"snowdog" wrote in message
m...

"GregP" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 12:15:10 GMT, "snowdog"
wrote:

1. Historically, if you build something that takes away the need to
think
about what you are doing, people will stop thinking.

It's hard to imagine running wood through a table saw
without "the need to think." Maybe you're capable of
that and there may be others like you. But I suspect
that you're in a small minority.


I suppose this has the same level of moral hazard as a seat belt. You
don't really need them until you need them, and that one moment of not
thinking does you in. I suppose we all have some pretty good stories about
near misses that we've had or seen along the way. Perhaps from not
thinking. Perhaps from being tired. Possibly from being distracted for a
moment. Maybe from inexperience.



Lets put it this way. If you are on top of a tall building and you are
close to the edge, you will have a tendency to much more careful about
what you do if a railing is not there. Oddly enough the railing doesn't
even have to be strong enough to keep you from going over the edge, just
the fact that it is there is enough to cause you to be less attentive than
if it was not there are all. If you put a device on a saw that will
(hopefully) stop the blade if you touch it, you will have a tendency to do
things you normally would not do on the table saw. Perhaps not use that
pushstick that is just out of reach, or cut a piece that is way too small
without the proper support. It is part of the human condition to get
"lazy" when the percieved level of danger decreases.


2. If don't feel comfortable with a device, that if it misfires, is
going
to destroy my $100+ saw blade, the safety device itself, and possibly
damage the saw. ....

Right there you've listed another reason to keep thinking:
you're going to lose at least $150 if you goof, plus maybe
a nice chunk of wood.


And if it fires correctly will save $30,000 in hospital bills, months of
rehabilitation, and an SWMBO from selling every last tool in the shop.


I am not goin to argue that in the (unlikely) event a person does make
contact with the blade, the cost of the blade and safety device becomes
trivial, of course it does. However, when you weigh the cost vs. the
risk, I don't believe the risk in this case is great enough to justify the
cost. This is no different than other decisions made in the wood shop,
there are those who will argue you must wear a dust mask at all times in
the shop, because the risk of inhaling the dust that you will generate
justifies the need for the mask. There are others who will only wear a
mask (or respirator) only when working with certain types of wood or other
products. It is a decision each person has to make for himself (or
herself).

4. I mean no offense to those who will feel safer having a saw that is
equipped with one of these devices, more power to you, just don't force
it
on the rest of us.


I don't know of anyone who has posted in this n.g. who has
the wherewithal or the will to force this saw on you. Do you ?

The makers of this device have petitioned the Federal Government to make
this device mandatory on all tablesaws (I won't argue with you on specific
sizes of saws, suffice it to say that is there ultimate goal). This is
equivalent to forcing it on the general populace. I will grant you that
they probably do not post on this n.g., though I am pretty sure that they
(or someone in their organization) lurk here.


I don't think it should be a mandatory item. I think it should be
readily available at a reasonable price. I don't have a problem with
someone else cutting their fingers off. I just want to save mine as well as
those of anyone who uses my shop.



John C.




Michael