Saw Stop Question...

[Kevin Herber]

I just read Mark's thread on his new SawStop and did not want to hijack his gloat, er - thread!!

When the stop component kicks in, what happens to all the inertia in the motor? Does the blade falling down release tension on the belts and thus on the motor so it can safely wind down?

I know from my ins. adjuster days that when a car makes a sudden stop, like a collison with a drive wheel impacted, the sudden stop can damage the drive train. Lots of inertia.

It seems there would be heck of a lot of inertia on a 5hp motor turning at a few thousand revolutions. Hard to stop that without some major damage in a thousandth of a second.

Anyway, just wondering how it works.

[Howard Acheson]

As I recall when this was asked some time ago, the belt(s) slip and there is no damage to the motor.

[Joe Jensen]

I have a Sawstop and this was a concern I had. The sawstop has a motor and belt to a jack shaft, and then a belt from the jack shaft to the arbor. That arbor is mounted in a small swing arm that swings from the jack shaft. When the saw trips, the momentum of the blade causes the arm to swing with the blade below the table. That dissipates a lot of the energy. If you go to their website you can look at the manual where they have an exploded view.

[Dave Lehnert]

Just incase you don’t know. The stop mechanism stops the blade. it damages the mechanism and blade to the point they need to be replaced.

[Matt Moore]

Just incase you don’t know. The stop mechanism stops the blade. it damages the mechanism and blade to the point they need to be replaced.

I know I am about to start something here. Who cares if it kills the blade and brake. I can't believe so many people get hung up on this. Most of us in the hobby spend so much money on all kinds of stuff and we are complaining about a few hundred $ that we may never spend. Many of us have hundreds of dollars if not thousands in some cases of tools that either barely get used or don't get used at all. My fingers and hands are worth a few hundred dollars.

If I had the $ to replace my contractor saw and hopefully I will at some point, I will have this saw in a heartbeat.

[Joe Jensen]

Just incase you don’t know. The stop mechanism stops the blade. it damages the mechanism and blade to the point they need to be replaced.

Yep, if I EVER trip it, it will destroy blade and a $60 cartridge instead of my hand. OMG

[Ben Grunow]

You will get to hang it on the wall in the shop and enjoy looking at it while flipping the lights on and off with any one of your 10 fingers (hopefully).

P.S. I have SS and dont look forward to using the technology but it would be cool to have on the wall just so those who have never heard of the SS could actually see the reality of it.

[David Rose]

Hey Ben,

Blow up a blade for us! Don't risk injury, just try a weiner or something. Would make for some really cool pics, I'll bet.

David

You will get to hang it on the wall in the shop and enjoy looking at it while flipping the lights on and off with any one of your 10 fingers (hopefully).

P.S. I have SS and dont look forward to using the technology but it would be cool to have on the wall just so those who have never heard of the SS could actually see the reality of it.

[Mike Heidrick]

How many saws stop owners own the dado brake and or extra break setups?

[Per Swenson]

Mike,

When we ordered the saw, I bought one each as extras.

For false trips. That never happened.

So I figure it this way.

Give me $500 for my time ,hospitality ,workingmans tour of Northern NJ,

new brake and blade and I'll demo a hot dog.

For a thousand and a waiver we can use someone else's finger.

Per

[Walt Caza]

Hi All,
As a Sawstop owner, I stock an extra regular brake cartridge and also an
extra dado brake cartridge. It never hurts to have back-up...
This way, if I were to have a brake trigger, false or legit, I can at least
minimize downtime.

Ben is right on about the wall decoration. I have a triggered brake locked
onto a fresh 50 tooth carbide blade hanging on my shop wall. I attended
a hotdog demo, and asked the rep if I could keep it afterword.
(Thanks Claude)

As for switching from blade to dado stack, it is getting quicker and easier.
I now know to back off the adjustment screw, to gain a little grace
to reinstall and turn-lock the red key.

I seek no debate, but will say that even without the brake, this is
a smooth and precise tablesaw, a joy to use!

Have a good day,
Walt

[Dave Lehnert]

I know I am about to start something here. Who cares if it kills the blade and brake. I can't believe so many people get hung up on this. Most of us in the hobby spend so much money on all kinds of stuff and we are complaining about a few hundred $ that we may never spend. Many of us have hundreds of dollars if not thousands in some cases of tools that either barely get used or don't get used at all. My fingers and hands are worth a few hundred dollars.

If I had the $ to replace my contractor saw and hopefully I will at some point, I will have this saw in a heartbeat.

OK! At what point did I say it was a bad thing for that to happen? Just stating a fact of how the unit works. Nothing more or less should be read into my statement.

[Chuck Wood]

Walt,


I seek no debate, but will say that even without the brake, this is
a smooth and precise table saw, a joy to use!

That was going to be one of my questions! The safety factor aside. What's the saw itself like ? Quality? workmanship? Would you have bought the saw regardless of the blade stop?

Thanks!

[Bill Boehme]

I have given the SawStop a detailed close-up check-out and my impression is that it makes the Delta and Powermatic look like portable tabletop saws by comparison. If you like well built machinery -- cars, saws, or whatever -- then this is a machine to like.

Bill

[Joe Jensen]

Walt,
That was going to be one of my questions! The safety factor aside. What's the saw itself like ? Quality? workmanship? Would you have bought the saw regardless of the blade stop?

Thanks!

The saw is amazingly well built and precisely machined. Having said that, WHEN I bought the SawStop I would not have sold my 1990 vintage PM66 to buy it if it did not have the safety feature. But, once I bought the saw and READ THE MANUAL, I learned why it cuts so well. The SawStop has adjustments for blade heel at 90 degrees and 45 degrees when the blade is down and up. My PM66 never had this, instead relying on the precision of the machining. I assume the PM66 was very well made as it was a top brand american manufactured saw. I use dial indicators and I'm very picky on setting up. I thought I had great cut quality with the PM66, but the Sawstop is clearly better. When I checked every adjustment on the SawStop, every single adjustment was already set within 0.001". This was using a master plate and their gauge setup. After checking all settings, I used the SawStop to cut Home Depot 3/4" shop plywood. Using a medium sharpness Forrest 30 tooth rip blade I had ZERO chipout on the top or bottom of either the "keep" side or the "scrap" side. I've never experienced that before.

SO....After I've seen how well it cuts, I would have been willing to spend the $1500 plus my PM66 to upgrade....joe