SawStop in the shop

[sascha gast]

Hi Dave,

Nice looking saw. I really like the big shut off button. I'm still waiting to make a knee swithch for my PM66.

Sascha, have you heard of spray paint? Once it is yours it can be any color you want.

Work safe... Maybe by the time i have my pennies saved the system will be availavble on the ManiMax combo.

nah, i won't paint it,hahaha. hey, just wanted to show you my knee/foot switch for my PM66. works great. little doorstop screwed to the base so i won't knock in the switch. very safe.

sascha

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Beautiful saw Dave! I look forward to hearing the nuts and bolts reports later.

[Charles McKinley]

Hi Sascha,

Thanks for the pic. The switch is much longer than I had planned. I like it. Thanks for the tip on using the door stop. Those magnetic switches are expensive.

[sascha gast]

your welcome, longer is better, since you can turn the saw off with your foot.

sascha

[Alan Turner]

Dave,
Thanks for posting. I am thinking about one also, but wondered what happens if it goes out of business, and then you end up needing a new cartridge. Is it worthless? Can you run the saw without a fresh cartridge? My applicaiton would be for a teaching situation, and of course the attraction is for the student's safety. Did you disucss this with the vendor? Is the owner approachable? I seem to recall that the saw comes without a fence, and that you need to add one. Did you get the Bies? And if so, did it come correctly drilled, etc., for the Bies? Did they ship the Bies as well or did you have to go to another vendor for that?

I for one would much apprciate it if you would keep us updated on your new tool as it seems to me that while expensive, there are certain settings, such as a school, where lthe safety features would be quite important.
Alan

[Norman Hitt]

I just wonder why they built it as a right tilt saw???????????

[Frank Pellow]

I just wonder why they built it as a right tilt saw???????????

That's not the problem. A number of people (including me) will argue that right tilt is better for them. Of course, a number of people feal better with left tilt so the problem is that they do not offer both. I ecpect that when (if?) the sales get high enough they will offer both alternatives.

[Rich Person]

I just wonder why they built it as a right tilt saw???????????

The SawStop is a left tilt. The motor cover is just on the other side because the tilting mechanism is different.

I wouldn't expect a right tilt option. It hasn't hurt PM to have left only, and I think the SawStop people see the right tilt as part of the safety profile. I'm not saying left is safer, that is just what the current thinking is.

Personally, I was pro-left, then pro-right (don't do much miter cutting), then pro-left once I decided to go with an Incra fence (easy to rezero fence with change in blade thickness).

[Dave Wright #2]

Rich is correct. PM and Unisaw designs have the motor hanging out when the blade is at 0 degrees, then rotating beneath the blade as you tilt. The SawStop's motor, and entire assembly hangs in a gravity normal position, beneath the blade, during 0 degree cutting. It swings out to the right as you tilt the blade to the left.

[Dave Wright #2]

Alan,

I don't think the saw will run without an unreleased cartridge mounted in proper proximity to the blade. Yes, there is a blade proximity sensor. You might want to ask this of Steve Gass yourself though (steve@sawstop.com). He's very approachable and responsive to e-mail inquiries.

You would want to have a couple cartridges on hand to allow class to get back on line with minimal delay. What if SawStop goes out of business? In that case the saw would be fairly easy to rewire as a conventional table saw that happens to be massive and have a riving knife and other safety features.

Yes, the saw is sold a-la-carte. Fence, extension table, and shipping are priced separately. I got the 36" SawStop fence that is essentially a Bies fence with some technical improvements. It came in the same Yellow Freight shipment as the saw, though in two separate boxes. The SawStop fence has glide pads on both sides of the T member, is adjustable for table perpendicularity and clearance, has scales for cuts on both sides of the blade (36" right, 12" left), faces that can be easily removed and replaced, a cam pad that doesn't flip up and get in way as you drop the fence onto the rail, and slightly shorter length (37" vs. 42"). So far I'm happy with the SawStop fence. It looks better with the saw too. Of course it bolted right on; I don't know if I would have had to drill holes to remount my Bies. Mounting the SawStop fence was trivial. The tube has slotted holes that allow the owner to choose between tight perpendicular sliding and easy tube liftoff.

I would think that schools would be the #1 source of SawStop customers. If glitches can be ironed out and SawStop stays in business I would expect them to become standard fare at shops that have a lot of different operators, many novice level, and carry insurance.

Regards,

Dave

[Alan Turner]

If I need a couple of the cartridges, then I think I will need to rethink my teaching of safety.
But thatnks for the info. and keep it coming. YOurs is the first review I hve seen of a production model in action.

Alan

[Dave Wright #2]

Two cartridges doesn't necessarily mean two accidents. Teach with dry lumber and equip your saws with non-conductive accessories (wood miter gauge fences, wood pushsticks, and keep the tenon jig parts clear of the blade) and there will be little chance of unjustified brake releases. A student touching the blade side before it has come to a complete stop, and the green LED stopped flashing, will release the brake. OOPS!

The various disconnects may help out in teaching situations and for shop security. A master disconnect can accept a padlock. The main power switch downstream from that has a plastic tab that can be removed to prevent unauthorized access (as is common on many power tools). The Bypass Mode is controlled by a key that can be removed and stored somewhere else.

[Alan Turner]

YOur comments are interesting. If metal touches the blade, will that release the brake? I know I have sawn a nail or 2 by accident over the years.
Alan

[Chris Padilla]

Alan,

It seems reasonable. Metal conducts electricity and thus if you touch a metal object (Aluminum fence/jig/whatever) and that object touches the saw blade, the device will most likely kick because it appears that you have touched the blade.

However, it should be okay with an embedded nail since you aren't touching the nail as you ruin your saw blade by cutting it!

Remember, the Saw Stop cartridge is looking for a conducting path from your body (finger...flesh) to the saw blade. Keep this in mind and you should be able to minimize false triggers.

[Dave Wright #2]

Establishing an electrical path to the tablesaw top will also release the brake. My understanding is that the only brake release they've heard of on a non-beta production saw was an unjustified release, and it came from grounding the blade to the tablesaw top. The operator was cutting a piece of sheet stock that had some aluminum tape on the surface down toward the table top. When the blade touched the tape a path to the top was established.