Ron Magen responds:

Charlie,
Unfortunately {or fortunately - if you believe in Darwinism}, the ONE piece
of absolutely vital Safety Equipment can't be either bought or legislated.

The one between your ears.

Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop
{as I mentioned to JT . . . still have all my fingers & toes, my OEM teeth &
eyes, and enough hair to be a 'donor' }

"Charlie Self" wrote ...
SNIP
But I still wouldn't want legislation telling me that the next time I got a
table saw, I'd have to double its price to pay for safety equipment I won't
buy on my own.

True enough. A quick OSHA check shows that in 1999 there were 3 reported
incidences of table saw accidents, 2 with amputations and 1 with partial. The
following year saw 1 injury reported, no amputations. The reports all indicate
a degree of Darwinism in action, and, of course, don't show a full spectrum of
amateur and pro workers, but do give an indication of the scarcity of the type
of wounds the SawStop is designed to prevent.

There just are no overall figures, at least that I can locate, that show what
kindo of real value this device might have. And reading recently of false
indications causing the SawStop to activate makes me even more leery of its
forced use. Those may or may not be true. There really needs to be some
industry study in this area.

Charlie Self
"If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave
it to." Dorothy Parker