22 Feb
2010
22 Feb
'10
10:40 a.m.
I have a SawStop Contractor's saw and am pleased with it, even though I have not had
the need to test its stopping feature. I did see one demonstrated with a hot dog at a
trade show, though. The maker of the electronics (National Semi, IIRC) was doing the demo.
The stop works by slamming a block of aluminum into the blade, so if it fires, you have to
replace both the blade and the stop mechanism, which I consider a trivial cost compared to
replacing one or more fingers! The electronics do have a POST, but you are right that
there is no way to fully test the unit without destroying it. If you do not have a spare
brake unit, there is a keyed over-ride.
I think some of the reasoning in having to replace the whole brake unit is that (1) the
electronics are a small part of the unit so the added cost is minor, and (2) there is much
less chance of someone incorrectly installing the unit. While I would be willing to use a
unit re-assembled by Tony, there too many incompetents out there who I would not trust to
even plug in the unit correctly, much less reassemble one from parts.
Bob
----- Original Message -----
Message: 6
Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 19:19:53 +0000 (GMT)
From: ard at p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell)
Subject: Re: Soldering (Was: Re: HP-IB, Amigo/cs80 ... )
To: cctalk at classiccmp.org
Message-ID: <m1Niurz-000J3xC at p850ug1>
Content-Type: text/plain
This is a pretty cool design for table saws:
http://www.sawstop.com/
"We're passionate about preventing saw accidents.
That=92s why SawStop=AE saws are equipped with a safety
system to stop the blade within 5 milliseconds of
detecting contact with skin."
I am not convinced. My main moan is that you have to replace the complete
safety device if it trips? Why? I am darn sure you could make something
as quick-acting that was resetable.
Due to this, if it trips in the middle of a job and you don't have a
spare one to hand, you are going to find some way to disable it. Which
means you have no protection, but subconciously you will think you do and
won't take as much care.
Also, since you have to replace all the driver electronics every time
(why not just the fuse wire?) how do you know it's going to work? If it
was resetable, you could test it every month or som wy touching the side
of a the blade with a soft metal rod. If it trips, fine, if not, you fix
it. Better than that it not work when you need it. ?Of ocurse even if
you're prepared to waste a safety module every month to do that test, it
doesn't tell you anything. You don;t know the new one you've fitted is
going to work.
-tony
22 Feb
22 Feb
11:08 a.m.
On 22 Feb 2010 at 18:40, feldman.r at comcast.net wrote:
I have a SawStop Contractor's saw and am pleased
with it, even though
I have not had the need to test its stopping feature. I did see one
demonstrated with a hot dog at a trade show, though. The maker of the
electronics (National Semi, IIRC) was doing the demo.
Just curious; have you tried sawing through a sopping-wet pressure-
treated 2x4 with it?
--Chuck
11:25 a.m.
On Mon, Feb 22, 2010 at 1:08 PM, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
On 22 Feb 2010 at 18:40, feldman.r at comcast.net
wrote:
Pressure-treated boards trip the safety circuit. So you have to manually
turn off the safety to cut pressure treaded boards. This is the main reason
I haven't wanted one. (Although the price helped with that decision also.)
I'm not sure how the manual safety shutoff works. I could be that you have
to turn it off for each cut, in which case it's a matter of time before I
accidentally don't turn it off. Or it could be that you have to remember to
turn it back on, in which case I would forget to turn it back on. I'd much
rather have passive blade guards that are obviously there or not.
Another common problem, judging from the woodworking forums, is that people
with upgraded miter gauges sometimes accidentally run the blade into their
aluminum miter gauge. This trips the circuit also, ruining the blade and
cartridge in addition to the miter gauge. On normal saws, the aluminum in
the miter gauge doesn't damage the saw blade.
I have to wonder what happens when there's metal imbedded in the wood also.
And the sawstop does nothing (that any other saw doesn't do) to stop
kickback. To me, that's a far greater danger than putting my fingers in the
blade.
There's this also:
http://www.whirlwindtool.com/
... although it looks big and clunky to me.
I have a unisaw with a beismeyer snap-in spreader. I'm planning to make or
buy an over-arm blade guard, but I haven't done it yet. That would enough
to keep my fingers out of the blade.
brian
I have a SawStop Contractor's saw and am
pleased with it, even though
I have not had the need to test its stopping feature. I did see one
demonstrated with a hot dog at a trade show, though. The maker of the
electronics (National Semi, IIRC) was doing the demo.
Just curious; have you tried sawing through a sopping-wet pressure-
treated 2x4 with it?
5369
days inactive
5369
days old
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brianlanning＠gmail.com -
cclist＠sydex.com -
feldman.r＠comcast.net