Review of the Sawstop Professional Cabinet Saw

Saw envy by most of use without the SAW Stop, Great review.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

Wow, that saw looks fantastic! I was disappointed you didn’t do the hot dog test on it;)

Thanks for the review. I’m not in the market for a new saw (yet) but your review really gets me drooling for a new one!

Thanks!
T.

Very Nice Grats on the new kiddo!

-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"

Scott, nice new tool and happy looking shop assistant. Enjoy using it pal.

-- I love the smell of sawdust in the morning....

VERY nice saw…..like Jim said, EVERYONE will be a bit jealous over this one…congrats big time. Nothing like a new tool in the shop…but a “Life time tool”???? No feeling like it at all.

-- Don S.E. OK

Informative review and an incredible saw. Congrats, hope you never need the stop feature but you gotta love having it. Enjoy, especially the shop help.
BTKS

OMG I bow to the greatness that is Sawstop. I’ve heard that you run a risk of triping the brake if you cut green wood. I dunno. You’ve heard of a mullet haircut – business in the front, party in the back. Well I think you have a shop mullet – Powermatic in the back, Sawstop in the front. Oh well, it sounded better when I was typing it.

-- david roberts, houston area, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but that has never been a problem for me."

Scott,
it sure is pretty. good luck with it….
mike

-- mrsawdust, pittsburgh,pa.

Now you are ready to cut hot dogs. All kidding aside I saw this model at a woodshow this winter and fell in love. However my current shop does not allow me to own a saw with such a footprint.
David: the green wood thing can be managed by placing the saw in “bypass mode”but keep your fingers away from the blade. The wood really has to be wet or green to actually trip the conduction. Pressure treated lumber can be problematic too.
I also learned at the wood show that they are working on developing the system for other tool like jointer and chop saws. Sure whish I had a bigger shop.

-- All bleeding will eventually stop.

Wow! You have the coolest and the most friendly mosnter in your shop.
Congratulations!

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

My tongue’s hanging out! Lucky Dog. That is an awesome saw. Looks like you’re going to have more fun with less problems than pre-SawStop days.

Dave

-- Dave Haynes, Indiana, http://www.oldaveswoodshop.com

Have you considered moving to a safer neighborhood? Armed guard INSIDE the shop!

Congrats on your new acquisition!!

Hi Scott

Thats almost too pretty to use. Happy for you. Enjoy your new toy.

God Bless
tom

-- Mc Bridge Cabinets, Iowa

did the security guard come with the pallet? nice customer service!

congrats on the new saw. is this the industrial (original) model? or their latest professional model?

-- When in doubt - There is no doubt - Go the safer route.

Congrats Scott…......Sweet machine….......enjoy.

-- I will just keep doing it till I get it right.

Thanks for the post I am currently saving up to purchase this saw and really appreciate the review over the stock flyers.

-- Pyromedic602, free wood is always good wood

hands down the best tool ever invented…who among us are missing fingers….i never say anything about tools but this one is awesome and worth the extra money ..it aint perfect but still the best on the market ..mostly because of the table and size….i just wish it was manufactured in the USA ..at least its a US owned company in Oregon..its too bad all machines are made abroad…bummer..

-- For free woodworking video tutorials and contests, check out Woodworking with Thomas MacDonald & Friends at http://www.mlwwoodworking.com/index.html

Hands down the best tool ever invented ? LOL, whatever. That sounds like a Billy Mayes pitch, and if you act now !

Thats a beautiful new saw! Good luck with it.

Thanks for chiming in with your usual negativity woodchuck. Unlike you , I bet Billy Mayes is even smart enough to see the benefit in the safety device…

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Thomas, if you want a table saw thats made in America, buy a new Unisaw.

That’s a great saw. I’d love to work with one. Congrats and thanks for the review.

-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken

Neat saw, just don’t test the brake! Sounds like it was outstanding quality out of the box! Congrats, she’s a beaut! :)

-- Adventure? Heh! Excitement? Heh! A Woodworker craves not these things!

Scott thats a nice upgrade and congrats!

