A legal organization probably financed by Saw Stop themselves. Saw Stop isn't bad concept in theory, but I can't believe one could make a precision cabinet makers type saw that would be completely intact after the Saw Stop fires without any degradation is accuracy.
When I bought my saw, I looked at Saw Stop's offerings and rejected them due to the cost of replacing parts if the mechanism falsely fires (which I was told they do sometimes on wet wood) and because the saws themselves were cheap sheet metal saws. No cast iron anywhere.
The best safety feature of any power tool, in my opinion, is the operator. A little background information and common sense goes a long way. That said, better safety could be acheived by better manuals that not only describe how to use the particular saw, but how to use a table saw correctly in general.
It's obvious one should keep one's fingers, hands, arms, etc away from a blade spinning at 3600 RPM. What's not so obvious is situations where safely placed hands could be drawn into the blade.
What's more: kick-back. I've never seen any table saw manual make mention of where a push stick should push on wood being feed into the saw while using the fence. The answer, which is well known to any seasoned table saw operator, is that the stick should push on a point between the blade and the fence.
The second thing I've seen a lot of guys doing is using both the rip fence and the miter slide simultaneously. This seems like a good idea because you could use both to achieve multiple cuts at the same length. Problem is, this is dangerous! The wood being cut is constrained on both sides. If it trys to cock, it binds in the blade and can kick back - hard! Ask me how I know and I'll tell you I had a bruised stomach for two weeks. What's worse is I knew better... Whose fault is that? Delta's? Nope. Mine. Plain and simple. But getting back to how to make a cut like this safely:
Again, as any seasoned table saw guy can tell you, the rip fence and miter slide can be safely used simultaneously if a minimum 1" spacer block is used towards the front of the rip fence to position the wood on the miter slide. Then, as the wood is pushed forwards, one side of the wood is clear of the rip fence before the blade makes contact. When the cut work starts to clear the blade, the offcut can move away from the blade and have someplace to go besides pinched between the blade and fence...
Now, in my opinion, these are all common sense based on understanding of what the saw and materials are doing.
If I were a table saw manufacturer, I'd include a DVD with my saw with a clever title like "Advanced Saw Techniques" that pique the interest of the average saw owner. I'd deliver that content, but also explain safety along the way. Monkey see, monkey do...
John
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I still have all my fingers 35 years after first using a saw. Marcel
When I read that part fast I got "I still have all my 35 fingers years after first using a saw." :lmao:
John