To SawStop or not...
 

I tripped the SawStop table saw tonight and pretty happy that I was using a SawStop and not another table saw. I actually have no idea what happened, as I have no marks on any fingers or other body parts. I'm not sure I touched the blade, as I was using a push stick and the blade was not sticking that far above the material.

I was halfway through cutting some wood for my shift knobs, when THUNK!, the room got very quiet and I could not figure out what was going on. The push stick was covering the top of the blade when it tripped.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413095390.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413095374.jpg

New cartridge on the left. You can see how deformed the aluminum is on the right. Saw blade is most likely okay, but now has to go back to Forrest so they can true it up and resharpen it.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413094418.jpg

It'll cost about $200 to buy a backup cartridge and have the blade dealt with. A lot cheaper than the hospital costs involved when you chop of a finger. ;)

Ripping dense wood. Mahogany can make you wish the blade took your appendages off. I shouldn't say that, but a brother of mine had a kick back while ripping using a stick, and it nearly did take his hand off. A few surgeries later and he doesn't do that anymore.

Mahogany, classified as a hardwood, is actually soft. The maple I rip on the other hand... :)

I run a Sawstop in my qc department to help protect my techs since they cut so much panel on a shift. The Sawstop has tripped six times in the last four years, twice due to contact with fingers. Thank God for it! The other four trips happened due to a suspected piece of metallic substance touching the blade. Either tramp metal or other source. The mystery trips are annoying but worth the trouble due to the added security for my guys.
Troy

One of the guys I grew up with cut off 4 fingers on one hand. Re attached with replacement joints and tendons.... Still looks gnarly...

I'm pretty sure that he wishes such a product existed 25 years ago.

Glad you weren't cut up.

Saw blades don't cut skin, they rip out chunks. I was careless once, wife rushing me to go etc. Lucky it was just a small chunk of the edge of the thumb. Few stitches and no visible scar now. SawStop is a great device, cheaper than the ER visit.
Mahogany is not very hard. Teak, Cocobolo and Ironwood are tough on the saw.

Glad you're ok.

I understand that Saw Stop has a portable that's almost ready to go to market.

Any moisture in or on the stock being cut?

That is why I get my maple gun stocks pretty well roughed out so I do not have to do any sawing on them!

Rejoice when writing that $200 check.

Glad you are ok, technology rocks!

Thanks, all. I've had one very minor incident with a band saw and that's all I care for.

They do have a contractor table saw...

As for moisture, I live in SoCal, very dry climate. The wood is stabilized and virtually dry.Moisture content is usually under 7%.

Awesome product.

SawStop could add a softer, cheap, and preferably reuse-able blade catch.
Like a pad of fibers on a strip.
Add a power source interrupt as well, if it isn't already on there.

The power to the motor cuts as soon as the system is tripped.

If the saw is off and you touch the blade and try to turn it on, it won't. It senses the current draw from your finger and prevents the saw from turning on.

Look at the difference in cartridges. I don't think anything softer than aluminum will work. The idea is to stop the blade as quickly as possible. As well, the aluminum is shoved into the blade by a high tension spring. The cartridge is pretty much destroyed on impact. It's been 5+ years since the last replacement. It's a pretty cheap item to replace in the long run.

I'd say for the occasional user the saw stop is awesome. I teach "newbies" to use a table saw at a community college and know the system works. All that said it's got limitations of course being that it is so sensitive and functions so quickly. I know it trips with any metallic laminate but never saw one trip from moisture in the wood. I've never used the system with a dado blade or molding cutter etc. I've seen teeth removed from a blade after saw stop has done it's job... actually pretty scary to hear the thing function.
All that aside working inherently safe will save your hand long before technology.... if your hand/fingers are where they belong and you're using push sticks correctly and or finger boards,not overly tired,and clearly focused on the blade...... I'm old school and used to use saws daily with no guards etc and luckily only had my hand sewn back together once :)

Back when I was 18 or so I had a summer job building trusses. They didn't have any fancy "SawStops" back then; you had to stop the saw with your fingers, like a real man.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1413205744.jpg

(yes, those are my fingers)

+ a gazillion on the ouch of dicing your fingers.... Even after a good sew up job it takes forever for feeling to return or as I have finger nails that no longer act normally

Gives my chills. I still can't run a table saw. Damn.

Wow, glad you're all right Dave!

We've bought a few sawstops for the Studio. We've lost five fingers on shows in the 12 years I've been at Disney. But to put that in context, several hundred workers using table saws. When I do my safety meetings I bring in a Mason jar filled with water and five "movie fingers", some with rings, some with nail polish. I ask if they want to add to my collection? It gets their attention.