Unbelievable trust in his invention

Trans_Maro wrote:

vwcorvette wrote: So the example has him SLOWLY pushing the very tip of his finger into the blade. The hot dog is pushed slowly into it as well. I didn't see them push anything quickly into the blade (you slip or your hand slides for instance) so I think pain and suffering would still happen.

You may still get pain and suffering but you'll get to keep your hand as well. Simply cut is better than cut off. Shawn

I've seen a video where he drops a hotdog onto the blade, still only a small scratch.

3/1000ths of a second is a really, really short time.

If he were really confident he'd use his coin purse.

The SawStop has a bypass mode allowing you to cut metal or other conductive materials. While in the bypass mode it also shows you (until the motor is off) if anything you cut has triggered the safety. This allows you test-cut wet or green wood to determine if its able to be cut using the SawStop module.

There are many professional carpenters who have bought the SawStop not because they were unsafe, but because they used the tool predominately to make a living. Added security in a medium-low income profession.

PHeller wrote: The SawStop has a bypass mode allowing you to cut metal or other conductive materials. While in the bypass mode it also shows you (until the motor is off) if anything you cut has triggered the safety. This allows you test-cut wet or green wood to determine if its able to be cut using the SawStop module. There are many professional carpenters who have bought the SawStop not because they were unsafe, but because they used the tool predominately to make a living. Added security in a medium-low income profession.

I think they're a great idea when used by a professional who is going to take the same care on every cut that he did before he installed it. I can certainly understand the motivation to save yourself downtime from an injury when you are using the thing all day every day. I just don't think they're a panacea for the student shop environment in the way that they often get promoted. Kids aren't always going to test the wood, or remember to turn the bypass off after they're done, etc.

Then again, I also think people should learn to drive in cars without automatic transmissions, traction control, or antilock brakes.

stuart in mn wrote: They are in the process of lobbying Congress to make their product mandatory for all table saws: http://www.npr.org/2011/05/25/136617222/advocates-urge-lawmakers-to-make-table-saws-safer While I think it's a good product, I'm not so sure about requiring its use.

Schmidlap wrote: And if Congress doesn't mandate them, juries will. There have already been a few cases where people have successfully sued table saw manufacturers for not including this technology on their saws. Here's one example: Ryobi sued for not including SawStop Bob

This technology is awesome, but that's just not right.

what happens when a drop of sweat gets thrown into the mix???

e_pie wrote:

Schmidlap wrote: And if Congress doesn't mandate them, juries will. There have already been a few cases where people have successfully sued table saw manufacturers for not including this technology on their saws. Here's one example: Ryobi sued for not including SawStop Bob

This technology is awesome, but that's just not right.

It's not a coincidence this thing was invented by a patent lawyer, not an engineer.

Yeah I would think an engineer would have some elegantly complicated braking system that wouldn't be so destructive.

I would just think of a saw blade like a brake rotor.

A saw blade is light enough that if the power were cut there wouldn't be much inertia, so if a brake pad were clampped down on the blade with enough force I'd imagine it would stop in much the same fasion.

I'm not talking about the device itself - which by all accounts does exactly what it's designed to very well - just that the generating seed for the invention was probably "I've got a great idea for a device that I could litigate tool manufacturers into licensing from me" rather than "I want to make workshops safer and more efficient".