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Power Tools and SafetyRonald Porep, SafetyIssues |
Volume 2 Issue 17April 2003 |
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Power tools are the most dangerous tools in your workshop. A circular saw can cut off a finger or even a hand in an instant. A drill can drill right through your hand seemingly in the blink of an eye. Or a table saw blade can cut through your arm during a momentary distraction. A new addition to your power tools can prevent such disasters. |
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SawStop - designed to be attached to power tools - has sensors that detect
the electrical charge of the human body and can stop the blade of a table
saw in 5 milliseconds — about 25 times faster than the human body can.
That can be the difference between a nick on your finger and the loss of
your finger. “SawStop can minimize or prevent many of the 30,000 annual hand and finger injuries in the United States from table and bench saws,” describes David Fanning, vice president of Sawstop LLC which markets the attachment that could save you from serious injury for a mere $20 addition to the cost of the average power tool. The safety device was invented in 1999 by company president Stephen Gass, an Oregon patent attorney with an interest in woodworking and a Ph.D. in physics. It should be a must have part of every power tool. It is not yet. The founders of SawStop LLC claim that no manufacturers have agreed to put the technology on its power tools because the makers of power tools think you are too cheap to pay $20 more for a power tool that can keep you in one piece. "Some manufacturers have told us that safety doesn't sell," describes Fanning who shows how effective the device is in stopping the removal of a finger. Using a hot dog, Fanning demonstrates how the power saw stops abruptly with a loud pop after barely touching the wiener. Substitute your arm or finger for that hot dog and you see why this attachment should be on all power tools. |
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