Comment by ApolloFortyNine
8 months ago
You can hurt yourself with a whole array of tools, especially in construction. A sawzall is a pretty horrifying gadget really, for example, and that's likely more popular among homeowners than a table saw.
8 months ago
You can hurt yourself with a whole array of tools, especially in construction. A sawzall is a pretty horrifying gadget really, for example, and that's likely more popular among homeowners than a table saw.
I can lose fingers with my recip saw, circular saw, oscillating multi-tool, or angle grinder; scalp myself with my dremel (long hair); put a nail through myself with one of my many nailguns; the list of potential risks associated with power tools is numerous.
I think table saw brakes are awesome and absolutely have a benefit for things like high school shop classes, but a properly functioning blade guard also does the job most times.
Based on the data we have about how people end up with finger amputations from hospitals I’d say the evidence that saw guards are inadequate in practice is strong.
I have a feeling these will be as ineffective. From SawStop FAQ:
"You can operate the saw in Bypass Mode which deactivates the safety system’s braking feature, allowing you to cut aluminum, very wet/green wood (see above) and other known conductive materials. If you are unsure whether the material you need to cut is conductive, you can make test cuts using Bypass Mode to determine if it will activate the safety system’s brake."
https://www.sawstop.com/why-sawstop/faqs/
The first thing people will do is turn on the bypass and never turn it off.
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When I see saws at residential construction sites the blade guards are almost always removed.
If people are already bypassing the safety features then "add more safety features" is a dubious move. Gotta go fast, can't afford if the saw has a false positive, switch it all off. Changing behavior is likely going to be a lot harder.
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Blade guards are the first thing removed in a commercial environment, and probably by a good number of hobbyists who think they'll get in the way. They also can make accurate cuts difficult to align since they partially obscure the blade.
Yeah, because people are foolish and disregard safety procedures. I don't think we can, or should even try to, structure society to keep people safe when they choose to disregard safety.