Finger in a table saw.

Whether you've never heard of SawStop or have this is a pretty awesome video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHrmvQKevfI

I could have used a portable version of that on my Dewalt 4" circular saw 5-6 years ago when I stuck two fingers into it!

I'd like to see someone do it and actually slide their hand into the slide rather the just gently touch the tip.

I was a bit disappointed of the inventor for not "going all the way".

Yeah, I was expecting/hoping he would replace the steak with his finger on top of the board and feed it through at that speed. Even if he got a scratch it still would have been a great testament to his product.

I talked to the architecture shop manager at my University about these things once when I was working there on workstudy. He knew several other shop managers that had tried it out, and most had scrapped it. Yes, it's effective, but it turns out that for it to be that effective, it has to be hyper sensitive. Therefore, students were setting the things off regularly with slightly wet wood, wood with some metal content, non-wood materials, etc. So they were going through tons of the crumple module things, as well as blades (quality specialty carbide blades cost MUCH more than the $60 quoted in the video), or worse, expensive dado sets. I gather it's one of those things that look great in concept, but sort of sucks in implementation.

I saw the Saw Stop on video a few years back. It's still pretty damn cool.

The inventor of the Sawstop was on the TV show Timewarp on the Discovery Channel the other night (the premise of the show is to film various things with super high speed cameras and then slow down the action.) They did the demo with a hot dog, and then he did stick his finger into the blade. It is a pretty impressive machine.

There's a long ongoing discussion about the Sawstop on the Fine Homebuilding forum. Several people there have them, and a few have had them go off when they accidentally stuck their finger or hand into the blade so they're pretty sold on the concept. If I were to buy a new table saw I'd think about that one pretty hard. I once stuck my finger into the blade on the table saw I have now; fortunately, I just took a chunk out of the end and it eventually healed up nicely, but it did scare the whee out of me.

I remember when this technology was still in the development stages, apparently it can differentiate flesh from other materials.

GameboyRMH wrote: I remember when this technology was still in the development stages, apparently it can differentiate flesh from other materials.

Nope. Random-number generator, and when it hits 42, the saw stops...

I remember waaay back when my Dad was doing wood work for side jobs. Long story short missing finger tips=the most memrable trip in the 82 Jetta. I was 8 and my Dad said "turn the key left to stop the car"

I was driving the Rescue truck a few years back and we were dispatched for a table saw injury. When we pulled up to the house, a guy ran up to the truck and told us that his friend was down in the basement and had just cut off his thumb...

...and then he said, "Here ya go," and handed us the bloody thumb.

We saw the guy a few months later and the doctors had successfully reattached it.

Ok, I run a tool repair shop and handle machinery all day long...

If you actually need the guard on your tool for it's intended purpose, you shouldn't be using the tool in the first place.

I once had a customer bring me a sliding compound mitre saw (Makita LS1013) and he told me:

"The guard is stickin' and I need it fixed, I nicked my fingers four times yesterday!"

Hardhats block the cosmic rays that make your brain work properly.

Shawn

I wonder if a machine like that breeds complacency, but Im sure the naysayers said the same thing about seat belts and airbags and such.

Joey

Does the guy in the vid soak his hand in ice water before doing the experiment?

I kind of worry about dry calloused fingers not causing it to go off...or I guess it'll have to get deep enough to draw blood.

It is very cool though.

If you have to use it twice or more, it might be time to give up woodworking.

-James

jamscal wrote: If you have to use it twice or more, it might be time to give up woodworking. -James

I think it is a great idea and I have to agree that you don't want to do this all the time.

What would Norm Abrams (This Old House) say about this?

The SawStop works great, except with pressure treated wood, or green wood. If the wood has too much moisture, it will set off the brake, which is very expensive.

However, since I remember vividly seeing my brother cut off his thumb in a table saw, it would have been worth it.

My dad cut off his thumb with a table saw. He was home alone, so he wrapped his hand with his t-shirt and drove himself to the hospital. He never did find the end of his thumb.

my dad cut off the end of his index finger a few years back on the table saw, they sewed it back on. it matches his other one, which he cut off at the steel mill and had put back on.

i took the guard off my new saw the day i bought it and know where my hands are in relation to the blade at all times and use pushsticks and whatnot when necessary.

At the tool store I work at there is very little sympathy for any staff member hurting themselves with machinery (unless it's serious)

One of our guys bought himself a new left-tilt cabinet tablesaw, he's used to his old right-tilt model and managed to nick his fingers (running without the guard of course).

We all signed his get well card and one of the salesmen cut a piece out of out monthly flyer and taped it inside the card for him.

The section of the flyer was "Pushsticks, only $3.99!"

He's fine now and all his fingers work.

Shawn

joey48442 wrote: I wonder if a machine like that breeds complacency, but Im sure the naysayers said the same thing about seat belts and airbags and such. Joey

I know, I know, it's pointless to say that studies show... without citing a source. Well I've been told that studies show, (haha, didn't think I'd dumb this down even further with the 'I've been told' bit), that people who feel more secure inside their little metal and glass pods of fast moving isolation tend to drive more wrecklessly, which is why I think we should remove all airbags and replace them with sharp metal spikes that just barely touch your chest when you are properly seated. And your seats would be fitted when you purchase your vehicle and are non adjustable.