Anyone missing a Mag 77?

[Jon McElwain]

I took some scrap metal to the dump today and noticed a red handle out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, it was a Skil Mag 77. Looking closer, the saw was nearly new with a sharp carbide blade in it, but the cord was slashed. Of course I took it home, and with the installation of an $8 replacement plug (took 10 minutes), I had a perfectly good and fully functioning Skilsaw. I work in heavy civil construction and I see my fair share of waste due to the fact that time is money - lots of money, but does it say something about our society when someone will choose to replace a $200 saw with a new one because $8 and 10 minutes stand in the way?

[Matt Day]

I work construction management on large multi million jobs. We have very strict safety policies, especially about electrical issues such as cords without grounds and cuts in cords that aren't properly repaired. If they don't have properly marked cords showing they've inspected the cords for cuts, grounds, etc on extension cords and power tools, we dispose of the item.

Cutting a power tool cord and throwing it away usually doesn't happen, but does on occasion. You might have lucked out on one of those occasion!

On the other hand, maybe someone was lazy like you said!

[Tyler Howell]

Part of my job was safety inspection and I would cut defective cords off tools so they weren't used till repaired.
If I put it in the dumpster, that ment not on my site, but what ever happens after that was up to the tech.
I've also been known to take a saw to ladders.

A defective tool that's "good enough" for home use can injure my valuable employee off the job and be traced back to me/my company with the big pockets.

[Mike Heidrick]

.... but does it say something about our society when someone will choose to replace a $200 saw with a new one because $8 and 10 minutes stand in the way?

Says to me that that person did not buy or earn that tool.

[Austin Grote]

Or maybe it just found its way to the dumpster by mistake.

Everything is not evil...

[Bruce Page]

Or maybe it just found its way to the dumpster by mistake.

Everything is not evil...

Austin, you're no fun at all!
But you do make a good point.

[Mike Cruz]

Jon, I see right past you. Stealth gloat... And let me say this

No pic, didn't happen!

[Guy Belleman]

I am a safety officer and chemical hygiene officer; yet, my safety supervisor is constantly telling me that I can't repair anything because I am not "certified" by whatever company made the thing in the first place. Replacing a bad cord/plug seems like a no brainer, yet I have been told to get rid of these $300 items and order new ones, which is an expensive ticket item for a school. One particular item was very irritating, and were $400 power supplies where the internal fuse (1/4" x 1 1/4" common in most electronics) had blown, but was installed by the manufacturer by soldering it into the wiring and not in a replaceable fuse holder. My second degree in electronics and certificate in electronic repair doesn't seem to suffice either, and it makes me very sad to see where our society is headed and how limiting we are making ourselves in the guise of safety. Didn't I read somewhere that a lot of trashed electronics are not recycled in the USA, but sent overseas where they do?