New shop table saw?

egilson1

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A "new" safety feature for your table saw.

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Is that something that all off the shelf table saws are going to have now or is it an aftermarket feature one will have to install? Also does it work with all table saws or just a few?
 
It's a patented feature of SawStop table saws. See sawstop.com and the incredible video of the feature in action. A local community theatre just bought one and it's a very well-made saw in addiiton to the sawstop feature. Not cheap, but if you are working with volunteers or students, it's worth the price of the first insurance claim.
 
It's a patented feature of SawStop table saws. See sawstop.com and the incredible video of the feature in action. A local community theatre just bought one and it's a very well-made saw in addiiton to the sawstop feature. Not cheap, but if you are working with volunteers or students, it's worth the price of the first insurance claim.

Yeah these things are great. Our scene shops have 3. They're really accurate and well made saws, safety feature is icing on the cake. The only problem I've ever encountered is sawdust getting stuck in the sensors. Just be careful of running any repurposed wood through, you might set it off with a staple.
 
So I showed this to a few friends and they were taken back but they all said the same thing. How does a hot dog have an electrical signal to break the saws "field" and enable the brake?
 
I've seen this in use. It works really well, and I know at least one person who has this safety mechanism to thank for avoiding a visit to the ER or at least to the first aid kit. Little costly because you have to replace the blade and brake mechanism after it's been activated, but that's nothing compared to the cost of reattaching a finger.

Not a new technology. It's been on the market for several years, but because of how it's highly patented, no other tool manufacturers seem to be interested in licensing the brake mechanism for use in their own products.

So I showed this to a few friends and they were taken back but they all said the same thing. How does a hot dog have an electrical signal to break the saws "field" and enable the brake?

Explained pretty well how it works here.
 
And they just came out with a contractor saw!
 
I beleive the shop at my college (Cal Poly, College of Architecture and Environmental Design) got this type of table saw in 2006-7. IIRC one of my classmates accidentally triggered the brake with vasoline used for a plaster mold break - so yeah, be sure that you only cut "clean" materials.
 
We have had one in our shop for 5 years. Wasn't there for the demo, but I heard the sales rep actually touched the side of the spinning blade with his finger to demonstrate. Not a scratch. Amazing sales pitch.
 
The salesman must have been willing to sacrifice the $69 brake cartridge and the saw blade to make the sale!
 
I'm sure they do it all the time, when your selling a $3k saw a demo that probably costs them under $75 total isn't a big deal.

They also only have to pay their manufacturing cost on the blade and cartridge, not retail value.
 
I set off a Sawstop once, with my tape measure, naturally. Things are scary amazing how fast they act!


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The cost to manufacture those stops and the blades they use are cheep expect $10 blades, and the part itself costs $10 to make. They are working in bulk so $20 bucks is cheaper than buying a perspective client a meal...
 
I had one at my previous position. The impressive thing is that it isn't just a great safety device, it's also a REALLY high quality table saw. I would choose a Sawstop without the safety device over a similar saw from companies like Jet or Powermatic any day. It's just a really nicely built machine. The story I was told about 7 years ago when I bought one at my previous theater gig was that they went to the premium saw companies and tried to license them the safety device. The other companies turned them down, so Sawstop said, "Fine we'll make our own saw and we'll make it just as good as yours." I've seen one myself while on a backstage tour of a Cirque show and rumor is Mickey Mouse like's them too. They are a serious tool and not just a safety device that schools should buy. Rumor had it a few years ago that they were working on developing a band saw with a similar stopping mechanism.

So I showed this to a few friends and they were taken back but they all said the same thing. How does a hot dog have an electrical signal to break the saws "field" and enable the brake?
The saw puts out a very low current through the blade and monitors the level of that current. When anything conductive touches the blade, it senses the slight drop in electricity, stops the blade, and plunges it below the surface of the table.

You can quickly and easily temporarily deactivate the safety feature so if you have some wet wood or wood with staples in it, you can just turn off the safety device.
 
They really are a beautiful machine and Id love to replace the Delta I use daily with one. Just gotta keep asking....


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+1 on great saws my school just before I left got 3 and the were better than our 4 year old craftsman's our shop teacher was a contractor in the summer and said if he did less house building and had a shop he'd get one personally.

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