# A New "Flesh-Sensing" Table Saw Upgrade



## DavidWW (Jan 5, 2010)

Hello woodworkers! I have patents pending on a unique table saw upgrade that forms a major advance in both the health and safety aspects of this most important machine.

My goal is to work with major manufacturer(s) to bring this system to market ASAP to help reduce the appalling accident statistics regarding table saws. The more people who see this website the better, so please help by simply telling other woodworkers about us. Incidentally, I am NOT in favor of CPSC or the government mandating ANYTHING more for us regarding table saws. I envision a saw option product which can be purchased at the user's discretion and will work toward that goal.

Please visit our website and view a few videos at http://www.whirlwindtool.com and help us spread the word about this remarkable Whirlwind system which, among other things, can stop the saw blade within 1 second after dangerous hand proximity is sensed.

I do welcome your feedback at the website, but as volume grows, I cannot guarantee that I can answer everyone. We also have a short video clip up on YouTube at: 



 so please check us out and wish us luck.

My best regards to all here and please work safely! -David


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## RvK (Nov 22, 2009)

Interesting, obviously from the video it can brake the blade without damaging it like a sawstop (although the sawstop is faster) and has some nice dust collection features. I assume the sensors shut it down when your hand goes underneath the hood. I'm curious how difficult it is to retrofit a saw with this, and how much it would cost


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## reggiek (Jun 12, 2009)

Very interesting idea and glad to see someone working on a way to bring all us non Saw Stop owners into the current level of safety technology. I can't wait to see the product on the market. Hopefully you can keep the price in an area that makes it an alternative to upgrading your TS to a Saw Stop, without having to sacrifice quality. I bought my TS before the saw stop was available or I would have purchased one for sure. There is no way of valuing the cost of digits or what have you being removed or seriously injured in an accident. I wish you the best of luck getting this product to the market…there sure is a big need…I know quite a few woodworkers that are missing a digit or so….

Keep us up to date on progress….I would certainly be interested.


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## jockmike2 (Oct 10, 2006)

Having just lost a fingertip before Christmas this is extremely important to me. I too am anxious to see this product in action. Hopefully it can save someone else's finger, it's too late for mine. The guard is back on my saw now. Better late then never!!!!!!!1


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## Padre (Nov 5, 2008)

It is an interesting idea, but how many people run their saw with the guard on? Most saws I've seen the first thing that is removed is the guard.


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## gizmodyne (Mar 15, 2007)

Can you run this for non-through cuts and dado cuts?


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## sbryan55 (Dec 8, 2007)

David, this is an interesting safety device. The one second stop seems a little long for me. This may work fine for inadvertent encroachment in the "no finger zone" but in the event where the fingers are actively pulled into the blade then I can't see where this technology will be a great deal of help. And, as Giz points out, there are operations where the blade guard has to be removed. Does your product work in these instances.

But even if it only protects for rip cutting operations it would be a nice safety upgrade. I tend to be partial to all of my fingers and would hate to lose any of them.


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## RvK (Nov 22, 2009)

there were more videos on the main site - the system normally sits on the splitter, but something was mentioned about using it for non-through cuts, tho I didnt make it that far thru the vids so I'm not sure how that works.

I agree a TS can do ALOT of damage in 1 second, but its still better than nothing, which is what most non-sawstops get. I also like the extra lights and the stop button mounted on the guard itself, thats convienient.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

very nice concept. and definitely a huge improvement to having nothing. also the dust collection capabilities are impressive to say the least! hope to see this getting picked up and developed full.

one thing though - the fact that the blade guard is locked in height. sometimes some work pieces are not uniform in height, and might get jammed under the guide. I think this future product would benefit quite a bit if it had a dynamic blade guard mechanism that would lift up and down on top of the work piece like all other guards do.

good luck. looks great so far!


