I am looking to upgrade my table saw. I am looking at Saw stop. I am told that the way it works is that a small electrical current runs through the blade, and if that current is broken (by your finger coming in contact with the blade). the saw stops FAST. My question is that the current is running through the saw while it's running. But what happens when you turn the saw off at the end of a cut? Will it still work? I nearly lost my thumb because I finished a cut, turned off my saw, then reached thru to get my cut piece. However, my thumb came into contact with the blade which was still spinning down and had not come to a stop yet. So, when you turn off the Saw stop, and as the blade spins to a stop, does it still provide it's namesake protection against accidents, or when the electricity ends, so does your protection?
My nephew has one. He loves it.. fit and finish are precise. I recommended it to him as he was 28 yrs old when he first bought it. I said that at his age he'll use it for years and it's really the only choice for a young guy with 40 years ahead of him with a chance to lose his fingers.
I don't own or have experience with Sawstop but is it possible for the blade to slow and lose enough momentum to fully engage safety mechanism (even if "fired") but still have enough momentum to seriously cut flesh?
I don t own or have experience with Sawstop but is it possible for the blade to slow and lose enough momentum to fully engage safety mechanism (even if "fired") but still have enough momentum to seriously cut flesh?
From Sawstop site
2. Brake Activation
An aluminum brake springs into the spinning blade, stopping it in less than 5 milliseconds! The blade's angular momentum drives it beneath the table, removing the risk of subsequent contact.
Power to the motor is shut off.
I don t own or have experience with Sawstop but is it possible for the blade to slow and lose enough momentum to fully engage safety mechanism (even if "fired") but still have enough momentum to seriously cut flesh?
- hotbyte
I don t think the momentum of the blade affects the mechanism one way or the other.
There are two separate switches, one that turns the motor on and off, and one that turns the whole system (protection circuit as well as power to the motor) on and off, and a key that turns the protection on/off (for cutting overly wet wood or metals)
I do understand exactly how the SS works…. but even if you don't it doesn't matter. It WORKS! You will not lose your fingers…in fact you won't even get a cut big enough to warrant a band-aid. GET A SAWSTOP! It's not just a safe saw…it's probably the best or by any definition…at least one of the top two tablesaws ever built. I was just at a big woodworking store near by…they have on their floor Powermatic, Delta, Laguna and two or three other major brands….and just about the only tablesaw they SELL is now the Sawstop.
"I nearly lost my thumb because I finished a cut, turned off my saw, then reached thru to get my cut piece. However, my thumb came into contact with the blade which was still spinning down and had not come to a stop yet."
I can offer you 2 pieces of advice, and you can keep using the saw you already own.
1) Never reach in to grab pieces you've cut until the blade stops. Be patient, fingers are expensive.
2) Always use the blade guard, unless a NON through cut makes that impossible.
In the SawStop owners manual, note on page five (5) where in really big bold letters it tells you there is NO WARRANTY OF SAFETY
So there really isn't a guarantee, or a warranty that SS is safe, or will save you from injury.
Use safe practices, and always use the guards your tools were supplied with. If you have no guards, contact Lee Styron at SharkGuard, and buy yourself some peace of mind.
For reference, page 28 of the above manual (page 30 in the PDF) that therealSteveN posted describes the multiple switch functionality I was talking about previously.
SS won't prevent all possible injury, if you are careless you'll get hurt some other way. Lesson is, follow the safety rules and don't depend on technology to save you from yourself.
This becomes about a $150 excursion even if you hit it with your tape measure.
I bought a Sawstop PCS without knowing the full measure of the protection offered. With the construction, engineering, fit and finish I saw, I believed this was the saw to get. It is the 2nd nicest saw I've seen, although I don't get out much. The nicest one I saw was the Sawstop ICS, but you have to draw the line somewhere.
I didn't think to qualify my earlier statement with "of course you need to always be safe and treat every tool with the respect it deserves"... to me that is a given (but maybe not??). I've triggered my SS once. Being stupid of course…and I was tired and at the end of a long day. Fortunately my "trip" was hitting my Incra miter fence aluminum fence (I said stupid already!). It cost me $80 to replace the cartridge. Did about 10 bucks worth of damage to my Forrest blade. The nick in my Incra fence can hardly be seen or even felt with a finger nail. That said… I will never test it… I always treat it like any other table saw… very carefully.
One thing I didn't mention was the riving knife. It's a TRUE life saver. In my career… I've been three times by kickback. And this riving knife goes up and down with the blade and can even be used when you are doing rabbits. Unlike many such knives it's so convenient that you leave it on all the time… so that is another benefit. Other than that it's a truly great saw period.
I have a SS PCS. I'll just confirm what others have said. There is a main power switch that must stay on to provide protection until the blade stops.
The big red switch, that functions like other saws, only controls whether the blade is powered or not.
Whether the blade is spinning or not, just smacking a blade that isn't spinning can cut you pretty good. Though it's no threat to losing a finger.
I personally make a point to just wait for the blade to spin down before trying to remove small off cuts. This is actually one area I wish they would address. There are ways with some motor types to provide electronic breaking by allowing it to function as a generator and dumps its energy into a resistive load.
I have no idea if that's possible with this type of motor. I suspect it is. It would just be nice if it would come to a stop much faster.
As mom still says "wish in one hand and spit in the other. See which fills up first."
I plan to buy a SawStop within the next few days. As a beginning woodworker I decided as soon as I saw a SawStop that it was the only table saw I would have in my shop. Even in classes I have taken, it is the only table saw I have ever used.
I look at the the safety functions of the SawStop as the being similar to safety features in a car like seat belts or air bags. I definitely want those features in my car, but having them doesn't mean I can become lackadaisical about driving safely. I don't rely on seatbelt and air bags to keep me safe, but if I do screw up I think I'll be glad I have them.
They did, I believe that sawstop sued them and a cease and desist order was put in place for the time being. It was a smaller jobsite style saw.
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