holy freaking shit. that's awesome.

This takes all the thrill out of my erotic couples woodcutting class. Forget it.

Wow, that video is quite impressive. I imagine this technology could probably be used to lower the risks in all sorts of industrial accidents, so that finding severed thumbs in your Wendy's chili will no longer be a daily occurrence.

They could have just added a breathalyzer to the bench and probably have the same reduction in accidents.

In one word: WOW.

Given the amount of idiots that buy power tools without reading the manual I'd say this thing will save quite a few fingers.

This guy spams all the woodworking forums with this every so often. The reason its not on every saw is he wants a license for every saw to use his technology which adds around $100 to each saw in a market where people want to pay $89 for a saw imported from china.

It isn't just the extra cost, I read a article on this awhile ago, the technology can be used for circular saws as well as table saws, however manufactures will not implement it because they are afraid that by saying that the blade will stop when it touches flesh they are accepting liability for misuse of the prodct. So if little Johnny decides to show his friend how the blade will stop and it doesn't then the manufacturer will be sued, as opposed to a regular table saw which will cut the hand off with no problem but the manufacturer never said that it would stop.

Litigation stopping innovation.. ain't it wonderful

"How many fingers have been lost since its invention, because manufacturers were afraid the extra $100 it would add to the cost of the saw might drive buyers away?"

Actually, I think they are afraid to get sued. And if you are wondering why all shops don't have these, its because they cost about double that of a good delta saw (which will probably last longer anyway). We have six of these at my school, and to be completely honest they aren't that great of saws for the exorbitant amount of money that you pay. Sure, they may keep an idiot from cutting their finger off, but if you don't act like an idiot in the first place, there is no problem.

@zero_o

Needs to come out with a retrofit kit then. And while we're at it, add a kickback detector so no broken bones or concussions. And only make porter-cable and milli-waukay kits. "Overseas" power tool owners get what they deserve (except, perhaps, makita owners).

And to those of you that scoff at someone losing a finger or whatnot; much like there are only two types of motorcyclers --- 'those that have fallen, and those that will' --- there are only two types of regular power tool users. Those missing a digit (or at least a very nasty scar), and those that will be joining them soon enough.

The sawstop has been around for a while now. It isn't the cure all that the inventor has claimed. Indeed the biggest safety feature of this tool is not the sawstop mechanism but the adjustable riving knife that automatically adjusts to match the blade height.

While you might think otherwise, the main cause of injury on a table saw is not cutting off digits. The primary hazard is kickback, which actually kills people. Kickback occurs when the woodstock binds against the sawblade while cutting. This causes the saw blade to "kick" the woodstock "back" at the user. A riving knife goes a LONG WAY in preventing that.

The SawStop mechanism itself is a work of genius IMO. However it isn't going to save the lives that riving knife will. That mechanism is the one that all saw manufacturers should adopt. The stopping of a blade to prevent lost fingers is something that is easily replaced by someone that actually respects the tool they work with. I started working with tablesaws when I was five years old and I've never even gotten a knick on my fingers because I respect my tools and the dangers they can possess. However kickback can occur to anyone no matter how skilled or careful.

They need to get the dude from Saw I-III to endorse this stuff.

This is an awesome invention

SgtBeavis has got it right. Kickback can occur with other types of circular saws as well. Be very careful with a hand held as well. I saw a skilled carpenter almost break his wrist when the saw he was using hit a nail in a 2x4.

I would totally love something like this for my chainsaw.

@SgtBeavis

I've always wondered about preventing kickback, having my share of wallops from it. Couldn't you simply have a device that measures the amp pull from the saw's motor switch if off (and possibly a brake) if it jumped dramatically in a few milliseconds? Obviously, there would need to be leeway for knots. A knob for the type of wood could be responsible for choosing anything from balsa (hehehe) to ironwood, or if you are ripping sheet metal.

