Table saw accidents

[John Kain]

hey guys....

This has probably been asked before. But I'll ask again.

I'm getting a new table saw here pretty soon. I'm a surgeon, and although everyone's fingers are important, mine seem to be my whole life. Since I'm not ready to give up woodworking, I have been drawn to Sawstop obviously. I'm just wondering if it's really worth the extra money. Is it a watered down version of the General 350 or the new Powermatic? I ask because I only expect to get more involved with woodworking as I get more advance in age and want to buy a top-notch saw I'll NEVER have to replace (one I can hand down to my son).

Also would like to hear any "saves" from the SawStop from personal experiences. I guess I'd also like to hear from those who didn't get so lucky with a tablesaw in the past.

Thanks in advance..........

[Don Baer]

John,
I had the opportunity of looking at the saw at a store and was very impressed with the quality of it. Fine woodworking in the lated issue rated it very high also. If I were in the market for a Cabinate saw it would definitly be high up on my list.

[tod evans]

john, i think per-n-bob have one that they really like? i`ve never seen one..02 tod

[David Duke]

John, as you said this has been debated many times and as with most things it comes down to personal choice. Everything I have read about the SawStop for the most part has been positive other than the cost, it seems to be a well built saw with very good dust collection, there have been some posts concerning "unexplained" blade lock events but those have been very few but as I understand it when the blade does "lock" it damages the blade and replacement cartriges are pretty expensive also.

Of course the cost of loosing a finger or severly damaging your hand would be much more expensive and devistating to your livelyhood, but I am of the opinion that the TS is no more dangerous than any other tool in the shop provided you use proper technique and observe all safety guidelines plus the technology isn't available for comparable safety on these tools and you will be using these tools (router, BS, miter saw)so the chance for an accident will always be there. That said, it can be argued that the SawStop is worth the expense to prevent the accident on the TS, I would personally buy a top end cabinet saw and put the difference between it and the SawStop on different tooling.

[tod evans]

john, since you asked about saw injuries, all of mine have been from kickbacks. so arm yourself with that knowledge whichever saw you decide to get. the missiles that occasionally shoot out of a saw have the abiliy to do severe damage, especially to your hands as they`re in the line of fire. not trying to scare you but stuff happens and meat-n-bone are no match for flung boards..02 tod

[edit] john, one more thought, the best way i know to keep your hands out of the line of fire would be a slider.considerably more money than a sawstop but in your shoes it may very well be wisely spent money even for a hobby. tod

[Tyler Howell]

Sawstop is pretty impressive. Saw it in action. I agree with Tod. only kick backs did any damage.

[Cecil Arnold]

John, were I in your position I would not consider anything but a Saw Stop, but I would also be very aware of Tod's advice.

[John Kain]

john, since you asked about saw injuries, all of mine have been from kickbacks. so arm yourself with that knowledge whichever saw you decide to get. the missiles that occasionally shoot out of a saw have the abiliy to do severe damage, especially to your hands as they`re in the line of fire. not trying to scare you but stuff happens and meat-n-bone are no match for flung boards..02 tod

[edit] john, one more thought, the best way i know to keep your hands out of the line of fire would be a slider.considerably more money than a sawstop but in your shoes it may very well be wisely spent money even for a hobby. tod

Tod, I actually had a kickback accident a little more than a year ago. The wood took off some skin on my left 3rd finger tip. I was able to work around it, but I was really hampered in the OR for 2 weeks. It didn't hurt my operating skills but I had to think about it with every single instrument I put into the hand (I'm left handed).

It's one of the reasons I like the Sawstop and the Powermatic 2000 (for the riving knife)

[Chris Padilla]

Were I in the market for a new TS, the SawStop and PM2k would get very hard looks and I'm sure I'd end up with the SS....

[Ben Grunow]

Imagine the raft of s--- you would catch from your co-workers if you cut off YOUR finger! You are supposed to be cutting things off other people. I bought my Sawstop because I knew I would never forgive myself for injuring myself instead of spending a few more bucks- and it's a great saw. No brainer.

