Looking like Saw Stop Tech is going to be mandated for table saws

[SawyerTed]

I wonder what a jobsite saw will weigh?

113 pounds

[dougtrr2]

I am biased against SawStop because of the bullying tactics they tried when they first came out.

No one ever seems to mention that you have to turn it off to cut pressure treated wood.  Sometimes I wonder if the sense of security from a Sawstop will inadvertently spill over to other tools in the shop and cause more injuries from bandsaws, miter boxes, jointers, etc. 

I can see its value, especially in a school or shared shop environment.

Safety is a state of mind, and I still go back to the poster I printed in college:

"It is impossible to make anything foolproof, because idiots are so ingenious"

While I will probably never buy one, (as I prefer old machinery) I do not look down on those that do.

Doug in SW IA

[doc henderson]

I think as I get older it is more likely to save my ash.  when I am stickering lumber and cuttin stickers, I get repetitive and go fast enough I occasionally contact the blade returning the block.  more likely to hit me where the sun don't shine but might get a finger.  My mentor Kenny was minus bits for two fingers when he died, both at the "hands" of a table saw.  All guards off.

 save, saw, sweep, stack, sticker, secure, and dry one log at a time - Page 2 (forestryforum.com)

[Larry]

Sawing sticks on a tablesaw is when you need a power feeder. You can completely cover the blade and chance of a kickback is greatly reduced.

A 1/4 Hp feeder can overpower a 3 Hp tablesaw unless its kept on a slow speed. The 1/4 hp feeder is also light enough to easily lift on and off the saw. I put dual wheels (like a tractor) on my feeder to increase traction and stability.

[Bruno of NH]

I'm not good with table saw guards 
I couldn't find any of mine.
I already have all the table saws I need .
I would buy a saw stop if I was starting out again.
I think you might find insurance companies pushing some bigger. builders into having them on site.
By the way I still use a radial arm saw for some things. The blade style has alot to do with it. They still have a place in a shop.

[Oth]

Sawing sticks on a tablesaw is when you need a power feeder. You can completely cover the blade and chance of a kickback is greatly reduced.

A 1/4 Hp feeder can overpower a 3 Hp tablesaw unless its kept on a slow speed. The 1/4 hp feeder is also light enough to easily lift on and off the saw. I put dual wheels (like a tractor) on my feeder to increase traction and stability.

Easy enough to hang one from the ceiling on a chainfall or similar so you can lift it out of the way when not in use.

As don said, more often than not the issue is between the ears. I didn't know you could turn the cartridge off but if you can you better well believe the same folks who have those issues between the ears are going to turn it off and leave it off and still cut off their fingers. If you want a saw stop by all means go for it but mandates... c'mon

[wudshp]

If you bypass the safety feature you have to do it each time you turn on the saw to make a cut.  It resets every time you stop the saw.  I do that for pressure treated wood.

The riving knife on the sawstop is well made and reduces the kickback potential.  I think that's probably as big a difference maker as the brake.    There are a few ways to retrofit a riving knife to older saws but nothing as neat or easy as a saw with that feature designed in. 

[Oth]

That makes sense. Yea, to me, kickback is much more dangerous than the saw blade. The saw blade is always in the same place, the wood not so much. I have a Rockwell 12/14 table saw with an adjustable height blade guard suspended from the ceiling. Blade guard has a 3" dust port to top off the deal. Bad air is more more dangerous than tablesaws.

[Ianab]

One way I see it being "mandated" isn't by a specific law, but more quietly via Insurance companies and OSH.  NZ OSH laws state the an employer must take all "practical" steps to avoid workplace injuries. If your workers are operating machinery without the standard guards, and hurt themselves. you get prosecuted, even if the worker had a brain fart and did something dumb. Because making sure the guards were in place was "practical". There are some accidents that are impossible to predict, and impractical to fully protect against. Different legal situation in the US, but your Insurance Co is going to look at things in a similar way. If a workman's comp claim is more or less likely, that's going to affect your insurance premium. 

So once multiple saw makers start incorporating the technology into their saws, it then becomes "practical" to outfit your workplace with it.

The tech wont eliminate all accidents, but if it prevents 50% of them, that's a lot less serious injuries. Think along the lines of modern cars having ABS and airbags. They don't protect you 100%, but you are less likely to crash, and more likely to survive if you still do. 

[Don P]

This is a good video on what is going on;

When he mentions the Craftsman RAS recall. We rebuilt the cut end of 45 lines at the furniture plant I was working in to whirlwinds during that period. I can say a roommate had to have his thumb reattached after a RAS accident. They also had to look for the finger of a co-worker under a whirlwind. When we installed them there was a sensor that detected, crudely, whether your finger was too close to the guard when you hit the pedal. The sensor mangled a few fingers and most disconnected it.

Poor folks will end up doing what I did to start. Skil saws including one mounted under a piece of plywood for the tablesaw. Being it was stoopid I didn't post a picture of my shoe last year, not the first. Can't wait to pick up a skilsaw when they fix that problem.

[firefighter ontheside]

I love my sawstop.  For a long time my attitude was that I didn't need one, because I know how to use a tablesaw.  I do not use guards.  Never even had a riving knife before my SS.  When I decided I was going to buy a new 3 hp cabinet saw, I realized that the prices were almost the same between a SS and powermatic.  I realized SS was a great saw and why not have the safety feature to boot.  I have triggered it once when I touched my miter guage to it.  Oops.  Cost me about $250 for a new cartridge and dado set.  Still happy that the safety feature is there if I ever lose concentration. I doubt it will be mandated.

[doc henderson]

If your children decide to take up woodworking, a little peace of mind as well.

[RPF2509]

I used to work in a cabinet shop and was around all kinds of commercial power tools, so I am familiar with the danger.  I bought a radial arm saw through a package deal at a garage sale.  First time I used it scared the hell out of me and I junked the saw and converted the RAS stand into a reloading bench.  Later I was given a RAS and immediately unbolted the saw from its stand and replaced it with a sliding chop saw.  See lots of used RAS for sale for cheap.  I would buy a sawstop when it comes time to upgrade my old Dewalt.

[Al_Smith]

Saws I have in addiion to a shed full chainsaws .Old 9 inch Craftsman radial arm plus a 12 inch direct drive Craftsman cast iron top tablesaw .The later weighs a ton it seems and has the power to rip a 4 by 4 about as fast as you can feed it through .If it's repeated stuff ripping I use feather boards which are easy to make .
The radial I don't use to rip with .I do have both sizes of molding head cutters Sears sold with duplicate sets of cutters which I use in addition with a table mounted 3 HP plunge router to make molding and so forth .Both saws are set up to be the same height which makes it easy for something like long peices of lumber .My 12.5 inch Dewalt planer is set for the same height .

[Big_eddy]

I spent an evening in the ER chatting with the brand new ER doc at our hospital. He was about a month into his first "real job" after xx years of school. We were chatting about what he thought of his first month, the kinds of ER visits he was seeing and what could be done to reduce "preventable" ER visits.

His top two?
"If nobody over 70 owned a table saw and nobody under 17 operated an ATV, avoidable ER visits would be significantly down"

[beenthere]

Must have been an exciting "first month" for him. 

[jasonb]

This is good video that discusses what is going on.  

I need to read this thread later today.