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Todd Clippinger
85 posts
and
13 followers
in about 10 years
in about 10 years
SawStop Demonstrations Don't Impress Me
I have seen the SawStop demonstration with the hot dog a dozen times.
But I always felt that it was done under premium conditions to ensure that it worked properly with optimal results.
At several of the demonstrations I had questioned the demonstrators and requested that they place the hot dog in a glove so we could see the results.
My request was always denied and I was always told, “You shouldn’t wear gloves at the table saw.”
Well, I live in the real world where other contractors are on my equipment, we work in extremely harsh conditions, and I can’t keep control of everyone every time they use the table saw.
So, even though it is unsafe, contractors wear their gloves at the table saw all the time. That is just reality.
My local cabinet hardware supplier, A&H Turf, recently became an authorized SawStop dealer and so I made the request to them and they took me up on it.
This video shows how far a SawStop will drag the glove into the machine before it kicks off.
I hope you enjoy my version of the SawStop test.
Your friend in the shop,
Todd A. Clippinger
Let your work be your signature.
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6 Comments
Sorry Todd
I have to disagree with you on this one,I’ve been contracting for 30 years and have never seen anyone foolish enough to wear gloves when using a table saw. Asking SawStop or any saw to not suck a glove in the blade is just plain silly, it’s tantamount to wearing a dangling tie while using a lathe.
woodworking classes, custom furniture maker
Jim – I understand your point. I didn’t say it was right, but I see it all the time. It is common both here and where I worked in Ohio. And that was my point, it is not right, but I still see it.
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Todd
I guess it’s different in different places and perhaps what kind of crew you have around you.
Wearing glove negates the safety factor on Sawstops ,so I don’t know how we can blame Saw Stop for someone’s bad choices. Perhaps you’re trying to point out that no matter what kind of safety equipment we have there’s always a way to do something to hurt yourself.
As Charles Neil says “you can’t fix stupid”
woodworking classes, custom furniture maker
Wearing gloves around power equipment like saws, lathes, jointers, etc. is simply just asking for an accident to happen.
Henri
I’m pretty impressed by the results. Based on the way the blog post was written, I was expecting a much worse outcome. Only thing I think would impress me more is if they put something to stiffen the hotdog in the glove, like the bone in your finger, so that it remains rigid as you blindly push your digit through the spinning blade of death. Still, this was a very interesting demonstration. Thanks!
David – We never thought of, or figured that the glove would resist as it did. We were not even aware that it did until I was able to play back the footage in slow-motion in my computer.
When I told Roger and hew watched the footage, he said that if he did it again he would put a dowel into the hotdog to hold it’s position better.
In the end, even though the hotdog is flimsy and bent backward, the test still satisfied me enough. Once the blade gets through the glove and makes contact, it works as advertised.
I brought the glove from my shop and provided it to them. It was the exact same type of glove a good friend of mine was wearing when he got his fingers cut off.
The blade grabbed the glove and dragged his hand in doing catastrophic damage. The doubts that I had about the SawStop were genuine and my doubt was further perpetuated by the fact that the demonstrators would always deny my request.
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