Shopsmith Forums

Ed in Tampa wrote:Steve's post above is little deceptive. The Sawstop stops the blade only after the finger touches it so the .010" of travel that Steve calculated out is into flesh.

On the other hand the Whirlwind stops the blade after the finger touches the shield. So the .23" the finger moves after triggering the whirlwind is less than the distance from the blade to the shield so the finger never touches a moving blade.

BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!

Second if you buy the Whirlwind you can put it on any machine and be guarded.

Third and the biggest to me is Gass doesn't get any money. I view him and his tactics to force his Sawstop technology on us by government intervention as dispicable. As I have said before I would quite woodworking before I saw one penny of my money going to him.

I was just about to make the same points, but you beat me to it!

Ed in Tampa wrote:Steve's post above is little deceptive. The Sawstop stops the blade only after the finger touches it so the .010" of travel that Steve calculated out is into flesh.

On the other hand the Whirlwind stops the blade after the finger touches the shield. So the .23" the finger moves after triggering the whirlwind is less than the distance from the blade to the shield so the finger never touches a moving blade.

BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!

Second if you buy the Whirlwind you can put it on any machine and be guarded.

Third and the biggest to me is Gass doesn't get any money. I view him and his tactics to force his Sawstop technology on us by government intervention as dispicable. As I have said before I would quite woodworking before I saw one penny of my money going to him.

I would have to do these tests (or at least witness them in a shop) before I buy into the resulting analytic comparison.

To me they both sound like finger saving technologies.

What I have not seen from the Sawstop are the cuts and abrasions that happen during a real life shop incident. The hot dog trick and Gass's self sacrifice maneuver do not do much to convince me that when I touch that spinning blade all I get is a scratch.

Furthermore, when I watched Gass "sneak up on the blade" during his real live demo using his own hand did not convince me either. When I am feeding material into the saw blade it is never that slowly.

Nevertheless, I agree with Ed (maybe with just a tad less enthusiasm) that I'll never spend a penny on Sawstop technology.

In the meantime: Keep your fingers out of the red zone and use your guards and push sticks. The last thing we want to do is become a statistic that tends to make Gass's point.

Ed in Tampa wrote:Steve's post above is little deceptive. The Sawstop stops the blade only after the finger touches it so the .010" of travel that Steve calculated out is into flesh.

On the other hand the Whirlwind stops the blade after the finger touches the shield. So the .23" the finger moves after triggering the whirlwind is less than the distance from the blade to the shield so the finger never touches a moving blade.

BIG DIFFERENCE!!!!!!!!

VERY valid point. And one I missed completely.

The gaurd on my saw needs a little persuasion from time to time to scoot out of the way of a push stick or hold down, so I'll have to look at how it works. But the Sawstop provides some level of protection for nearly all cuts, even when the gaurd is removed. Tenons, Dados, etc.

I'm not foolish enough to think that a Sawstop will prevent all amputations. I can't imagine any scenario that would. But I still think it's the most elegant solution to the challenge.

Steve

wh500special wrote:VERY valid point. And one I missed completely.

The gaurd on my saw needs a little persuasion from time to time to scoot out of the way of a push stick or hold down, so I'll have to look at how it works. But the Sawstop provides some level of protection for nearly all cuts, even when the gaurd is removed. Tenons, Dados, etc.

I'm not foolish enough to think that a Sawstop will prevent all amputations. I can't imagine any scenario that would. But I still think it's the most elegant solution to the challenge.

Steve

There's that word again.

What ever happened to KISS!;)

[quote="JPG40504"]What ever happened to KISS!]

You wanted the best - you got the best. KISS just did a KISS Kruise this past month. They are also apparently working on a new album

damagi wrote:You wanted the best - you got the best. KISS just did a KISS Kruise this past month. They are also apparently working on a new album

Keep It Simple Stupid!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

JPG40504 wrote:Keep It Simple Stupid!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

When I first started learning computer languages back in the late 50s and used by me when I taught computer languages starting in the 70s I listed KISS as the following:

Keep It Simple & Short!!!!!!!:rolleyes:

This is the guard I want to install on my Ridgid TS-3650 tablesaw. The factory guard is not just awful but this one is one I think I can work well with. The lower DC connection does well on sawdust but it should be really clean coming at it from both bottom and top. I have two full sized 4" DC's and I could use a line from one on the bottom and the other on the top. I like how the guard is wider than most too.
Sadly it is not in my 2011 fudget but $$$ should be available next spring. I am spending a lot on building repairs and fencing this year.
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/TSGUARD.html


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This is the guard I want to install on my Ridgid TS-3650 tablesaw. The factory guard is not just awful but this one is one I think I can work well with. The lower DC connection does well on sawdust but it should be really clean coming at it from both bottom and top. I have two full sized 4" DC's and I could use a line from one on the bottom and the other on the top. I like how the guard is wider than most too.
Sadly it is not in my 2011 fudget but $$$ should be available next spring. I am spending a lot on building repairs and fencing this year.
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/TSGUARD.html


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Interesting find dusty, handsaws above power sanders which are above jigsaws. Wasn't expecting that.