table saw safety aid

[Woody Alan]

Hi

I just came across this
http://www.fcmachinery.com/Table%20Saw% ... 20high.wmv
as I was browsing. Its the most impressive step towards safety I've seen lately....But how does it do it?

Cheers Alan

 

[DaveL]

Alan,

This is a demo for SawStop which has some electronics that detects when flesh touches the blade and then brakes the blade and retracts it to reduce injury.

 

[Scrit]

Yes, but it doesn't cure kickback which is a lot more common than amputation - a riving knife and short rip fence will go most of the way to doing that. Kickback can also cause the operator to overbalance (poor stance) and then you get the risk of amputation - problems that are easily and cheaply dealt with by fitting a crown guard and using home-made push sticks. The SawStop is an interesting idea, but if you think about it most of what it achieves is achievable at a fraction of the price.

Scrit