Greetings and Salutations...

On Mon, 13 Dec 2004 17:37:43 GMT, "BobS" wrote:

Fred said......

The problem with this device is people becoming dependent on it and being
careless, and then at a most inopportune moment, the device fails.

Sorta like brakes on a vehicle then....?

No...actually more like the Automatic Braking System
included in many cars today.
It is a device which is added to the basic, perfectly workable
mechanism, which is designed to replace skill and ability on the part
of the driver with robotics.

After all, it is only an electromechanical device, and such devices have
certainly been known to fail. It remains that the best safety device
ever invented is a clear mind and proper technique. And I realize that
the SawStop has been thoroughly tested on hot dogs without failure, but
1: That certainly doesn't mean that it won't fail. And I believe
that they don't guarantee that it won't fail.
2. When I want to cut up a hot dog I use a knife instead of my table
saw anyway.

I guess you then don't use the brakes on your vehicle.....?

I would not if I had to replace the wheels and tires on
the vehicle every time I hit them to the tune of several hundred
dollars.

I believe a lot of the controversy on this subject was not so much the
technicalities but that the company tried to have legislation introduced
that would mandate this safety device. It would probably greatly minimize
the potential damage done to skin and bone versus the number of failures it
may experience but if you're the one it fails on - then you certainly
wouldn't agree.

Like brakes on a vehicle - they've been known to fail also.


Bob S.


Yea...the end run that the company tried to make to FORCE us
to use this mechanism did not sit well with the consumers that would
be affected by it. However, I had issues with it beyond that, in
that I am part of the group that believes that it would bring an
illusion of safety, causing a decrease in attention and awareness
when using the tablesaw, and, therefore would actually increase the
likelihood that an accident would occur. The fact that the RESULTS
of that accident would be more painful to the wallet than to the
body is of little relevance to me, actually.
Beyond that, there are the issues of cost and reliability that
have yet to be answered in any serious fashion. I should note that
this device DOES have an override that will disable it for "special
cutting circumstances". Want to bet that some woodworkers would
find a way to turn it off permanently and...there is a good chance
that those are exactly the workers that would be taking chances,
working stupid, and, therefore more likely to get hurt? A friend
of mine has a drycleaning shop. The pants presser, which is a large
machine that calmps the pants between two, steam-heated platens to
press out the wrinkles, has a safety interlock requiring the user
to have their hands on separate switches, out of the way, before the
machine will close. The last time one of his workers got burned by
this bad boy (and having your hand clamped in this thing, with
the 250 degree temps and steam is NOT a happy thing), it turned
out that (against company policy) the worker had used some cardboard
to jam one of the safety switches, so they could just step on the
close pedal, while arranging the pants with one hand.
Assuming that this thing will work perfectly EVERY time,
no matter how old the saw is, or how it has been used, there have
been no real data presented on how often it will trigger at the
WRONG time. I suspect that the probability of it hitting a false
positive and destroying the blade will go up as the electronics
age...
The bottom line is that using a tablesaw is a dangerous
thing to do. I want myself and everyone that DOES use it to
maintain a cautious nervousness around it, and, not get lulled
into a false sense of security. That sense of security is
exactly what ends up with folks in trouble.
Regards
Dave Mundt