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In 2015, 4,700 people in the US lost a finger or other body part to table-saw incidents. Most of those injuries didn't have to happen, thanks to technology invented in 1999 by entrepreneur Stephen Gass. By giving his blade a slight electric charge, his saw is able to detect contact with a human hand and stop spinning in a few milliseconds. A widely circulated video[1] shows a test on a hot dog that leaves the wiener unscathed.
Now federal regulators are considering whether to make Gass' technology mandatory in the table-saw industry. The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced plans for a new rule in May, and the rules could take effect in the coming months.
But established makers of power tools vehemently object. They say the mandate could double the cost of entry-level table saws and destroy jobs in the power-tool industry. They also point out that Gass holds dozens of patents on the technology. If the CPSC makes the technology mandatory for table saws, that could give Gass a legal monopoly over the table-saw industry until at least 2021, when his oldest patents expire.
At the same time, table-saw related injuries cost society billions every year. The CPSC predicts switching to the safer saw design will save society $1,500 to $4,000 per saw sold by reducing medical bills and lost work.
"You commissioners have the power to take one of the most dangerous products ever available to consumers and make it vastly safer," Gass said at a CPSC public hearing on Wednesday.
[1] SawStop Hot dog Video - Saw blade retracts within 5 milliseconds of accidental contact - YouTube.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Saturday August 12 2017, @02:21PM (1 child)
Here's [youtube.com] a video of the saw in action. Its only drawback is, it will only save your hand once; the saw won't operate after saving a limb. But a new saw is a lot cheaper than having them sew your hand back on.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 4, Informative) by richtopia on Saturday August 12 2017, @08:42PM
I've run Saw Stop saws. If anyone has a Tech Shop near them, all of their makerspaces have the saws. Talking with one of the staff they have about 1 stop every month. It does cost the person with the accident about 60 bucks to replace the blade and brake, but is leaves a scratch on par with a bad splinter.
You can disable the Saw Stop for some cuts. There are a lot of false positives if you aren't careful: the technology depends on conductivity, so if you cut anything with a staple or too wet it will trigger.
There is a premium of Saw Stop over other brands without brakes. I cannot afford to own a Saw Stop saw, but I hope with this mandated the cost will come down.