www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

Personally I HATE SawStop technology (and it's inventor, Gass, a lawyer) - it is very much a solution in search of a problem (or it is if you actually understand the dynamics of using a table saw and keep the riving knife and guards in place). But apparently Americans have a problem using that lump of fat and gristle between their ears and have to have safety mechanisms like seat belts (for those so terminally stupid they cannnot remember to put a seat belt on when they get into a car...) fitted to table saws instead of learning about riving knives, crown guards, materials support, push sticks and rip fences (i.e learning how to use a saw bench safely and competently) . And now Bosch has caught the bug as well (2nd commentary here). At least the Bosch one doesn't wreck the blade when deployed, unlike the SawStop

. . . and if it's so.o.o.o good, and so fast that it doesn't leave a mark on a misplaced finger, how come they use a bratwurst to demonstrate it, and not the salesman's finger?

Chris Skilbeck wrote:. . . and if it's so.o.o.o good, and so fast that it doesn't leave a mark on a misplaced finger, how come they use a bratwurst to demonstrate it, and not the salesman's finger?

Did you know that the SawStop mechanism has to be turned off when you are sawing damp timber? That's at least 25% of the time for me when I'm on site......

the SawStop mechanism has to be turned off when you are sawing damp timber?

No, I didn't read that far, I expect sawing damp timber will be outlawed soon then . . . .

How do you think the more nervous would feel about this,then?


Would I need full chain saw gear and a chain saw ticket to use one?

That's a seriously handy piece of kit! But as you say, not for the nervous!

I'm actually a bit surprised that even common tools like a 9" angle grinder or a chainsaw are freely available to any old purchaser without any need for basic safety training - I reckon a lot of them get used once and then get put away at the back of the shed when the DIY user feels the thing catch or kick for the first time!

So when that thing deploys, you have to replace the piston system, and take it in for examination if it fires more than 25 times.
I wonder how much that costs.
Two years down the line are many of these going to be working?
I'd also agree that it's better to do the job the proper way, having due regard for your own safety, and not putting yourself at risk, rather than relying on "last second" type safety devices which basically stop an accident doing damage after it's already happened.
The beam cutter is some piece of kit! Handy for breaking down big wany edge stuff as well I'd have thought.

I saw one of the green oak framers using a similar chain saw on one job - cut dead accurate tenons (well as accurate as they needed) in minutes. They had a portable chain mortiser, too (Makita) as well as a 12in wide hand power planer Now they have some serious kit!

There was an article in one of the mags some years back, about making wooden canal lock gates. They used a chainsaw for cutting the tenons, The beam cutter would be a bit easier to handle I'd have thought. IIRC they drilled out the waste for the mortices, and then chopped them out with those all steel, heavy duty wood chisels they use with a club hammer. Made a decent job as well from the photos.

We used to use chainsaws all the time on site doing roofs,great for roof work and very neat but totally frowned upon now.

Bosch have posted a video of the saw on YouTube:



The obvious things to say to anyone unaware of the safety issues is that you shouldn't use a table saw without the guard in place if at all possible (and for 98% of the cuts most people do on a table saw that's the case), that a straight through rip fence like that can be a kick-back generator and that UK-style push sticks in any case keep your hands a long way from the sharp spinny bits. I'm of the opinion that learning to use a table saw safely is more important that technology like this, but I also wonder how well these saws will work after a couple of years kicking about on sites and in the backs of vans

steviejoiner74 wrote:We used to use chainsaws all the time on site doing roofs,great for roof work and very neat but totally frowned upon now.

As far as I'm aware most insurers now require chain saw operators to wear the appropriate safety gear as well as to have attended a chain saw safety training course. There's also the standard requirement to use the safest available method to carry out any given task. I've asked my own insurers whether or not a Prazi (or for that matter A Festool sword saw) would be classed as a chain saw or as a hand held saw from their point of view

The saw itself looks a decent bit of kit. I don't like that top guard either. The Sawstop thing really addresses the "obvious" safety issue of touching the sharp spinny bits (I like that!), and not the less obvious (to a novice) one of getting hurt because of loss of control of the workpiece.
Another thing I can see is how long will it be before insurers insist on this sort of tech for saws?

Dave54 wrote:So when that thing deploys, you have to replace the piston system, and take it in for examination if it fires more than 25 times.

ffs
25 times ??
if your such a moron that you make the same mistake twice you need a strait jacket
and it wont stop serious injury if you trip approaching the saw and your hand goes onto the the blade and table like a bit off timber
the reason the sausage is unmarked is because its wet and its moved so slowly the salt water gives a good circuit

i bet you iff you took say a bit off celery and fed it into the blade at a normal rate off 3 or 4 inches a second it would go possibly 2" before the blade stops

big-all wrote:

Dave54 wrote:So when that thing deploys, you have to replace the piston system, and take it in for examination if it fires more than 25 times.

ffs
25 times ??
if your such a moron that you make the same mistake twice you need a strait jacket

If you had a shared saw on site with half a dozen users I suppose that could happen over an 8 to 10 week build - and there are some right muppets who constantly remove the guard and riving knife (then lose them ). I am more concerned about the sausage test, though. When accidents happen they do tend to be a lot faster than the speed of a lazily rolled hot dog.....