Timeline for Are there any alternatives to a SawStop?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
12 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Mar 24, 2021 at 2:37 | comment | added | Woody Greg | We had trouble cutting laser engraved wood on one, the stop would trip. I routinely cut aluminum on my table saw, that's why they make metal cutting blades, can't use a sawstop. Good for homeowners but too limited in an industrial setting. Also they don't make a 14 inch with a sliding table and scoring blade, really not a professional machine. | |
| Dec 20, 2017 at 16:25 | comment | added | Caleb | @LosManos It takes humans around 200ms just to begin to react to a stimulus; by the time your feel a table saw tugging on your glove and start to do something about it, you may have lost several fingers. In general, gloves and spinning tools are a very dangerous combination because the blade, chuck, bit, etc., can easily grab the glove and pull your hand into harm's way. Do not wear gloves while operating a table saw. | |
| Apr 14, 2015 at 13:50 | comment | added | LosManos | Although not a replacement for an active system that moves the blade away nor a brain nor being not tired I have some ways to lessen the risk. 1) use push sticks 2) wear gloves, you feel when the blade starts tugging and will have slightly more time to react and correspondingly less mm of injury 3) paint a red line and/or a red area on the table in front of the blade 4) with a saw in a fixed position, hang a laser pointer to shine a dot right in front of the blade. FWIW | |
| Apr 9, 2015 at 17:36 | vote | accept | lars | ||
| Apr 9, 2015 at 14:23 | comment | added | dfife | @Damon--they actually do have demos of the CEO touching the blade with his finger. Also, there are many reasons why one would want to operate the saw without the blade guards. For example, using a cross-cut sled, making narrow cuts, cutting coves. I also disagree that you're more likely to get injured on a sawstop--that's pretty absurd. You might be more likely to have contact with the blade (if you're an idiot), but you'd have to be superman to move fast enough to have it cut pretty significantly. (Unless, of course, you're referring to kickback, which sawstop never claims it prevents). | |
| Apr 9, 2015 at 7:56 | comment | added | Damon | Even the mere thought "allows me to operate [...] without guards over the blade" is telling. This is just the kind of thought you're led to have, and it's not a good thing. Be wary and take all precautions, always. No exceptions. Think about it: Why does SawStop provide a "hot dog demo" instead of the guy sticking his finger into the saw? Shouldn't be a problem for him, should it? | |
| Apr 9, 2015 at 7:53 | comment | added | Damon | I consider this dangerous rather than helpful. Power tools, saws and routers in particular, are powerful high-speed machines which, by their very nature, are brutally dangerous (they have to be!). That's why you wouldn't allow your 6 year old near the table saw, too. You must respect them, and you must be careful at every moment. Having a tool that is marketed with a "safe" stop mechanism means you are more likely to get injured because you inevitably pay less attention. 5 ms at 3500RPM is a 1/3 turn of the blade. This is enough to lose several fingers or have a serious wound. | |
| Apr 8, 2015 at 16:44 | comment | added | Daniel B. | While we're at it, until such machines are (affordably) available ... wwgoa.com/video/… Some tablesaw safety for beginners. | |
| Apr 8, 2015 at 16:43 | comment | added | Daniel B. | I like the idea of sawstop a lot, and would like to see more trends in convenient tablesaw safety. If the measures taken to ensure safe use are too cumbersome, they're more likely to be ignored or removed. (and rendered useless). Tablesaws are the biggest offender in workshop related injuries (wwgoa.com/shop-accident-statistics-and-woodworking-safety) including my father's thumb, and I would love to see them made safer. | |
| Apr 8, 2015 at 6:57 | answer | added | rob♦ | timeline score: 14 | |
| Apr 8, 2015 at 6:27 | answer | added | Graphus | timeline score: 5 | |
| Apr 8, 2015 at 6:11 | history | asked | lars | CC BY-SA 3.0 |