After reading the horrific story of a man who tried to teach his six year old how to use a table saw (the boy lost a good portion of his thumb), I was again reminded of the thumb-saving technology of Saw Stop. This technology, which stops a table saw instantly upon contact with human flesh, was recently profiled on the Discovery Channel. In the clip, they discuss the mechanics involved and at the end, the inventor shows his confidence in his invention by sticking his own thumb into the table saw. (DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME). Watching the retracting technology in super-slow motion is absolutely AMAZING (at around 4:29 in the clip). It shows how important it is to get this technology into every table saw in America. If you don't believe me, just ask Tommy MacDonald.
This is a great safety mechanism but--this can't be stated enough--there's really no replacement for common sense. 6-year-olds and power tools just don't mix :(
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Mark http://bloomington.mnpainters.com/
And the video said the saw was trashed, but can you replace the blade and the mechanism, if by chance you somehow keep putting your finger in the saw???
