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Aneirin -> RE: Safe Saw (7/18/2009 2:31:09 AM)
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Talking of air bags in cars, all those that happily drive around believing they are safe because they have an airbag, or airbags fitted around them and their family out on the road, I wonder if they are that teensy weensy bit complacent when they drive. If so could they be putting themselves, their family and other road users in increased danger because of the belief in such life saving devices. Like, the saw flesh stop featured here, how do they know these air bags are going to actually deploy when the situation arises, aside from them being fitted, how do they know they are working, there is no means to test them.
Safety stops, brakes and other life saving devices are a wonderful idea and a step in the right direction, but complacency is the enemy and with complacency are we actually taking more risks where we would not have done so prior to the fitment of safety devices.
But as to the table saw, it works by detecting the electrical charge in living flesh, a question, say the operator is wearing heavy gloves, as is often the case when working with timber, will the electrical charge sensing ability detect through heavy gloves.
Will this safety brake work when the mechanism is choked with saw dust, ever looked under a table saw in heavy use, just where that dust goes and packs, I have seen dust pack so it has to be levered out with steel, it is packed in so hard, so as to resemble moulded wood. Then there is resinous woods and what that stuff does, I cut Gombeira on a table saw, the clean up later, the dust was in there as if glued with epoxy resin. The blade was fouled, and it's sides coated with glued on wood dust. Wood when dry and glued is a pretty good electrical insulator, will it hinder the sensing mechanism I wonder.
But not to put too much of a damper on things, this saw stop device is a big step forward, a move in the right direction as regards workshop safety, a idea that can possibly be fitted to many revolving steel cutting devices, drills even maybe, but because a safety device is fitted for ultimate protection, it does well to remember any man made device is subject to failure, often at the most inopportune times.
It was in my employment to be suspect of safety devices and there suspect, full attention was paid to ensure the thing actually worked, had every possibility of working, when the end user might need it. Murphys law was what we worked by when public safety was the concern in a machine hire situation, anything that can go wrong, will, shit happens, try to guard against it.
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