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

I hope no one takes this the wrong way, especially Scott, as this isn’t directed at him at all, or in fact, even at anyone on LJ, it is just a general observation. I find it troubling, that in an activity that is based entirely on attention to detail, as woodworking is, that we have to have a saw designed soley to keep us from cutting our fingers off?

Scott, I am very happy for you on obtaining a new saw for your shop. I know the feeling, as I just took delivery of a new Grizzly 17” Bandsaw on Tuesday (review to follow), so please don’t take this the wrong way, but my fear with Saw Stop is that it will breed complacency in the workshop and more people will be prone to losing digits due to being to confortable around a blade or cutter head moving at extremely high speed. “I forgot the bandsaw doesn’t have Saw Stop technology, now I lost my thumb.” ‘

I guess what i am saying is it feels too much like lowering the standards, much as we do with so many things. Instead of promoting safe saw techniques, let’s make a saw you can slam your hand into without getting cut. Seems fundamentally wrong to me.

Scott, I hope the new saw performs as you want it too, and lives up to all your expectations, and I hope you don’t forget safe table saw habits, and most importantly, i hope you never, ever have to put the Saw Stop functionality to the test.

I for one cannot get behind this technology. And I an sure a lot of will disagree, call me stupid, etc., and so be it.

Nice addition to the shop Scott!! My question is at what moisture content will the safety mechanism activate and ruin a blade? I have read that you can deactivate it but that kina defeats the purpose of having it.

-- My job is to give my kids things to discuss with their therapist....medic20447@gmail.com

I’m with you on this one Paul. It’s just another rich mans toy that is trying to be shoved down the average consumers throat.

Yeah MV, and if I don’t take out a loan to buy one, I’ll cut my hand off. Isn’t that nice. I’m tired of hearing it.

Really ? thats odd, the subject gets brought up in every stinkin SawStop post !

Does it have front and side airbags? :)

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

What does the saw cost?

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Whatever MV. I can’t expect you to understand when you made the same stupid decision.

“I for one cannot get behind this technology. And I an sure a lot of will disagree, call me stupid, etc., and so be it.”

Not me! I have nothing but respect for your opinion.

I’d simply add the example of my two vehicles, one with ABS and one without. I drive with the same level of care regardless of which vehicle I’m driving. The only time the presence of ABS ever crosses my mind are in panic situations, as each vehicle needs different braking technique.

These situations are fortunately very rare, but during a recent episode on a wet road, I was happy to be in the ABS equipped vehicle. The only damage was to the pizza that was riding on my passenger seat. It was folded into a ricotta-less calzone when the box hit the floor! <g>

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

Well thats great Barry, but it doesn’t make much sense to buy extravagent tools for a profession that is a sinking ship, and even makes less sense as a hobbyist, unless your rich. And I’ve said this before, One thing about these forums is that just about everything is sugar coated and delusional , you could build the worse looking book case ever in the history of man, and the responses here from some of the members, includeing Scott, who I find is notorious for it, will praise you up and down. Yeah, keep up the good work, BUY MORE TOOLS ! Who is that really helping ? After 28 years of woodworking I don’t have the best of everything, but I have whats necessary, and I’m glad that I don’t have more going down with the ship.

Nice!

Playing with the big dogs now, huh?

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Woodchuck – Why do I always get the impression that someone pissed in your Wheeties. It would seem like it happens more then not.

It would be better for all if you were to just remain silent rather than remove all doubt.

-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Keep it up Mike. Most people would of learned by now.

“Well thats great Barry, but it doesn’t make much sense to buy extravagent tools for a profession that is a sinking ship, and even makes less sense as a hobbyist, unless your rich.”

I’ll agree I hold different view of the craft than you. I’m one of those wierdos who believes that my own attitude is reflected back at me.

I sincerely hope things look up for you soon.

Back to my delusions…

-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...

Sorry Barry, but I’ve been at it long enough to know better. Been there, done that. Look up the Feds job outlook for cabinet and furniture makers. And with the houseing trades going to hell in a hand basket over night, I would think that it’s pretty obvious.

