Permanently wired equipment?

[Craig Colvin]

I'm building a new shop and planning on permanently wiring the table saws into a junction box in the floor.

Everything I have ever read about table saw safety says to disconnect power before changing blades. Now I have never had a TS spontaneously turn on and I have never accidently turned one on. Even so I would fear nervous changing a blade without disconnecting power, the same way I feel nervous when I have to fish something out of the garbage disposal.

So the question is, should I add a power disconnect box on the wall somewhere near the powersaw to disconnect power to it when changing blades, or am I just being silly?

[Steve Jenkins]

If your panel is within sight just flip the breaker off. I would never call anyone silly for taking a precaution to make things feel safer. Steve

[Gary Max]

That's what I do----flip the breaker.
At that point I never give the power another thought.
Of course when I change a blade I also like going over the rest of the---get the air gun and blow the whole machine off and check the fence so it may be a hour job just changing a blade for me.

[Craig Colvin]

Well the panel is in another room quite a ways away. So I would have to had one of the boxes with the big lever on the side somewhere near the saw.

The question really is, is it necessary? Does everyone pull the plug or flip the circuit breaker before changing blades?

[Dan McLaughlin]

I always pull the plug. It's easier than throwing the breaker.

[Brian Hale]

Craig,

Yesterday i was changing the blades on my 6" jointer (110 volt) but had to go to a b-day party before i finished. This morning i finished them up. Double checked everything like locking screws and table alignment. Walked behind it and plugged it in and the darn thing came on!! Somehow between yesterday and today i had hit the on switch and didn't know it.

If it had been plugged in while i was working on it, well .......

That was a wake up call for me.

Take the time, play it safe.
Kill the power, avoid the hospital trip.

Brian

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Craig, I would hard wire the TS using a disconnect. It is just easier than going to the panel and switching off the breaker. I ALWAYS unplug whatever equipment it is I am doing service on. It is a good habit to get into, and it beats getting hurt. (Actually, I unplug some of my equipment whenever it is not being used. My lathe has a VFD, and they are not fond of surges, and I never know when it is gonna blow up a storm with lightning in the area, when I am not home.)
I also have the 220V circuit for my Oneida Cyclone switched. I use a remote switch for my DC, and when I leave the shop, I just turn the switch off........that keeps some stray signal from switching on the cyclone by accident. Always better to be safe than sorry, IMO.

[Jim Becker]

I'm in favor of plugs, both for safety during blade changes since you can lay the thing on top of the saw so you KNOW it's not plugged in and because that makes it easier to deal with the occasional reconfiguration of things. IE, more flexibilty. If you do choose to hard-wire, an easily accessable and visible disconnect switch near the tool is a good idea. You want it so that it's quite obvious that the disconnect is "off" or "on".

[Bob Smalser]

I've worked in shops where the machines were hardwired...

...and it made me nervous enuf to test and properly mark every single breaker in the panel after hours, brightly color coded for the machines that needed to be shut down before maintenance.

No malfunctioning magnetic or other switch is ever gonna cost me my livelihood.

[Brian Austin]

I'd rather take the time (all of 5-7 seconds?) to unplug and replug, knowing I'm not about to watch my fingers/hands fly across the room because something was accidently hot. Just like I rehearse a new cut with the power off before turning everything on. I'm just not in that much of a hurry.

Personally, I'd do plugs, if only for the flexibility.

[Tyler Howell]

I wired in a disconect right next to my saw. In your case How about mount it on the saw?? The fewer joints in you supply line the better


http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...5&page=2&pp=40

[Richard Allen]

A plug is a nice thing to have. For changing blades. For other service on the saw. If you can move your equipment from the shop (like wheeling out to the driveway) you would be amazed how quickly you can completly clean your shop.

[Tim Morton]

Am I the only one who has unplugged his saw and moved it to another spot in the shop and plugged it in to another outlet? I would not hard wire it just for that reason.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Craig......if you decide to hardwire it......INSTALL A SHUTOFF WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT WHILE STANDING AT THE SAW! I've worked on electronic equipment since 1968. Some of the equipment I work on today operates at 140 KV dc. In those years I've only been shocked a couple of times and it's always been when I had no choice but to work on it, align it with power applied. Twice it could have cost me my life....once because of the shock..the 2nd time I almost fell from the mast of a ship as a result of the shock. The secret to surviving electrical shock is don't incurr one in the first place. You want to know for a fact...beyond all doubt.......absolutely.....positively.....the power is off when you are working on that saw. If the disconnect is in the next room....it would be awful easy to decide not to use it......a bump with an arm or hip.....the blades turning in what used to be your very useful hands! Convenient shutoff or disconnect........

[Craig Colvin]

Thanks for all the input guys. I will be installing a disconnect somewhere.

A little background about this shop. I'm starting a new business, a woodworking club, where people will come and rent time in the shop. Think health club with woodworking equipment instead of exercise machines. I'll also have a retail store and have woodworking classes.

So lot's of people will be using these machines and safety is a big concern. I just wanted to validate that my concern over hardwired was justified.

The table saws won't be moving much but I expect to shuffle around some of the other machines as I grow. So I'll have lots of outlets and looks like I will have a lot of disconects as well. I would rather that customers flip a disconnect switch than be plugging and unplugging equipment. Especially the 220v equipment.