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## DavidWW (Jan 5, 2010)

Thank you folks for your kind words. Let me just clarify a few points. There is nothing yet for sale, these are prototype devices shown in the videos which were used to refine and prove the basic concept behind the pending patents. "Flesh sensing" table saw technology is a hot topic today, mostly for the wrong reasons-litigation! I hope to show that it is practical and in the best interest of all to explore further and offer reasonable solutions for those who are interested in such devices. The purpose of my post is to spread the word that these type systems are in the works, not only mine, but others as well and the machinery manufacturers should consider some of these devices as being worth developing. I developed this system over a period of time on a VERY THIN shoestring budget, imagine where an experienced manufacturer might go with this basic concept?
One second seems a long time to stop a blade-- *BUT NOT* if the operator also has a physical barrier preventing his or her hand from reaching the blade and a proximity trigger that reliably triggers the brake when the hand seems too close. A false trigger here serves as a welcome warning and does NO damage whatsoever. Because my patents have not yet issued, I cannot disclose further the whole system, but I hope you might help me spread the word on this topic and convince the machinery manufacturers to take a look and evaluate such ideas-hopefully as optional upgrade products-not mandated by government!

P.S. Somebody on another forum said my post is spam or misleading advertising. My gosh I hope not!! I invite the Lumberjocks Moderator or Webmaster to review my post(s) and if they are thought to be inappropriate, I will certainly delete them if requested to do so. Best regards-David


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## MedicKen (Dec 2, 2008)

How does this system work with a tenoning jig or cross cut sled? I personally dont see it being practical in those senarios. I do think it is a wonderful idea and the time spent on design and manufacture is a very good learning experience. I think that if this product is ever put to market it will be removed like all the other blade guards and then not replaced. I do think that more safety devices are needed as most of the factory guards are an after thought from the manufacturers just to satisfy the govt. Safety devices such as the Whirlwind are only good if they are in place and functioing properly.


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## damianpenney (Jun 22, 2007)

I'd be honestly surprised if the number of injuries sustained while a standard blade guard was actually being used was particularly high.

On my guard the sides are always in contact with the table leaving zero space for a finger to slip through and while you could push your hand in the front there is no way you wouldn't realize it before getting to the blade; and if my hand were being pulled into it then 1 second is way too long for the blade to stop, and then as soon as I need to use a tenon jig or even a crosscut sled I get no benefit at all.

It's a good effort but I really don't see this going anywhere - good luck though.


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## TheDane (May 15, 2008)

*David*-Thanks for posting the videos. Despite the objections and concerns posted here, your technology is certainly worth persuing. Keep up the good work, and best of luck!


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## pommy (Apr 17, 2008)

hi I'm from England do you intend to ship these overseas aswell because sawstop don't at the moment and i as far as i know we do not have anything lke this in the UK and how much would you be thinking of retailing this

Andy


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## Dragonsrite (Feb 5, 2009)

What stops the blade? From watching the video it looks as though the saw you're using has a blade brake where simply interrupting the power to the saw should stop the blade relatively quickly. My saw doesn't have a brake therefore it takes way more than a second to spin down.


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## RvK (Nov 22, 2009)

Brian - Shop gremlins?


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## RvK (Nov 22, 2009)

Totally agree, first line of defense should always be 2 parts common sense, 1 part situational awareness and 97 parts not being stupid  I don't think its good to rely soley on these safety features because it can make you overconfident and careless, but it also never hurts to have an extra margin for those "just on the off chance…" scenarios, since nobody's perfect and all it takes is that onnnneeeee moment of loosing focus (and I got a scar on the back of my hand that serves as a constant reminder of that LOL!)

I am curious about the sensor tech tho, and how does it distinguish between your hand and the stock you're feeding, if its a "proximity" sensor. Tho the emergency stop button on the front of the guard looks like its actually a contact plate, the type where the conductivity of your skin completes the circuit instantly so I'm wondering if the rim of the guard isnt the same thing (IIRC in the demos it looked like it stopped when his hand touched the underside of the guard, but I'd have to go back and watch them again to be sure)


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## EdWood (Apr 29, 2009)

First congratulations on all your work on the invention I know how much it takes to get a product developed and ready for the market. My impression is you seem to have greatly improved the dust collection of many types of saws.