[John Kain]

Any word on the Bandsaw that Sawstop is trying to engineer?

[Michael Cody]

PREFACE: I don't own a saw stop, I rarely use a table saw anymore either. But have used one a lot in my life. I use a guided saw system and bandsaw mostly and turn on my lathe.

Boy I seem to be in soapbox mode lately!

That said, if I buy another table saw it will be a sawstop or something comparable. Face it, how much is one of my fingers or hands worth. To me it's priceless, but to you ... there is no comparison. Screw the possible blade misfires, who cares about the small extra cost for the saw or if I chew up a blade.. That is all armchair pontification macho buffalo pucky. Sounds tough -- but I've never had an accident with a TS either, never even a kickback. I don't use a guard but I use a homemade riving knife. I use push sticks and I use safe techniques, but I have to be right " EVERY SINGLE TIME TO BE SAFE", the saw only has to be used wrong once to change my life!! It's like the safety jackets in my boat, sure I can swim and actually I have fallen out of a boat (was even sober) .. but if I fell out and knocked myself unconscious -- what good does that seat cushion do me, I wear a high dollar comfortable flotation jacket always.

Now look at your investment in yourself, can you honestly say that all the con-hype, non-tested reasons to save few bucks BS about safe techniques, jigs, etc... will make you not regret forever the one time in thousands you didn't get it right! There was another thread a couple days ago about riding a motorcycle -- risk versus what you get out of riding. Most mature folks sold the bikes since the return doesn't out weigh the risk.. You have a chance to get yourself state of the art safety. It's not perfect but it might mean you have to screw up 5-6 times out thousands before you are hurt instead of one. It doesn't mean you work less safely, you use all the tricks and techniques but you are working with a safety net in case you are actually human and might make a mistake. That sounds worth it to me.

[Jeff Horton]

If I were a surgeon I would have to seriously consider a SawStop. You situation is a bit unique.

With that said I could make a good argument for a standard saw and just using the guard that come with it or an after market guard. Without the guard I can see how someone could easily tear up a finger. I almost did it once and scared me bad. I put the guard back on but I just hate it because it is always in the way. So I took it back off till I find one that works well.

Honestly the band saw concerns me more than the TS. I work smaller pieces on it and than the TS and I have see what the butcher can do with a BS.

[Joe Jensen]

John, the Sawstop is in a different class than the General and Powermatic. The Sawstop is built much more like the high end European saws. I sold my PM 66 to buy the SawStop when I saw how it was constructed inside. For example, the Sawstop has independent adjustments for blade alignment to the miter slot when at 90 degrees and when at 45 degrees (heel adjustment). The dust collection, the true riving knife, the top is a full 30 inches by 40 inches, I could go on and on. I was lucky in that the local store had a Sawstop with the top removed so I could inspect the insides. Rest assured that this saw is very well built. Download the manual online and you'll see How it's a 21st century design coupled with lots of cast iron...joe

[Bruce Benjamin]

...but I am of the opinion that the TS is no more dangerous than any other tool in the shop provided you use proper technique and observe all safety guidelines plus the technology isn't available for comparable safety on these tools and you will be using these tools (router, BS, miter saw)so the chance for an accident will always be there.

Would it be fair then to say that riding a motorcycle is no more dangerous than any other form of transportation provided you observe all safety guidelines? Any power tool in a shop has the potential to do some damage if you don't use it properly. All things being equal with regards to proper technique and safety guidelines, one tool in the shop is more likely to hurt you than all of the rest. That's the table saw. Sneeze at the wrong time, hit an unexpected knot, etc. etc. with a table saw or with a band saw, drill press router table and something can get painful. But with a tablesaw the cost will usually be much higher and the likelihood of a problem even when following all of the rules is much higher than with other commonly used tools. Proper technique and lots of caution will go a long way towards preventing an accident with any tool but, in my opinion, with a table saw the margin for error is much smaller and the cost of an error can be much higher. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and here was mine.

Bruce