Scott, I for one congratulate you on your new Saw Stop, I know the feeling you get when you get a “brand new toy”, I had that feeling the other day when I received my new Clearvue cyclone, don’t let others negativity get to you, we each have a different situation that the others don’t know about, my self, it has always been a dream of mine to have a shop full of tools and be able to do what ever I wanted, can I afford all of these tools? maybe not, but seeing as I don’t have much else to spend my money on, I can afford it if i am careful, I don’t make my living doing woodworking, although, I do sell a few things from time to time, it is no one else’s business how I spend my money, if the SawStop is what you want, go for it, and enjoy it. I guess some people enjoy raining on others parades.
Smitty

-- Smitty!!!

Very good and detailed write-up. I wish I could get one, but its about 7 times the price of what I just bought. I’ll just be extra careful in the meantime until I can prove that it would be worthwhile. My projects are probably still worth equal to or less than the wood used, so until that changes, not fancy toys. Just the basic toys.

Congratulations, Scott and thanks for sharing your review!

-- "We are what we repeatedly do; excellence then is not an act but a habit." ---Aristotle

Scott…....Great saw and thanks for the review. I’m glad some manufacturers are still customer service oriented. I appreciate the time it took you to post the review. Now…..go build something crappy so I can praise it!

-- Don, Pittsburgh

Scott – congrats on the new saw! I think the security guard is a cool bonus.

“we each have a different situation that the others don’t know about,” That’s a very true comment. I’m neither a pro woodworker, nor am I rich. I’m very careful with my money to the point my friends think I’m too frugal, but I’m also an avid (maybe not so good) woodworker. Because of my situation, without the extra safety “nonsense” I probably would not be doing much woodworking at all.

Buy the best tool you can afford and the tool that makes you the most comfortable to use.

-- You can't get a hug from Facebook.

Wow!!! I really did not intend to start a Sawstop debate here but simply put forth a straight forward review on the saw. But I will say that everyone’s opinion is welcome, and while I may not agree with all, this simply reflects the diversity that I see as one of the strengths of this group.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

thanks for sharing

Pauldeo, with respect to the complacency issue, I think that Barry’s comment speaks well to this issue. I tend to approach the saw no differently that I did my Craftsman and view the safety mechanism very much like I do the air bags and seat belts in my truck. Given a choice of purchasing a vehicle with or without air bags/seat belts I will opt for the safety features even if they add to the cost. But I do not consciously think about the air bags when I am driving the truck. Just hope I never have to use them. I sharpened my left index finger with the old saw several years ago and that bred a great deal of respect for the potential damage that could have been done.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

MedicKen, I can’t really answer your question except to quote the manual which says that most wet or green wood can be cut with the safety device active. If it is too wet then the system is supposed to shut off the motor and display the wet wood error code without activating the brake system.

But newly treated pressure treated wood, that has had copper preservatives added to it, can trip the brake due to the increase in conductivity caused by the combination of water and copper. Bypassing the brake is recommended for this situation and, if the wood it too wet, an error code will be displayed. If the error code is not displayed then the wood is safe to cut with the brake on. The manual further recommended that wood to wet to be cut be left to dry for about 24 hours in a dry location. This should dry it enough to run on the saw.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Scott, all you did was put up a great review on your new saw, posting pics like a proud papa..something almost everyone on here would do. Nothing beats the excitement of buying a new tool, especially one you have been wanting and waiting for. You shouldn’t have to apologize for that. It just seems that somebody on here..I wont name names, I’ll just call him….”Upchuck”, finds it necessary to piss on your campfire. According to his sooth saying, our wood working Nostra dumbass is predicting gloom and doom for everyone who likes to work with wood, pro or hobbyist. So, lets all have a giant tag sale and sell all our equipment and maybe take on a more noble enterprise..like meat cutting. Ya thats it..people will always eat meat…and then I can go on some vegetarian websites and stir up trouble with my negative attitude and constant whining about American made products and rich mans toys, and inferior trunnions. And while I’m at it I will lash out at people who don’t rip down the confidence of any beginning meat cutters, who might not have the skills yet that I poses, telling them they suck at cutting brisket and should sell their flesh covered band saws and maybe take up knitting..tell us oh wise and future seeing underware skid mark, what does the government say about the futures of sweater making?

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Childish name calling and ignorance, gotta luv it.

