As KnotScott says, “This is raw and short, but the last one is worth going to the presses for…” He’s right, it’s worth going to press with! I moved the last one up to the front… It’s a table saw safety device that stops the blade when it senses your fingers. And unlike SawStop, it doesn’t wait until your finger actually touches the blade. Also unlike SawStop the device is after market so you can keep your old table saw ;)
1) New Blade Stopping Competition for Saw Stop! (WoodNet)
Chipper JR sums it up with appropriate enthusiasm: “I see a major concept shift vs SawStop. This system is sensing when your hand is 1″ or so away from the blade using the virtual fence and deploying the brake rather than waiting unit actual contact with the blade.”
Here’s the Whirlwind demonstrated by David, its creator:
And no, we don’t carry it yet at ToolCrib.com ;) As the Whirlwind site states: “This site presents limited disclosure of pending table saw safety patents which are available for assignment or license. This is not a consumer website and there is currently no hardware available for these products.”
2) The Griz 1023 gets an update!
Updates include, according to WoodNetters:
> riving knife
> serp belt instead of the old 3 V-belt drive
> a dust shroud
> quick release throat plate
And, oh yeah, Grizzly CEO Shiraz Balolia makes a guest appearance in the thread and confirms: “Yes, there was major re-engineering to some of the saws.”
Just wish we carried Grizzly here at ToolCrib.com… Or even refurbished Grizzly! Though apparently they only sell refurbished at tent sales…
3) Drill Press Capacity how much do you really use?
Making the drill press decision can be tough! This thread walks woodworkers through the decision making process.
We do have drill presses ;)
Previous Forum Roundups from KnotScott:
7 KnotScott Forum Finds: R4511 Discontinued? SawStop Saves, Festool TS55, MORE!
6 Bonus Forum Finds from KnotScott: New Frued Blade, Adding Rip Capacity, Avanti Blades, MORE!
10 KnotScott Forum Finds: Are $100 Blades Worth $100 + Best Band Saw + Best Cordless Drill + More
10 KnotScott Forum Finds: Shop Organization Tips, Free Cad Program, Reduce Table Saw Vibration + 7 More!
KnotScott Forum Finds: Woodworking Bargains at Wal-Mart? + Dust Collection + Dovetails and MORE!
6 KnotScott Forum Finds: Your Monthly Woodworking Spend + Kid Proofing the Shop and more!
KnotScott’s Forum Finds: Flag Case with One Board, Router vs. Shaper, Jointer Advice and More!
KnotScott’s Wide World of Woodworking: Bandsaws, Glues, Jawdropping Projects and MORE!
KnotScott’s Wide World of Woodworking: Saw Stop Blades, Hot Router Deals, Classic Table Saw Debate and MORE!
Knotscott’s Forum Thread Picks: Maloof’s Passing, Common Woodworking Errors, Planers and More!
I watched David Butler’s Whirlwind flesh sensing-blade guard video. I am very impressed with that development. I believe it has a lot of potential.
I know there are countless people out there that have lost fingers to table saws. I feel for them. It is very unfortunate that it has happened to them. I know we are human and make mistakes and accidents happen. I have had my share of them.
Here is one of my many booboos. Twenty some years ago I had an encounter with a circular saw. I was cutting with it over my head, had a hold of it wrong and got my finger in the way of the blade. I cut it wide open and it required several stitches. A month later it was healed up. I was fortunate I didn’t cut it clear off. I got in a hurry and didn’t think what I was doing. I still have that scare to remind me of it.
Enough about me and now back to the Whirlwind. Mr. Butler VERY CONSCIOUSLY went through nine steps before he started the saw. He was very thorough with his process, thinking through every step. They are as follows:
1.) Check that the blade enclosure is safely
locked in place.
2.) Check to make sure the work piece can
move freely under the enclosure.
3.) Turn blade light on.
4.) Set blade height for the correct height.
5.) Make sure the rip fence is locked into
place for correct width of cut.
6.) Check to make sure table is clear.
7.) Set the “safety check complete button” to
arm the brake to get the green light on.
8.) At which time only now will the saw start.
9.) Turn on dust collector.
10.) Turn on the saw.
He thought through every step of the procedure. Now he proceeds with the very reason for working with the saw; which is making the cut in the board.
What happened to his conscious work process? He went through ten steps before making the cut, now is no time to stop thinking about what you he is doing. Now is the time to step back and think about the dangers of a table saw. That blade is spinning at a very high rate of speed and has the capability of doing some very serious damage.
Knowing that the flesh-sensing blade guard is in place is not the time to become careless? I agree that safety equipment needs to be in place and any time a new safety feature is developed it should be used to its fullest potential. But lets not forget to think about what we are doing.
I remember hearing several years ago that any thing that can go wrong will go wrong and that is so very true. That safety feature can malfunction and accidents can still happen. So let’s not become careless just because we have a new safety feature in place. We still need to be very careful when using any machine and not become careless.
Just a thought I had when watching the video.
Over 27 years I have seen many safty ideas come and go. I watched the whirlwind video and seen the saw stop tables at work. Here I was looking into the face of a timid woodworker. Safty is not something a companie can garantee, It is something every responcible woodworker is prone to do. Safty is a mindset not a device.
I tire of Joe Weekender setting up his $700 dollar saw and taking fingers off because he had a couple of beers before or during his woodbuchering. The deliberate steps that the man followed in the video are for Joe. in the real world where time is money and table saws are crancking 3 to 5 horsepower over an 8 to 12 hour day, well the whirlwind hood is a joke.
Why not produce vidios that ensure good safty in woodworking practices. Something that shows the real efects of what being careless can do. Then Joe Weekender might think twice before putting his fingers to close to the blade, or having that first beer before starting.
I personaly have to place my fingers within 1/4″ to the blade at times to acheive the fine creations that I make. But I always know where the blade is, where my fingers are, and where people and animals are that are in my shop if a kickback should occur.
Also I keep both hands on my work, either by touch or through a push stick or similar device. If the fence is not set right, if the board has a warped edge, tooth missing from the blade, Ect. ect., will cause feed problems that could make for kickback or drawdown (where the peice pulls into the plate throat).
These are the responcibility of the person, not the machine, and to injure yourself because your being stupid is not the machines fault!!!
When the blade is tilted will the pawls and large splitter tilt, seems the splitter is attached to the top of the hood. It was easy to remove the waste material from the left of the table but how about the sized piece next to the fence when it is narrow, have to retrieve it from the back. Dust extraction is good, anti-kick back pawls placed at the back of the guard and blade should be up front to be really safe, stand to be corrected on the tilt