# Sawstop paid for itself today



## TexaCali (May 25, 2020)

We have all read it a thousand times….someone was trying to finish a few quick items before lunch/end of day/etc and then the accident happened. Well guess what, I was trying to finish a few quick cuts before I had to jump on a Zoom call to teach a guitar lesson…

I bought my Sawstop PCS about 10 years ago and have never triggered a stop, until today. I was ripping 1" wide boards for a project, trying to get the pieces cut before I had to get on the call with my student. I have an Excalibur blade guard with a metal front piece. It was getting kinda crowded near the fence and I wasn't paying close enough attention to where the blade guard was in relation to the blade. I was using a push stick and my hand never touched the blade, but the metal blade guard did. And that was all it took. I might have been OK, but then again the saw could have kicked the blade guard back and who knows what might have happened from there. It was a cheap blade on some cheap wood, so no big loss, and a valuable lesson learned. Stay safe!


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Scary incident….stay safe!


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

I can almost here the tremolo in your ensuing guitar lesson 8^)

Accidents like this can be the best teacher, good to hear you are in one piece!


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## DaveM123 (May 2, 2020)

I have always tried to use the thought that if I am in a hurry to cut something in order to do something else I am better off waiting! I like all 5 on both hands!!


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## TexaCali (May 25, 2020)

> I can almost here the tremolo in your ensuing guitar lesson 8^)
> 
> Accidents like this can be the best teacher, good to hear you are in one piece!
> 
> - splintergroup


LoL. Kinda an expensive way to teach vibrato technique 



> I have always tried to use the thought that if I am in a hurry to cut something in order to do something else I am better off waiting! I like all 5 on both hands!!
> 
> - DaveM123


Yes indeed!

I'm actually really glad this happened as it serves a great wake up call. If you look at aviation accidents, most are either low time pilots or very high time pilots - i.e. inexperienced or complacent. Complacency kills, and being highly experienced, done this for decades, never had an accident, etc, makes you higher risk for being complacent. Stay sharp.


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## AndyJ1s (Jan 26, 2019)

I'm very glad you are OK!

Did the blade guard get pushed back by the push stick? Otherwise the guard looks to be positioned too far back if the front of the guard can contact the blade.

That guard appears to be an overhead dust collecting guard that mounts on an arm that pivots at the far right end of the saw extension table. I'm guessing the push stick caused the the arm to pivot, and the guard itself to move back and away from the fence, contacting the blade.

I have been thinking about installing that kind of guard on my Unisaw, but had not thought about that possibility when used to cut thin strips.


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## TexaCali (May 25, 2020)

Hi Andy,

Yes, the over arm can pivot, but there is a prevision to lock it in place. I always leave it unlocked, and you correctly summarized what happened, the push stick bumped the blade guard and caused it to rotate into the blade. Since I was ripping 1" strips, it was pretty tight space and didn't take much rotation. I had tried moving the blade guard out of the way, but the dust collection is so so much better with it in place that I moved it back.

BTW - I talked with Sawstop this morning. I was impressed with how fast it acted - I couldn't even find a mark on the metal rail that contacted the blade. They told me it is not uncommon to require a microscope to see the mark, but they always find a mark if they look close enough.









Very happy I was using the stock factory blade and not one of my expensive ones.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Yeah, I trashed a nice Freud combination blade by just.barely.touching the miter fence to it.  I didn't bother sending it to Freud to be checked out. With my own labor and shipping to/from and getting it out of the brake, it wasn't worth it to me.


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## wood2woodknot (Dec 30, 2012)

Just a point of personal interest:

Don't own a table saw, much less a SawStop but I'm curious just how many times you can trip the brake before replacing it? I thought it might be twice. And how much does it cost to replace?


