It Wasn't Worth My Finger

[JohnW]

Thanks guys for all the prayers and support. I took the old Chicago Electric 90891 10" SCMS back to HF today. I gave the manager an earful because the first thing the clerk said to me when my son set it on the counter was "Oh yeah we've been getting a lot of these back for the same reason." The Link Plate (67) brakes away from Safety Cover (67) at the point where the Spindle Sleeve (57)fastens them together. The Link Plate breaks off during the cut and the Safety Cover flies up exposing the blade to the operator. To see what I mean go to http://http://www.harborfreight.com/...0999/90891.pdf The clerk also stated they've been receiving upgrade kits to put on the incoming stock to prevent this from happening. If you have this miter saw I would seriously consider taking it back to HF and get something else or see if you can obtain one of those upgrade kits. The manager gave me a Makita LS1013 way below cost and extended warranty. He felt pretty bad that saw broke and I was hurt.

[Handy Al]

John, sorry about the finger and hope it heals well. Thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully it will keep another of us from a similar incident.

[jethro]

Heal fast, John.

[lrogers]

Man, I hate to hear that. I hope your finger heals quickly John. Thanks for posting, your warning may save another's finger.

[rickd]

thanks for the reminder, John, and I hope your finger heals completely. everytime i sadly read one of these posts, it reminds me to go back to square one on safety with all of my tools.

[silverfox]

Thanks for that, John. Very good of you to point out that design flaw. I couldn't pull up that PDF for some reason but I have the HF 45885 that replaced the original model for a short time before they discontinued it because of a design patent confliction. But I do know that the older models did the same thing. The guard would break off. Without seeing your PDF I THINK I may have an idea why some of those guards broke. When I used mine for the first time I noticed that the bottom of the guard that runs over the piece you are cutting and subsequently opens the guard as you are cutting in the slide mode had an offset on each side. These two little offsets would catch on the wood I was cutting and torque the guard one way or the other depending on which side caught the wood. Sometimes, if both of these would catch, it would be difficult to keep the slide motion going through the cut. When only one side would catch the guard would bend until it let loose or broke. I filed those tiny offsets down flush with the rest of the guard bottom and have been using this saw a lot for just about a year now with no problems. In fact, this is one of my favorite tools...especially for the money. I have no idea whether this is possibly the same problem with the newer model that you have but for those that have the older original or the 45885 like mine....filing these little nicks down on the bottom of the guard will prevent the guard from snagging in the slide mode and possibly breaking. I looked at the newer model like yours and didn't like it at all. It's a cheap piece and I don't understand why they didn't just change a few things on the 45885 so they could continue to sell it. I run my BT3100 without a guard for my own reasons but I would NOT want to run a CMS or SCMS without the guard for ANY reason. It's too easy to reach over with your left hand to take out the waste piece. Again...thanks for your heads up on that saw.
Mike

[Scottydont]

I cringe everytime I read posts like this. I was doing several repetitive cuts on my bandsaw this last weekend and realized that that is the time that I am vulnerable to having an accident.

While the Makita offering is great, it won't compensate you enough for the pain and suffering. HF has great customer service that way. Heal fast!

Sorry about your misfortune.

[Bob Webb]

I just thought it was mine that did that. I was cutting some wood the other day and something happened an the blade guard snapped the wood out of my hand. Luckily nothing got cut. Looks like there is a trip to HF tomorrow the see what they'll do.

Hope you heal fast. Nicked my thumb on the BT last month, nothing as serious as yours.

Good Luck.

[buddyrough]

Wait a minute. The saw broke the first time you used it, that led to your injury and then the employees said, "oh yeah, we've been getting a lot of these back"? HF is directly liable for this injury and you would have an excellent case if you wished to take it farther. The manager gave you the replacemnet saw cause he was scared. Do what you wish but think about appropriate justice here.

[jdoolitt]

Uhm - John said, "I should have taken back the saw when the blade guard broke the second time I used it..." He'll need to weigh in to clarify - but HF is off the hook if the gaurd broke a while back, and John (as he points out) continued to use it, with the the saftey pieces not in tact. It's plastered all over their literature. It sounds like HF is trying to do the right thing --- why turn it into a frivilous lawsuit?

Sorry, but IMHO - a woodworking internet site is probably not the best place to get legal advice... YMMV.

[JohnW]

When I went back to HF, I filled out an incident report. The next day HF Corporate called me to get more information. They said they were having the saw shipped to them to study it further. They also asked me to send all my bills along with pictures of the injured finger to them for compensation. I don't ask for anything except to see the saw fixed or out of circulation.

The Makita SCMS doesn't take away the pain but it sure makes me smile when I use it. It was dead on accurate out of the box. I just wish I would of bought it in the first place. If any good has come out of this it's that my wife now understands the importance of getting good equipment and not take shortcuts.