View Poll Results: Where do you fall?

Voters
489. You may not vote on this poll
  • SS Owner: brake has never fired and no injuries

    49 10.02%
  • SS Owner: I've been injured

    5 1.02%
  • SS Owner: Brake fired accidentally

    37 7.57%
  • SS Owner: Brake fired and prevented an injury

    8 1.64%
  • Non SS Owner: I've been injured

    69 14.11%
  • Non SS Owner: no injuries

    336 68.71%
Multiple Choice Poll.
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Thread: SawStop vs Non SS Table saws poll....Accidents and accidental firings

  1. #46
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Escondido, CA
    Posts
    6,224
    Does anyone have stats on the number of table saw accidents vs other woodworking machines and tools?
    Veni Vidi Vendi Vente! I came, I saw, I bought a large coffee!

  2. #47
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Southern Kentucky
    Posts
    2,218
    I am holding out for the hammer that never misses the nail.
    ---I may be broke---but we have plenty of wood---

  3. #48
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Rochester, NY
    Posts
    681
    Voted "SS Owner: Brake fired accidentally", assuming firmware bugs erroneously popping the brake fall into this category. I had one go, then put in a new brake and it fired too. SS replaced them both at their expense. Since the firings were on startup I was able to salvage the blade too. As an engineer, I know things don't always go right "out in the wild", and I am more than willing to accept stuff like this.

    I've not had a tablesaw injury yet myself, but was present when my dad had a pretty bad one.

    Mike

  4. #49
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Northern Colorado
    Posts
    1,884
    Quote Originally Posted by Gary Max View Post
    I am holding out for the hammer that never misses the nail.
    If you mean thumb nail ... you're welcome to my hammer.

    It never misses
    He's no fun. He fell right over !

  5. #50
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa Bay, FL
    Posts
    3,885
    I have had a kickback on a SawStop with a properly installed riving knife. It was caused by the outfeed table being slightly too high, and when pushing the wood it hit the edge of the outfeed table, and rotated into the back of the blade - kickback. Left quite a welt on my abdomen. Felt like I was kicked by a horse. Wondered if I ruptured my spleen (fortunately didn't) To be fair, the blade cover was off, though, which likely would have prevented the kickback.

    All safety features decrease the risk of an accident. They don't eliminate it. And operator error (which mine, sadly I guess qualifies as) can trump all safety features. That being said, there is no way I would give up my SawStop.

    Oh, and Neil, "I wonder where Ruth is?"
    Last edited by Alan Lightstone; 03-27-2012 at 11:27 AM.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  6. #51
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Falls Church, VA
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    2,330
    Blog Entries
    1
    I agree with all your points, Kelly. Perhaps the real benefits of the SS technology will be when it finds its way into the hands of the weekend warriors that currently use the $99 saws (that will be $299 with the SS brake).

    I don't think there is a way to truly test for SS effectiveness other than to get the tech out there and interview the folks showing up at the ERs.

  7. #52
    I need to vote twice:
    Formerly a non SS injured. Currently an SS non-injured. Best move I ever made, and by the way, an SS solution with an Incra fence is a wonderful combo.
    If I was doing it over I'd do the SS the first time and reduce the risk, both for myself and my kids that are getting started in the shop. I'm quite sure nobody plans their injuries, so just "being careful" is a little like playing Russian roulette. Haven't seen any replacement fingers on sale at Woodcraft.

  8. #53
    Quote Originally Posted by mreza Salav View Post
    - Has anybody (not just SMC members) seen/heard a kickback while operating a table saw (any kind) WITH a properly installed/aligned?
    After 12 years of using my little Inca 259 which has a true riving knife (and is 30+ years old) I've never had a kickback. I have had a piece of oak I was ripping pinch the knife with so much pressure that I had to pry the kerf open with pry bar in order to get it off. That would have been a pretty nasty kickback on saw without a knife I think.
    Contrast this with the old Unisaw I grew up using that would throw stock so much that for a long time I thought that's just what tablesaws did every so often.
    Last edited by harry hood; 03-27-2012 at 12:04 AM. Reason: typo

  9. #54
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    Edmonton, Canada
    Posts
    2,479
    Quote Originally Posted by Alan Lightstone View Post
    I have had a kickback on a SawStop with a properly installed riving knife. It was caused by the outfeed table being slightly too high, and when pushing the wood it hit the edge of the outfeed table, and rotated into the back of the blade - kickback. Left quite a welt on my abdomen. Felt like I was kicked by a horse. Wondered if I ruptured my spleen (fortunately didn't)
    I am still trying to imagine the picture how it actually got kicked back. was it the end of the piece (the one that you were pushing) that got tangled into the blade?

  10. #55
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    Northern Michigan
    Posts
    4,963
    I was injured by a SS when I was helping a friend get his in the garage. He set it on my foot. Was not sure if that figured in you're poll so didn't vote.

    I think this poll is a communist plot!

    You guys worry too much about cutting a finger off, its really not all that bad. I still get up in the morning, take a shower, brush my teeth, kiss my wife and off I go for another joyous day of woodworking. I get a chuckle out of the attitude that life is over.

    And yes, as soon as someone comes up with a system other than SS, I will probably buy one. One that is not so expensive when it fires.

  11. #56
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    Knoxville, TN
    Posts
    87
    As many Sawstop owners know, if a brake accidentally fires, it can be sent back to saw stop for evaluation. If it is deemed that the brake did fire 'accidentally' they will replace the cartridge free of cost.

    Chris

    Quote Originally Posted by ian maybury View Post
    It's hard to know how representative the poll numbers might be, but taken at face value there's a disturbingly high level of false firings for a technology that is being pushed as the basis for a national standard. Presuming that these saws need a new cartridge every time that'd suggest it'd be pretty close to a license to print money...

    ian

  12. #57
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Lancaster, Ohio
    Posts
    253
    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Hedges View Post
    As many Sawstop owners know, if a brake accidentally fires, it can be sent back to saw stop for evaluation. If it is deemed that the brake did fire 'accidentally' they will replace the cartridge free of cost.

    Chris
    I had one misfire. The gap was set correctly but when I turned it on and before it was up to speed the brake fired. I sent the cartridge back to SS and they sent me a new one. The blade was not damaged except a small wear and tear, because the motor was not up to speed. The Blade barely dug into the brake. There is one trick I have learned and that is to take clear packing tape and cover the brake so that wet wood does not trip the brake mech.
    The last time I saw the light at the end of the tunnel it was another train heading at me...

  13. #58
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Location
    Midlands of South Carolina
    Posts
    390
    SS owner - no injuries, but I have had one kickback that just missed me. (my fault for not holding the board securely on a non-thru cut)

    As far as the poll goes - I like it. Interesting information. As with other polls and statistics in general - I would not use them as a basis for much of anything other than entertainment value.
    Last edited by Rick Prosser; 03-27-2012 at 11:20 AM.

  14. #59
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa Bay, FL
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    3,885
    Quote Originally Posted by mreza Salav View Post
    I am still trying to imagine the picture how it actually got kicked back. was it the end of the piece (the one that you were pushing) that got tangled into the blade?
    I'm thinking yes. It took a long time till I could figure out what caused it.
    - After I ask a stranger if I can pet their dog and they say yes, I like to respond, "I'll keep that in mind" and walk off
    - It's above my pay grade. Mongo only pawn in game of life.

  15. #60
    Join Date
    Dec 2007
    Location
    Hillsboro, OR
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    1,415
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    3
    I posted non-SS injured even though I would classify it as an accident (kickback) with minimal injury (hurt for ~ a day).

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