Comment by snuxoll
8 months ago
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.
> The first thing people with 10 fingers, two hands, and two arms will do is turn on the bypass and never turn it off.
I'd have a hard time leaving it off if I had a gristly accident. That might just be me though.
> The first thing people will do is turn on the bypass and never turn it off.
I have a feeling that you have never used a sawstop. You can not "turn on the bypass and never turn it off." As soon as you hit the stop paddle the bypass mode is disabled. You must reenable the bypass mode every time you want to pull the paddle. If someone is dead set on getting stuff done the bypass procedure gets old quickly.
Have you ever used a sawstop? How did you turn on bypass mode forever?
I honestly feel like the majority of this specific community would leave it on given the nature of our interests, and in general I think enough people will leave it on for the brake to be worth it, although this reality certainly does degrade the value of a saw brake mandate.
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.
I don't think the Sawstop will run when the brake isn't fully engaged. I admittedly only tried that once when first using it. But in this case, it's not optional - it's more like the airbag in a car. If it's on, it's working.
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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.