Comment by cityofdelusion
7 months ago
This will kill off the cheap table saw. It will be interesting to see how the hobby and industry adapt to $700 being the bar to entry — and that would be RYOBI grade stuff. The added cost isn’t from the mechanism, the cost is from needing to build a real frame around the blade instead of plastic and thin aluminum. The SawStop trigger is incredibly violent, the braking force will sheer the carbide tips off the saw blade from inertia alone. Cheap saws are almost all plastic and would be horribly deformed after a trigger.
I anticipate a return of something that used to be more common, the upside-down circular saw bolted to a table top.
> It will be interesting to see how the hobby and industry adapt to $700 being the bar to entry
We'll probably see more DIY "table saws" using circular saws. I'm sure that'll be great.
Do you think it would be legal for Kreg to sell you an adapter to put a circ upside down ;)
> Cheap saws are almost all plastic and would be horribly deformed after a trigger
Isn’t this fine? Buy an expensive saw and only lose the blade. Either way, keep your fingers.
The “cheap” saws in this scenario are still several hundred dollars. A SawStop is made well enough to withstand multiple activations and costs $100 for a new cartridge plus the cost of a new blade. It’s kind of a situation where it’s “cheap to be rich.”
> a situation where it’s “cheap to be rich.”
Sure. Sort of like methanol. As a society, we sometimes raise the (legal) floor even if it helps those at the margin. Not commenting on this policy alone. But one could make the same argument about seatbelts, airbags, flame-retardant bedwear or anything else purchased privately with lethal consequences.
There are many ways to trigger it that don't involve your fingers, and many people don't have unlimited incomes. So no, not fine, in many cases
I think if the patent is getting ready to expire that maybe the market can fix the issues?