I prefer witty, observational humor….but of course leave it to you not to see anything that takes a modicum of intelligence. Besides I wasn’t talking about you, I never named you…..I guess your guilty by association!

I am getting sucked into the “Woodchuck Vortex” and I am circling the drain right now..someone throw me an anvil…

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

nice saw scott, i am sure it will give you many years of enjoyment. that saw is a little out of my price range but i did buy the powermatic 3520B lathe and it cost almost the same. woodchuck sound like you need to cut out about 12 cups of coffee a day if you don’t like the saw thats cool but there is no need to be a jerk. and if you really think woodworking is going away there are plenty of us out there that will take all the work that you will complain about.times are tough but they will turn around.

-- Roper - Master of sawdust-

It is a really nice, well made saw….plain and simple. We have one in the commercial cabinet shop where I work. It has been inadvertently tripped a few times though. The first was pure carelessness of the operator. He tried to cut a piece of foil-coated laminate…..bang! The second no one would ever admit to how it happened? ....after that everyone was so concerned about the cost of re-setting it, that the “complacency” issue is non-existent.

The air-bag analogy is perfect. You don’t want it to go off, but you will be very glad when it saves you. Anyone out there missing a finger or more, would gladly pay the price of this saw to get that moment right before their accident back.

Roper, you can have all that $5 an hour work, knock yourself out, LOL. and Longhair, yeah, I could see a chain of accidents happening with the other workers when that thing goes off. Ofcourse thats just my negativity showing through, that could never really happen.

My signature says it all.

-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Word..

-- David, South Windsor, CT "I love the smell of sawdust in the morning"

Miket, you’ve been here 467 days and so far your only contribution to this site has been two projects that have pictures takein from a catalog. It seems to me all you can do is flap your jaw. Practice what you preach, quit stalking people and sending threatening e:mails.

I wish people would stop bad mouthing every time someone talk about the new SawStop they get. You must be some kind of idiot to think that owners of a SawStop instantly forget shop safety and fling body part willy-nilly around the blade, daring others to see how close they will get.

Shop saftey is shop safety. I think it’s freaking fantastic when someone can afford to add an extra level of saftey to thier workshop.

Everyone time a SawStop thread is opened, some just HAS to say, “I hate to rain on your parade, BUT…” Back off. If you have a problem with the manufacturer, take it up with him, not the person writing a post.

There. I ranted. Have a nice day.

btw, Scott, kickn’ nice saw. Wish I had one! Personally, I think SawStop should offer one free trigger/guard/whatever it called to new customer, plus a cheap blade, so you can do the hotdog test at home!

Milo

-- Beer, Beer, Thank God for Beer. It's my way of keeping my mind fresh and clear...

Scott,
The little guy is outstanding. Gotta love that saw. They didn’t have the mobile base when i got mine. Made my own. Your base has narrow casters which I think are better than the wide ones I chose. Did you say they are offering a dust-collection guard w/riving knife?

-- Sharp tools and thin whispy shavings make woodworking a joy.

hey woodchuck unlike you i will take any work that comes my way. and just to set the record straight i haven’t made $5 an hour since i had a paper route when i was 10.bite my shiny metal…....

-- Roper - Master of sawdust-

upchuck, exactly how many projects have you posted in 459 days? How many projects do you have to post in order to write an opinion? If my calculations a correct you have one. I guess one is all you need to be an a$#.

I’am willing to bet your problem with the saw is the price and not with the techology. If you had your choice between two contractor type saws both being around the same price, one having the saw brake and the other not. You would be a fool not to buy one that prevented your fingers from being cut off.

As with any new technoligy the cost is going to be high. That cost will eventuality come down and as more manufactures will offer it.

Just like the riving knife, I predict there will be day when all table saws will be required to have a saw brake and no doubt the upchucks of the world will complain about it.

-- I've eaten so much sawdust in my life I now poop MDF. DIEGO OUT

Rob, the saw came with a riving knife in addition to a blade guard. I was not expecting a dust collection guard but in an e-mail from tech support about a couple of minor issues( bubble in the right ruler and an undersized dust port) I had with my saw they indicated that “Sawstop would be sending me some new things for my saw including the overhead dust-collection blade guard, final bound copy of the owner’s manual and a dust panel with a properly sized 4” port (the port on these saws was slightly smaller than 4”. It may be a few months before these are available.”