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

> Just a point of personal interest:
> 
> Don t own a table saw, much less a SawStop but I m curious just how many times you can trip the brake before replacing it? I thought it might be twice. And how much does it cost to replace?
> 
> - wood2woodknot


See how the blade is stuck into the cartridge. The blade and cartridge get replaced. 
I don't see how it pays for itself when it costs the owner money. 
This must be the strange logic saw stop owners have.
I've see a few sawstops in person they look like well built machines. I don't have a need for the safety technology.
Good Luck


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## JackDuren (Oct 10, 2015)

> Just a point of personal interest:
> 
> Don t own a table saw, much less a SawStop but I m curious just how many times you can trip the brake before replacing it? I thought it might be twice. And how much does it cost to replace?
> 
> ...


I don't need one either I haven't been hurt since 1985. I'm a liar…. imagine I would still have my fingers today….I'm thankful for the technology today…


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Always comforted to read. I have a Saw Stop, and still use my blade guard. Good on you for not leaving it all on the line to technology. Some day a bad shipment of brakes will go out, and to the owners who never use a guard, it could be ugly.

Anyhow just wanted to say good on you for still using a guard. Sounds like it was more a metal to blade contact, than a fleshy one, so it was good it all worked together.

I'm serious about my by-line, think safe, be safe.


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## TexaCali (May 25, 2020)

> Just a point of personal interest:
> 
> Don t own a table saw, much less a SawStop but I m curious just how many times you can trip the brake before replacing it? I thought it might be twice. And how much does it cost to replace?
> 
> - wood2woodknot


The cartridge is a one and done. About $80. Even a trip to urgent care with good insurance will cost you more than that. The cost of loosing fingers or worse? As a professional musician it would be devastating to me. Apparently kickbacks are a major cause of tablesaw amputations - as the wood is grabbed by the blade it pulls your hand into it. Riving knives, feather boards, hold downs, blade guards, I use them all, and have the Sawstop just in case, because you never know. This "accident" was over before I even knew it started.

Regarding the blade, it may or may not survive. I was surprised to see this blade was in tact with no damage. Flat and straight, no cracks or deformations, no chips on the teeth, nothing. But even if the blade was toast it would have been a small price to pay. The way I figure it, the entire cost of a sawstop PCS is cheap compared to the cost of a single accident.


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## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

Sawstops are a insurance policy IMO, you now get to pay a deductible, really not required here in Canada with our free health care I find it easier just not doing stupid thing around dangerous equipment ?


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

> Just a point of personal interest:
> 
> Don t own a table saw, much less a SawStop but I m curious just how many times you can trip the brake before replacing it? I thought it might be twice. And how much does it cost to replace?
> 
> ...


That right there says it all! I've come close to it a couple of times myself, back when I was young and immortal, but I was really lucky. I've triggered mine once by not having the wood spacer in front of the miter fence thick enough. You-know-what happens in a split second. It was an easy sell when I told my wife about the brake on the new table saw I wanted to buy. She has Kevlar gloves for when she's sewing, so understands the damage that could occur with something a whole lot more dangerous than a needle…even if it penetrates her many times in one second.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Looks like a nice cut Jack. I do think your saw was heeling a bit the last finger shows it. 








How did that happen


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## ac0rn (Jan 31, 2020)

JackD, my Uncle Rich had a hand identical to yours, He was a professional cabinet and furniture maker. If he were alive and working wood I'm confident he would agree with you.

As to the cost of blade and brake replacement, that is a one time expense. Digit loss is forever.


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## MrUnix (May 18, 2012)

> I don't see how it pays for itself when it costs the owner money.
> This must be the strange logic saw stop owners have.
> - Aj2


I was thinking the same thing! Had there been a more expensive blade in there, like a WWII or similar, then that one false brake trip would have cost about what I paid for my Unisaw 

Cheers,
Brad


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

Same old…same old..

BUT…..now I have found two of my all time favorite comments!!!!!!

_* "I don't have a need for the safety technology ."*_

*
" I just find it easier just not doing stupid thing around dangerous equipment. "*

The problem is that we are humans who make mistakes. If you believe that you will never make a mistake then you are godlike and better than me.


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