers and thumbs, so with rings on them, some with nail polish. There are about two dozen in the jar. We take it to our opening safety meeting with construction crews and talk about machine guarding. We've had our fair share of amputations.

Our resident global warming enviro#$%@ also appears to be a safety cop. Who da thunk it?

THAT's your best rejoinder??

try stronger drugs next time

Only have one Vodka and Coke down.... maybe I will try again once I get the second one down. :)

best wishes

The SawStop patents already cover rotating machinery other than table saws - including band saws, jointers, etc.

How about hacksaws and kitchen knives?..... one can never be too careful. :D

OMG! They tested it with a weenie.....ouch

Still beats cutting a couple of fingers off accidentally? You'd wait a lot longer then for your hands to heal (sorry, no replacement parts).

But seriously, you'd want a spare brake and blade around and that should settle that issue. If I'd run a table saw a lot, I would buy this thing, no question.

George

Funny.. send your wife and kid off in a .... Pinto... no seat belts etc. explosive gas tank! Your comfortable with that?


You think Delta and Dewalt don't have any pending lawsuits?? Make like an ostrich and stick your head in the sand....

Ok lets put your wife and kids back in this car without airbags... Yea lets have your wife do all her daily stuff , transporting the kids etc in a Pinto

I like ABS and airbags.... they may protect me from a ludites like you...:P

Guess what, if you care for your you wife and kids for more than a nanosecond, and don't wear your seat belt... you are an idiot!

And as a woodworker from way back.... you don't have spares? I have a bunch of blades and parts for my equip.. I could get my saw working in short time if this safety stuff was tripped....

Here's the bottom line -- does anybody seriously want sawstop to NOT make this thing b/c it might increase the exposure of other companies to lawsuits?

- eh?

or b/c it might someday result in a law that requires saws to be fitted with an enhanced safety measure?

Especially if you rely on an able set of hands to earn your living, you should be excited about safer tools. We'd still be running "widow makers" like a third world country if we'd go with some of the opinions voiced in this thread. Of course, one can overdo things as well, where the tools become useless. I don't see that with the tool here. The table saw is reasonably priced for a professional machine and it retains 100% of its use. If I had to buy a saw for my business, I would much rather pay a little extra and know that I won't have guys home for 6 weeks of recovery, coming back with a finger missing.

Just my two cents ...

George

OSHA should ban knives too. They can cause irreparable damage to soft tissue. Instead, we should use this for all cutting duties: :)

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Nice over-the-shoulder toss, btw.

Sherwood

I am wrong that people are stupid?

Seat belts were installed in cars to save lives, and yet stupid people refuse to use them that is why we have air bags. If you know how to drive you can pump the brake to avoid a skid, but stupid people don't know how to drive and that is why we have ABS.