Okay, I exaggerated a bit in my title, but the argument could be made that table saw manufacturers are omitting the inclusion of what should be a standard safety feature. There is a great post on the SawStop at Gizmodo today that includes a video showing the SawStop in action. In the video, Steven Gass, the inventor, demonstrates the SawStop's ability to save a hot dog from impending slaughter from a monsterous table saw. 
I have to agree with the Gizmodo post and wonder why every table saw manufactured today doesn't include a SawStop. I'll have to assume the additional cost is deemed prohibitive, but imagine the marketing blitz that would accompany the introduction of table saws equipped with the SawStop by a major table saw manufacturer. Perhaps there is more to this than one might assume, but it seems like a phenomenal marketing tool to me, not to mention an incredible public relations tool. I can see the copy now, "Use ABC Table Saws with SawStop and keep your fingers." Oh, the many copy ideas that are churning in my head right now!
Visit the SawStop website for more details and more videos. Their website also notes that the SawStop won the Time Best Inventions 2006 award and Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award 2006.
Instead of relying on SawStop, why don't people simply use something to push the wood they're cutting along the table saw? In my shop class some 25 years ago, we were taught to use a piece of scrap wood to push what you were cutting and it's a lesson I've never forgotten.
Posted by: Scott | June 7, 2007 5:54 AM | Permalink to Comment