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Online Exclusive:
SawStop Finger-Saver Update
Safer tablesaws and bandsaws might soon be an option
by Tom Begnal
About a year-and-a-half ago, after returning from the International Woodworking Machinery & Furniture Supply Fair (IWF) in Atlanta, we wrote about SawStop, a fledgling company that had caused a stir at the show. The folks from SawStop (www.sawstop.com) demonstrated a safety device they hoped to license to manufacturers of tablesaws. With the device installed in a consumer-grade tablesaw, a company representative fed a hot dog into the spinning blade, using the hot dog as a substitute for a wayward finger. Remarkably, the blade stopped the instant it touched the hot dog, allowing the dog to escape with no more than a light scratch.
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Since then, we've learned that SawStop has been busy. This past summer, at the Association of Woodworking & Finishing Suppliers show in Anaheim, Calif., SawStop was running the same tablesaw demonstration. Although Stephen Gass, president of SawStop, wouldn't volunteer any names, he did say that two manufacturers of consumer tablesaws are interested in the device, with one getting close to signing a licensing agreement.
But don't expect to be able to buy one just yet. Because of the necessary retooling and other such processes, the saws won't be available until 2003, at the earliest.
SawStop also introduced a new blade-stopping demonstration in Anaheim. This time the hot dog had to encounter a spinning bandsaw blade. Using basically the same sensing device that's on the tablesaw, a mechanism was activated when the hot dog touched the blade, effectively cutting the blade in two and stopping it in an instant. And once again, the dog suffered only a slight scratch.
SawStop awarded safety commendation
Also, in 2001, the company was recognize by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The commission awarded a safety commendation to SawStop for "developing innovative safety technology for power saws intended to prevent finger amputations and other serious injury."
Recently, SawStop reached a licensing agreement with Precision Products, a manufacturer of pneumatic chop saws, machines commonly used in the woodworking industry. Precision Products, now uses SawStop on a machine they call the Safety Chop (www.heavychop.com).
In another interesting development, SawStop is about to begin manufacturing its own cabinet-grade tablesaw, with the SawStop feature built into it, under a yet-to-be determined brand name. But because the production runs will be small, the cost is expected to be in the neighborhood of $4,000. They expect to show it in August at the IWF in Atlanta.
Tom Begnal is an associate editor of Fine Woodworking.
Photo courtesy of SawStop
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The Table Saw Book
Expert furniture maker Kelly Mehler helps you get the most out of this essential tool
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The Bandsaw Book
Lonnie Bird delivers in-depth, practical information on bandsaw setup, tuning, choosing blades, and operation
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