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

Well Scott, not only did you get a great saw…but it looks like they are trying to be great in their customer support area also. Sounds like a win win for you and anyone else who bought one…Congrats again !!!

-- Don S.E. OK

Price for a new sawstop table saw, $3500.
Having all your fingers at the end of the day,, Priceless.

-- I've eaten so much sawdust in my life I now poop MDF. DIEGO OUT

I would be very interested to ck out the dust collection guard. I have been planning on building the one that is in Shop Notes #103. A 4” hose fit on mine just fine.

I lost a finger and a half on a table saw. The medical bills were $140K to have them reattached.. lost 2 mo. work and 6 mo. woodworking. two years later, I am getting sufficient feeling to really use the fingers. PRAISE GOD for the surgens and insurance.

There is a serious accident on one saw in twenty.

Do not hurry. Always think safety. Think if this piece of wood flew across the room where would my hand be?

-- Sharp tools and thin whispy shavings make woodworking a joy.

Hey Brad_Nailor – You’ve pegged woodchuck very well, and love your sense of humor or should I say sarcasm.
I notice upchuck puts down MikeT for only 2 projects, well I just checked upchucks and theres a picture of the sky (I think) and nothing else, so who the hell are you to put someone else down?!!!!!!! You got nothin, and all you seem to have is negativity, what?!!!!!!!!!! the dog die, your wife leave you? (and if she did who could blame her?) Crack a bottle of Midol and get over your period. Oh yeah, congrats to Scott for your new baby ( the saw ) enjoy it and look forward to the new things you’ll make.

-- Dan Wiggins

Hey Scott
i liked this set up i even e-mailed SawStop to see if they ship to the UK but hey no such luck so i look else where you guys over there do seem to get some very good looking tools and machines at a good price and they were so polite e-mailed me straight back enjoy your new toy mate

Andy

-- cut it saw it scrap it

Me too, Andy… It’s so unfortunate that they manufactured these machines for US market and countries having 60htz electricity supply. Even if they do ship them to countries with 50htz elect. supply the price could be much higher because of different motors used.

-- masrol, kuala lumpur, MY.

Scott you made a Great choice !
I don’t think you’ll ever regret spending the extra cash for the safty feature-s, besides Its a GREAT saw, very well made considering what you get now days= read reviews on all the saws out there , its still top of the list unless you want to go with a commercial grade then get ready to spend from $5000 to $25,000, for most of us its all we’ll ever need. in other words its a once in a life time purchase . I love my Sawstop it cuts perfect everytime , the cuts are so smooth that sometimes you can hardly see the sawblade marks & its damn near vibration free . I’ve had mine for about 2 years now and still have not had to re adjust it. I check my cuts everytime before starting and during a project.
I had a Delta contractors saw and had to adjust it all the time, it would even go out of adjustment in the middle of a job. = NOT GOOD
When I first setup the saw my fence was not quite true ,I called them & had a new one on my saw in a couple of days, And was able to keep the original one that I use for my router side of the saw.
I did notice the top scratches very easy but I read that about most of the new saws out there . Even with the safety features I still treat it as though it can bite me as I do not want to buy another brake at approx $80 and a new blade approx $100 . thats still cheaper than approx. $10,000 per finger not to mention the recuperation time to get back to work.
I have a friend that has one also and he would’nt buy anything else. LJS user name bhavens he convinced me to get one!
Remember an Acident can always happen no matter how well you are prepared for it= a loud noise could make you jump , someone coming up from behind you Etc.

-- Rj's Woodworks,San Jose & Weed Ca,

That’s a beautiful piece of machinery. Great choice. Two questions: what made you go with the 52” fence system over the 36” fence system? Also, where did you buy this thing? I haven’t seen it anywhere for less than $4000 with the add-ons that you’ve chosen here. Thanks for the review!

”Also, where did you buy this thing? I haven’t seen it anywhere for less than $4000 with the add-ons that you’ve chosen here. Thanks for the review!”