Seems like every time I have had a kickback, the saw first started to slow and "bind" (for lack of a better term) followed by amps surging and spinning the blade harder, which then whacks me across the head :-)

isnt there a way to amplify the electic current running through the blade that way no blood is shed at all? That way you walk away with no scratches either.

They need to get the dude from Saw I-III to endorse this stuff.

Or Lorena Bobbitt.

@ SgtBeavis - wouldn't you also have the tool respect you? It's about time we had tools with some intelligence. I'm not knocking the old Bridgeport mills or anything, but DANG that thing would eat me if it had the chance.

I'm pretty sure I saw that video last year.

"Jason finally had Brenda, the buxom teenage camp counselor right where he wanted her, trapped in the corner of the unused bunkhouse/makeshift toolshed down at the edge of Crystal Lake.

After an overly long three-minute cat-and-mouse chase, she managed to catch him in the back with a large double edged birch-handled axe that was conveniently left on a wood chopping block. Unsurprisingly, it only made him more angry as he knocked her upside the head with a sap-covered pine log. He had been going to someone for the past few months trying to get over his irrational fear and anger towards women, especially of the lithe female variety, but he thinks to himself that this only proves his fears were justified and it has just set him back at least another $2500 and two months of therapy.

He throws her stunned, but still conscious body onto the the table saw's rapidly whirring saw blade in a gruesome(and really rather over-the-top and dramatic) splitting of poor Brenda's pretty little forehead. Imagine his surprise when rather than hearing the familiar and comforting high pitched squeal of steel on bone like an oversized dentist's drill, the only sound heard was a loud thunk as the blade stopped suddenly and retracted back into the housing and subsequently with the motor grinding quickly to a halt.

Jason stares quizzically at the saw, wondering if the electricity had gone out at such an inopportune time for him but conversely, a serendipitous moment for Brenda. He then spots a small warning label on the bottom edge of the machine.

"This table saw is equipped with SawStop, preventing serious injury and loss of limb by stopping the machine when a person is in contact with the blade."

Jason thought about this for a moment, trying to grasp the implication of the warning. He looks again and spots another yet smaller warning label stuck a few inches below the previous one.

"Should not be used to bifurcate camp counselors.""

Impressive... Most impressive.

Now, something like that does deserve a PATENT!!! Anyhow that would be cool if these were installed on highways so right before someone comes crashing into me a just metal bar woud stick straight up through their car stopping them cold so, I would be safe from harm...yeh, yeh...i know the couple that gets the big metal skewer would probably die but oh, well...that's the price of progress.

Instead of teaching Asimo to ride a Segway, he should be taught to use a table saw. Way more useful and until he has a litigation chip installed, he can lose all the digits he wants and still not bleed. Hell - you can even stick hot dogs to his fingers just to be safe.

seems like it ruins your saw when it happens. What if it happened accidentally and your expensive saw was busted?

@ysirotin

IMO it isn't responsible to expect and inanimate object to "respect" you. That saw will never respect you, no matter how much technology you throw at it. However if you fail to respect it, it WILL kill you.

After working in a woodshop for several years and not seeing one accident, I say meh.
Besides, without horrific woodshop accidents rotten.com and goregallery.com would go out of business!

And then also, once the saftey feature has been activated you have to replace both the blade and the aluminum brake, both of which are not cheap.

What "disgracerpg" said in the first comment!

10 years, eh? I personally know a couple of fingers that could have benefited (not mine). I'll bet there are lots of other useful safety applications.

@hypereric

I suppose you could throw some technological innovation to stop a kickback after the fact, but a riving knife prevents it from happening in the first place. Its like taking a sledge hammer to a penny nail. Yea, it works, but why bother.

BTW, you said "every time I have had a kickback"

I don't want to see a brotha take one in the gut. Check that fence alignment and be safe ;)

@kadtech

It doesn't ruin the saw, but it does ruin the saw blade.

