Bench top/contractor saw vs. Cabinet saws

Darn I almost forgot the biggest contributor IMO of all, DULL BLADES!

-- If the old masters had power tools, they would have used them. So get off your damn High Horse.

Boy Scot, I appreciate your time on this post, however you left out the single biggest contributor : Lack of experiance

Where did you read this Scot? The article not accurate. You can get hurt just as quickly on a 700 lb. tablesaw as you can with 50 lb. saw. Anyone can work just as safely with a Ridgid/Dewalt/Bosch portable as they could with a heavier saw.

Here is a report from the National Product Safety Commission from 2011.

http://www.cpsc.gov/businfo/frnotices/fr12/tablesawANPR.html

Is there a question, or a statement?
I have a Grizz 0444Z with cast wings. Heavy as can be, accurate to a fault, and it works for everything I’ve thrown at it. I still (as of today) have all my fingers. I also use every safety feature available.
IMO, money and design can’t cure stupid.
I’ve hurt myself more with a hammer.
Bill

-- bill@magraphics.us

All the article was addressing was statistics on which type of saws had the most accidents and the root cause. It did not say there were no accidents on the heavier cabinet saws, just fewer. The point of the article was that heavier well made saws are safer but not fail safe.

-- If the old masters had power tools, they would have used them. So get off your damn High Horse.

You’re right Cabmaker, I kind of glossed over that one.

-- If the old masters had power tools, they would have used them. So get off your damn High Horse.

I seriously doubt the assertion that Riving Knives haven’t had an effect on table saw safety. Maybe none on blade contact accidents, but overall safety such as kickback, I highly doubt it… Having said that, yes more mass means the saw is more stable. Which would matter if you are ripping say an 8’ long 6” wide 4/4 piece of oak, but maybe not so much if that board is 18” long…

Wobbly legs on a table saw IMHO are inexcusable. Although certain bench top class saws are far better than others, overall, they leave a bit to be desired…

There is a GOOD reason a lot of guys that own bench top, and contractor type saws end up building a table saw workstation around the saw. I’ve seen it done with a wide variety of everything from Powermatic contractor saws, all the way down to a lowly Skil bench top saw. (No joke, a guy on another board build a nice workstation for his red Skil table saw, and added a fence that probably cost more than the saw!).

I think the biggest contributor is pushing a machine beyond its capacity… Cross cutting plywood on a benchtop saw is just asking to have digits removed you know?

-- Manufacturer of fine quality sawdust since 1984. Comments and advice on my shop welcome. Check it out at http://lumberjocks.com/dbhost/workshop. Gladly accepting shop build donations!

dbhost, I agree with what you say. The article was mainly geared towards pointing out the instability of small light weight machines using statitistical data starting in the 60’s. I don’t see how the numbers can not be skewed against riving knives, spliters and other safety devices since those have only recently been added as standard items on a lot saws. Splitters didn’t become standard until the late seventies/early 80’s and riving knives are still not standard on all saws. So I can see where they would say that they were basically a non issue in their study.
Again the study was more about how weight and stability affect the safety of table saws, with mentions of power (HP) and experience levels.
I’m not presenting an argument for or against any one saw or another. I just thought it was interesting at how much the numbers changed as the weight and stability of the saw went up.

Common sense should tell us that would be the way it is. I look at it as a reminder for all of us to be careful because lightweight or heavyweight, they can all bite.

-- If the old masters had power tools, they would have used them. So get off your damn High Horse.

Totally agreed…

-- Manufacturer of fine quality sawdust since 1984. Comments and advice on my shop welcome. Check it out at http://lumberjocks.com/dbhost/workshop. Gladly accepting shop build donations!

Scot, not much to add to the article other than I wish I had a cabinet saw, but your sig line is 1 billion% truth.

-- He who dies with the most tools... dies with the emptiest wallet.

It uses the incorrect terminology, a contractor saw is not the little popup saw on wheels. A contractor saw has a big cast iron top, motor hangs out the back, and it will run of 115V (in the US).

They probably mean jobsite saws when they say contractor saw.

I suspect the difference between the injury rate on the inexpensive protables and the cabinet saws has to do with the experience and expertise of those using them. That is to say, those new to woodworking usually don’t start out with a cabinet saw :-)

BruceM

-- cut once, measure once and......dam I'm good!

Scott? Do you have a link this this article you are talking about?

Shipwreck I’ve been trying to find it, I thought I had it book marked, but haven’t been able to locate it.

-- If the old masters had power tools, they would have used them. So get off your damn High Horse.

Pat, I agree with you to a certain extent, when you say contractor saw, what you said is what I think of. However, there are companies out there making cheap light weight saws with aluminum tops and trunnions and slapping “10” professional contractor saw” stickers on them and selling them as such.

But again, the bottom line was that the heavier the saw, the more stable it tended to be and less accidents tended to happen.

And I did distinguish between contractor saws and bench top saws, which the stats in the article showed a substantial difference in the number of accidents between those two.

-- If the old masters had power tools, they would have used them. So get off your damn High Horse.