I was wondering that myself, at my woodcraft, just the basic Saw Stop with a regular size fence is $3500. You got one HECK of a deal !!!!!

-- Don S.E. OK

I do hope that no one, especially Scott, took my comments the wrong way. From everything I have heard, the Sawstop is a great machine. I just have my concerns about the technology, until it becomes ubiquitous, the same as Airbags have done over the years. When every piece of shop equipment has this technology built into it, then maybe I will jump on board for it. but for now, I would be to worried about MYSELF getting complacent and careless. I never meant to imply that other woodworkers would have the same issue.

Scott, enjoy the saw. I look for to seeing posts from you in the future, of projects made on your new toy.

Paul.

Some people think the SAWSTOP feature isn’t really that necessary or may even be ‘harmful’ because other machines woodworkers use don’t have that feature. That kind of thinking is totally wrong: if we don’t popularize the use of SAWSTOP, SAWSTOP feature will not become popular. I heard SAWSTOP is testing a prototype for other woodworking tools. It is like saying seat belts, ABS, SCS etc. may encourage drivers to be reckless or being uncareful. Safety features don’t make a machine or sport, etc. more dangerous than otherwise. Granted, the SAWSTOP doesn’t eliminate all risks in the use of tablesaws (e.g. kickbacks could still happen even with the riving knife as in the case of crossing a stock with the fence as a stop block) but SAWSTOP doesn’t cause or increase such risks. Well, one step a time and one day we may have SAWSTOP on every machine.

-- The time I enjoy wasting is not time wasted

Don you should be able to buy these at your local SawStop dealer. Until the end of the month, you’ll have to pre-order and get directly from SawStop. Make sure you ask for the professional cabinet saw not the industrial cabinet saw which runs a little more expensive. The PCS models already come with the base saw and the fence/rails system. There are some other add-ons like a mobile base but that shouldn’t run you over $4k. Check here for to see the pricing structure and available add-ons.

-- Hermance Machine Company, www.Hermance.com

Looks nice Scott, I have a two year old ICS version of the Sawstop, I love it even without the brake feature it is the best saw that I have ever used. I have never had the brake go off and hopefully it never does. I totally agree with you that the customer service is excellent. Haven’t had a chance to see the PCS in person yet, but from what I understand they have a few new features that the older saws don’t. Good review.

-- Mike

Looks and sounds like a great saw. The technology and safety in this saw is incredible. I wish I had one because I would feel more comfortable and safe using one. I use an old Skil table saw. It’s a pretty good saw but I am always nervous about using because there is a jolt when you turn it on, the outfeed table rattles a lot, and the switch is very small, causing you to reach way underneath the saw to turn it off. Anyway, great review!

-- Remember, measure twice, cut once

Scott,

How are you liking your saw at this point? I’m curious about aftermarket throat plates for making beveled cuts like 12, 30 and 45 degrees. Does the zero clearance plate that comes with the saw allow for beveled cuts like this? Thanks for the info you’ve posted!

Robert

I’ve been researching this saw and stumbled onto the controversy. I have a different point of view about this that I thought I’d share even though I’m new here.

This saw is like your rifle. Your rifle has the ability to inflict lots of damage to whatever it’s pointed toward, even if it’s your own foot. Every rifle has this ability, as does every saw.

The brake feature is like your safety. If you have a rifle without a safety, and you have the option to replace it for one WITH a safety, would you do it? Of course you would. Any device that minimizes a risk is worth it.

However, safety on or safety off, loaded or unloaded, you still treat that rifle as if it is loaded EVERY TIME, just in case you had a moment of complacency. This rule must be followed for all shop equipment, not just equipment without a new type of safety technology.

I’ll enjoy the safety of my fingers and a great, possibly first and last saw for the rest of my life when I buy this. The price is steep, but look at how much peace of mind this could bring! I’m new to woodworking, so I am sure I will make mistakes. Once I become more skilled, I will be less likely to make mistakes. That doesn’t mean I won’t still fear the power of the equipment I use. If I slip up JUST ONCE, this could be the feature that has me thanking God that I parted with my money for the benefit of common sense.

This saw, to me, is a bargain at twice the price.

-- -- Northamptonshire, England -- USAF Veteran