Amazing safety feature

[ZebraBlvd]

The professional woodworker's here probably know about this, but I just saw this for the 1st time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=E3mzhvMgrLE&NR=1

 

[240sx4u]

yeah dude, watching that video makes my skin crawl.

 

[Mark W.]

cool

Been using a table saw since I was 11 A LOT and I got all me digits. I try to rely on thinking ahead for safety.

I was taught by my Dad (all his digits) and my grandfather (all his digits) and that training was reinforced by an excellent safety minded High school shop teacher (all his digits)

But I can see where this could be a selling factor.

 

[Arkay]

I was taught by a shop teacher who had a thumb get caught in a table saw once... probably the fault of some school kid, but the teacher was VERY insistent on safety. I've seen one finger get cut off (not mine), and it isn't pretty.
I use one here, but it's more of a jerry-rigged thing with a circular saw bolted under a sheet of plywood, in turn bolted onto a small metal frame. No room for a proper table saw. Needless to say, with such a DIY approach, I'm doubly careful when I use it, and so far, have kept all my fingers.

I'd gladly pay the sixty bucks (or more) to have that in a table saw, if I were setting up a proper shop with a regular table for long-term use. ANY of my fingers (hand, wrist, etc...) is worth way more than that!

 

[Sandy G]

Wow...Amazing technology, but I still think there's NO substitute for AWARENESS & safety...Do YOU wanna be the one who "Tries 'Er Out " ?!? Me, neither...

 

[similost]

I've seen that before and thought it was WAY beyond cool that they could stop a blade so fast.. but I sure as hell wouldn't be the guy to try it out... knowing my luck I woudl be too dehydrated, and lacking salt in my system.. .

 

[ZebraBlvd]

Totally agree Sandy about there being no substitute for awareness & safety. But I think we all are guilty of the mind wandering when it should be on full alert. Just as in the case of this Gentleman's comment during such a time.

We have a Sawstop in our shop and the instant stop feature works. Right after I turned off the machine and the blade was slowing down, I reached in to get a snall strip of wood and my middle finger hit the blade. The blade came to an immediate stop and my injury to my finger tip, although painful and bloody it was not serious enough to go to the hospital and with antibiotic cream and band aids, it healed in a couple of weeks.

The only negative is the cost to replace the sensing module, so you need to have one in stock at all times otherwise the machine is out of commission until the module is replaced.

 

[chadnliz]

My shop teacher would give you a big HIGH FOUR for that one, one thumb up lol..........I can go all night kids

 

[aidynphoenix]

:scratch2: but.. wait a sec.. didnt you have to be grounded to the metal surface area of the table?? i usually just hold the piece i am cutting.. that means i wouldent be touching the metal of the table..
also what if the piece of wood you are working with was slightly damp because it was humid outside or was not bran new?
guess you would want a regular table saw too.

 

[DougMac]

As my neighbor who taught me woodworking told me: "You've got more time than fingers!"

 

[qpagoda]

:scratch2: but.. wait a sec.. didnt you have to be grounded to the metal surface area of the table?? i usually just hold the piece i am cutting.. that means i wouldent be touching the metal of the table..
also what if the piece of wood you are working with was slightly damp because it was humid outside or was not bran new?
guess you would want a regular table saw too.

Go back and look at the video again. The hot dog was on a piece of plywood. It was not grounded to the table saw. I don't think the sensor is responding to an electrical current. However, I don't really understand the physics of what he is talking about with the "small electrical signal."

I'd wonder if damp wood was a problem, too.

 

[kfalls]

This looks OK when edging your finger or finger substitute close to the blade. What happens if there's forward momentum, such as a slip? I'm surprised they didn't go with dynamic braking and save the module/blade.

The sensing circuit appears to work great. Instead of triggering the soft'stop module to stop the blade, why not discharge DC into the field windings of the motor causing it to lock up immediately. Immediate stopping without damage.

When I worked for CBS in the late 70s early 80s, we would feed master tape into a bin on a playback unit, so we could splice the ends together making a continuous loop for recording onto reels of tape on 10 duplicating units.

Loading from the feed reel, the tape passed through an optical sensor. When the tape reached the end, the sensor sends a signal to the trigger which then dumps DC voltage stored in a capacitor into the field windings. The motor would stop immediately between the capstan and pinch roller. The operator could retrieve the end without having to dig into the bin where the remaining tape was held. No reason it couldn't work in this application. My $.02.

 

[Grainger49]

I have three friends from work who have lost fingers to Radial Arm Saws. I was tempted but didn't send the link to them.

 

[similost]

One thought I had... I hope the arbor shaft is also a part of the repair kit after a stop.. That's a hell of a twisting force applied to it..

 

[electroking]

I have three friends from work who have lost fingers to Radial Arm Saws. I was tempted but didn't send the link to them.

Good idea, don't change your mind. I trust they have learned their lesson
anyway.

 

[ZebraBlvd]

also what if the piece of wood you are working with was slightly damp because it was humid outside or was not bran new?
guess you would want a regular table saw too.

The table has a Bypass mode for situations like this, and if you were cutting conductive materials like aluminum. They seem to cover a good majority of questions like this on their website under FAQ's.

 

[usedto]

Using the latest Toyota "fly by wire" accelerator technology...............

 

[John James]

I can see it now... "Hey ya'll watch this!" Arm over here.... wrist and hand over there. (see Toyota).