Some of the Saw Stop threads have got me to thinking. Not just the recent ones here, but many that I have seen over the last several years. What is the future of the venerable table saw?
We have already progressed quite a way from the old saw mill type saws without guarding at all. Men would get cut in half on those things and after, it was business as usual. When table saws first came out, they were nothing more than a circular blade with a motor in a box. They then had blade guards of a sort affixed. One of those early guard designs from these first saws was still in production recently on some saws. We are talking 50 to 75 years without an update to a design that never really worked that well. What have we done in aviation in that time? Some worked okay, but were a bear to remove for some type cuts. Some businesses only made those type cuts, so guards were never in place. The result was people still get hurt.
Even with today's newer technology and better guarding on saws that are equipped with riving knives, people can still get hurt and do. Even with Saw Stop technology, the possibility for injury still exists.
I've said before and I'll say it now, the only way to avoid injury on a table saw is to avoid the on switch. You could still get hurt moving one around though.
So, saws and other power tools will never be without risk. Today's are becoming much better than what was offered in the past. What do you think saws of the future might be like? SS tech aside.
There is more than one way to stop a blade. It can be done with a caliper setup like the brakes on a car. Not talking the legalities of licensing SS stuff here. Just what they might be and look like and how they might be better.
This is what I see or is at least an alternative to a tablesaw.
Planner technology is getting good with power feeders. These could be used for rip cuts up to and even wider than 2 foot in a relatively small machine. Especially if you design something like the open ended sanders. They have a brake guard at the entrance to the machine already on the larger ones.
Yep, you could even run dado's in it. This already exists in one form or another as a gang rip saw or molding machine. If this design was renewed and made strong and light, then there is the elimination of kickbacks. The machine would be it's own guard. Only talking two or three pressure rollers on top with a panel.
For crosscutting, the radial arm saw has been the ticket of the past and still in use by many today.
Light weight and more portable chop saw type machines round out that arena today. Both styles leave the blade very exposed, just like an unguarded table saw. The same type machine could be made for this as for ripping. Just oriented differently.
A few design issues to work out surely, but what I am getting at in this is that blade stopping tech may not be the be all end all saw safety device. Design of said saws may be where the answer lies. These type machines would not necessarily take them out of the hobby arena either. Especially if they were on a smaller scale. Today's light weight high strength materials will make these type machine a very doable thing in the future. Maybe not.
These would be more costly and more complicated from the start, but certainly safer. This is why we run with exposed blades now. It is the simplest form for cutting material.
We can discuss panel saws too. They are however, already in pretty wide use in cabinets shops. They do their job well and safely.
Any thoughts or ideas?
We have already progressed quite a way from the old saw mill type saws without guarding at all. Men would get cut in half on those things and after, it was business as usual. When table saws first came out, they were nothing more than a circular blade with a motor in a box. They then had blade guards of a sort affixed. One of those early guard designs from these first saws was still in production recently on some saws. We are talking 50 to 75 years without an update to a design that never really worked that well. What have we done in aviation in that time? Some worked okay, but were a bear to remove for some type cuts. Some businesses only made those type cuts, so guards were never in place. The result was people still get hurt.
Even with today's newer technology and better guarding on saws that are equipped with riving knives, people can still get hurt and do. Even with Saw Stop technology, the possibility for injury still exists.
I've said before and I'll say it now, the only way to avoid injury on a table saw is to avoid the on switch. You could still get hurt moving one around though.
So, saws and other power tools will never be without risk. Today's are becoming much better than what was offered in the past. What do you think saws of the future might be like? SS tech aside.
There is more than one way to stop a blade. It can be done with a caliper setup like the brakes on a car. Not talking the legalities of licensing SS stuff here. Just what they might be and look like and how they might be better.
This is what I see or is at least an alternative to a tablesaw.
Planner technology is getting good with power feeders. These could be used for rip cuts up to and even wider than 2 foot in a relatively small machine. Especially if you design something like the open ended sanders. They have a brake guard at the entrance to the machine already on the larger ones.
Yep, you could even run dado's in it. This already exists in one form or another as a gang rip saw or molding machine. If this design was renewed and made strong and light, then there is the elimination of kickbacks. The machine would be it's own guard. Only talking two or three pressure rollers on top with a panel.
For crosscutting, the radial arm saw has been the ticket of the past and still in use by many today.
Light weight and more portable chop saw type machines round out that arena today. Both styles leave the blade very exposed, just like an unguarded table saw. The same type machine could be made for this as for ripping. Just oriented differently.
A few design issues to work out surely, but what I am getting at in this is that blade stopping tech may not be the be all end all saw safety device. Design of said saws may be where the answer lies. These type machines would not necessarily take them out of the hobby arena either. Especially if they were on a smaller scale. Today's light weight high strength materials will make these type machine a very doable thing in the future. Maybe not.
These would be more costly and more complicated from the start, but certainly safer. This is why we run with exposed blades now. It is the simplest form for cutting material.
We can discuss panel saws too. They are however, already in pretty wide use in cabinets shops. They do their job well and safely.
Any thoughts or ideas?
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