But I think you may have an over designed safety warning system. True enough it might be a good idea to shut down a saw if a finger gets too close to a spinning blade but with a 1 second brake it will not be very effective in an emergency situation such as a kickback. Although I am impressed your brake system (I am assuming an electronic motor brake) can spin down a blade that quickly. Honestly I think tripping a red safety light in the guard might be just as effective and certainly much less costly. The emergency EMO switch on the guard is absolutely brilliant however. In that case the quick spin down could be very helpful.

My Rigid R4511 saw has a riving knife and I don't think I would like to replace that safety device with a simple splitter design as that seems like a step back in safety. I would be interested in the under table dust collection aspect however as well as the guard if it were easily removable and worked with my riving knife.

Just my thoughts but I am impressed overall.

Edwood - http://edwoodcrafting.blogspot.com/


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## DavidWW (Jan 5, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your feedback and for keeping the "buzz" going here because I hope to use it to show potential manufacturers that there is still a very high level of interest in this flesh sensing topic. I believe we are moving the table saw safety ball forward, although there is more refinement required for these to be market ready products and there is even more novel innovation in the works here.
Brian, my name is not David Price (I am David Butler) and one cannot search a patent until it is at least published. I expect my current pending patents to issue soon so that we can finally get the ball rolling toward a product. The Whirlwind will work with a riving knife and it will certainly work with dado blades. We don't yet work with bevel cuts, but that problem seems minor and remains on the "to do list" untill we have settled on a design of the blade enclosure itself. Regarding criticism about walking around the saw and the general topic of kickback, let me add here my post from another forum. Once again, I must apologize for not understanding the forum protocol so I don't know if it is okay to name the other forum.

Regards, to all .. keep woodworking *safely*. David.
_

I must respectfully disagree, regarding moving to the back of the saw. I began with table saws at about age 12. I'm now 72 and have all my fingers and have never had a serious woodworking accident. In 60 years though I'm usually standing in front, very often I'll stand to the side or to the rear of the saw, depending upon the operation at hand. I was formally trained in a trade school about table saw safety including the need to sometimes shift positions for a safer operation. We all learned to NEVER insist on remaining in the front and stretch to lean over the saw blade to follow through on finishing a cut. Much better to reposition to avoid leaning over that blade. Incidentally, I never saw a blade guard in four years at that well-known school!

When working with valuable stock, I will never allow the ripped pieces to fall off the end of the table, and no, I don't have, nor do I need an outfeed table or supports, as they take up too much shop space. If you look again at the Whirlwind videos, you will see that I not only walk around without holding the stock in some cases, but I believe I restart the saw after an emegency stop without even touching the stock! That is due to the stability and safety of the Whirlwind. I could go for coffe or answer the phone and leave the saw running unattended halfway through a cut with the Whirlwind in place, but of course I would never do so. Other woodworkers who have run cuts with the Whirlwind agree, it is very nice to finish the rip and shut down the saw while the enclosure prevents the cut stock from falling on the floor. And finally, I do believe that any kickback is completely impossible with this Whirlwind device in place. BIG CLAIM, I will stand by it.

Keep giving me your valuable feedback so I can share with saw manufacturers the community interest in this ongoing table saw safety topic. Regards to all. David


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## ratchet (Jan 12, 2008)

Looking forward to news and developments. I am volunteering to Beta test for you.


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## jsk12 (Nov 23, 2016)

any news on this product?

i like the fact that you can attach it to existing tools, table saws, band saws

thanks


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## AAL (Jun 30, 2014)

I like the idea of safely stopping the saw blade, but…
How does one use a push stick?
How does one keep narrow workpieces against the fence?
How does one make a stopped cut?
How does one make a tenon cut?
Etc, etc.
Good idea, but I think there may be a number of limitations to resolve.


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