"David B. Chamberlain" wrote in message
...
If you go to the SawStop website, there is a contact page. That gives
you
an email address of


Everyone should send them a polite email telling them that you do not
appreciate a private company using a government agency to extort money
from
private citizens. Maybe a few thousand emails will help educate them.


--
David Chamberlain


Disclaimer: I ain't gonna get political, and I find this kind of "marketing"
strategy offensive.
However...

Given the climate of personal security in the country--e.g., lots of people
fall back on perceived "safety" as the reason for buying an SUV--SawStop is
very clever. This is necessarily a SWAG, but if they can get before a
government committee or into court, they can force saw manufacturers to
appear and defend the safety equipment presently on saws and explain why it
is "good enough." When it comes out that a high percentage (90?) of
woodworkers remove the clunky blade guards and spliters now installed as
original equipment, SawStop can step forward with a working system that they
can demonstrate as being safer and non-removable. Again, this is just a
hunch.
One probable strategy is to lease SawStop's technology to existing
manufacturers rather than market their own saws; the recent installation on
a Powermatic may have been a demo of their system's effectiveness and
practicality.
Or they can settle for a "go away" payment from the manufacturers.
They certainly won't be able to sell their product on its safety merits
alone. The auto manufacturers found out a long time ago that safety doesn't
sell and they didn't install belts, air bags, etc. until they were forced.
IMHO, this was a good thing for the public, and so is the SawStop.

Bob