There is a metal "stop block" that gets shoved into the teeth of the blade. The saw blade gets imbedded into the block. So you are out the cost of a new block (which I seem to remember costing ~$40) and a new blade. (which can cost some serious $$$)

Still, it's cheaper than a new saw or surgery.

@skratchworx: You've been reading too much Asimov, friend.

Now all we need is a stupidity cutoff for preventing injury from hand tools =D

Hotdogs everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief.

I've used these saws alot and it's expensive to rest them once they go it's a kit you have to install. And in our shop they went off when hands where nowhere near it. Kinda funny after we got these some guy drilled though his finger, gross stuff hole in the finger nail.

@SgtBeavis

A fence and all that stuff? What?!?!?!? What happens when I want to rip a piece of 4x8 plywood down the middle? All that stuff is just in the way then ;-)

Mainly, the kickbacks I have had is: table saws, which as you point out are pretty preventable, skilsaws (we always called them that even though they weren't "SkilSaw") with the obligatory shim to keep the guard outta the way :-|, and drills. And a damn drill came closest to f-in me really really good.

Done right, skilsaws and drill could prolly benefit from some kickback tech.

Guess people never got around to using the low key technology of PUSH STICKS yet.

Sawstop has been in engineering trade magazines for a ahile now.

Since no manufactureres would get onboard with the technology. Sawstop folks started lobbying congress, and soon the technology will be mandated.

It's the American way.

The finger still has to touch the blade in order to conduct a current - notice the small nick in the hotdog. so technically you could still cut your finger off by touching the moving blade, replacing the blade/stopkit and repeat as many times as necessary making sure to nick the same spot on the finger again.

Pretty disappointing to see Gizmodo post 3-4+ year old material. I like Gizmodo for the new content I've not heard or seen but if this starts a new trend of them posting material that's years old there will be no point in coming to Gizmodo anymore.

What happens if the wood is a little wet?

Bring in some wood from outside, and break your table saw for no good reason.

That said, this is thing is great.

This is old! ...I saw this on the Discovery channel show called "Beyond 2000"

Eugene is right.
I worked for tool company 5 years ago and the sawstop guys were basically trying to blackmail up into using their patent but threating lawsuits. They couldn't pull it off so they went into production on their own. As you can see the price is much more than $100.
The biggest problem is that is is too complicated and there is no real world testing that proves reliability in a dust filled environment. If it was so good you would see it on industrial applications. But you don't.
Their patents are probably running out soon to so they keep making plays for consumer support.
photophile
It generally works with wet wood but not 100%.

what if you want to cut hot dogs? but don't want to cut your finger?

I'm surprised the CPSC has not mandated this yet. With a little more publicity this could become a campaign speaking point for Barak Obama.

and it won't cut my wiener either...awesome.

"Hey honeyyyy we need a table saw"

and hot dogs everywhere rejoice.

I need to try it on my wood.

idonno at first glance it seems cool, but when you think about it it messes up evolution...

I so wish SEARS and Craftsman used this technology I definately would of paid an extra 100.00 to get it because I still owe my surgeon 3000.00 to pay for my tendon repair surgery on my pointer and middle finger of my left hand.

"That saw will never respect you, no matter how much technology you throw at it."

Damn replicants.

Honestly, after years of building things, and accidents do happen, but if you cut yourself, it's probably your fault. I'm impressed with the tech here, but this kind of stuff needs to slow down at some point. We'll keep adding and adding things until there's a thousand safety systems in place just waiting to break down.

Two questions ...
1. If he was so confident in his product, why use the hot dog? A stitch or two on the finger for priceless advertising ... no brainer!
2. What about those of us who wear carpenter gloves?

P.S. lmao@AlanIn4D ... try a knife! :)

Terp4Life, don't worry about the gloves the saw should have no problem going through them and exposing the fleshy microconductor below. Though you may have to pick up some new gloves when you go to hardware store for new blade.