Sunday, January 28, 2007

Safer Sawing


I saw this saw a few months ago and knew I had to include at least a brief mention of it. I've built my own share of cabinets and other wood furniture, and "Saw Stop" represents a breakthrough in shop safety. Table saws are notoriously dangerous (even for experienced wood workers), and at least one company has introduced a feature that minimizes one kind of table saw injury.

Enter Saw Stop table saw that automatically stops the saw blade -- preventing the chopping [off] of fingers when it senses something is being cut other than wood. The machine does this in a matter of milli-seconds, virtually leaving the user with little or no injury. Of course, safety comes at a cost-- about $2800 plus accessories to be exact. But woodworking companies might find it well worth the investment versus the cost of insurance claims, worker's comp costs, and productivity slow downs.

Check out the SawStop web site, and the demo videos. (SawStop Demo videos are also posted on YouTube/Google Video.)






WorkBench also has a video which explains how the saw works.

If only pneumatic nailers could be as safe.