The Colbert Report on Tool Box Buzz: Regular readers here at Tool Box Buzz know how I feel about SawStop and it’s inventor Steve Gass. Check out the latest Colbert Report and find out why he thinks SawStop is Destroying America. We all need to get on board and stop this legislative disaster!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
SawStop Destroying America
The Colbert Report on Tool Box Buzz: Regular readers here at Tool Box Buzz know how I feel about SawStop and it’s inventor Steve Gass. Check out the latest Colbert Report and find out why he thinks SawStop is Destroying America. We all need to get on board and stop this legislative disaster!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I had seen this video before it was posted here, and I still maintain that I can not tell what level of sarcasm Colbert is using. And I am not normally bad at detecting such things. The saw stop is in no way a negative invention. Is it perfect? Probably not. People should still try their very best to not put their fingers near the blade of a circular saw - saw stop technology or no saw stop technology. However, if those blessed few, either those that have had a tragic accident or those who are just very, very stupid, have a chance at keeping all phalanges, then it should be taken.
So, I saw watched this on my own before catching wind of it here, and it actually seems like Colbert is making fun of the people who oppose SawStop (apparently unbeknownst to the writer of this article). While the technology itself is interesting, and actually could be beneficial, I think the main reason there is opposition (based on other articles here) to it is the idea that it could be required by the government, which would essentially raise the price of buying a table saw so that it'd be more difficult for the every day consumer who wants to buy a saw for their garage or for people who want to buy more portable table saws to take to construction and job sites, since the technology would add additional weight and bulk to table saws, making their portability nearly impossible. The idea that the government would require this, would also give SawStop a monopoly on the distribution of this technology in the use of table saws, and that Colbert doesn't really say much about. While I'm usually with Stephen on what he has to about some of the ridiculousness of our country, this is a place where I tend to disagree, and wish he'd done a little more research. Then again, he is a comedian, but it's kinda crazy how much news we seem to get get from comedians these days.
I understand the point that if people get used to the idea that the saw will stop if their fingers get anywhere near it when the use a saw that does not have a stop on it they could be careless and cut off their finger, but I also believe that it is useful to have a sawstop on a saw that is constantly used by beginners. The only issue with this is that they then learn to use the saw with the knowledge that if they mess up everything will be fine and therefore develop a false sense of security. The only way I feel that Sawstop will become a completely useful is if all saws had to fitted with one.
I think that by making light of the saw stop debate, Colbert made it really lose most of the argument. In terms of safety, yes, the sawstop makes the tablesaw safer. But at what cost? I have used a sawstop and they do stop when people touch the blade but they do it whenever the blade is moving regardless as to the saw being on or off. Anytime anything metallic(nails or staples) or conductive (like really wet wood) comes in contact with the blade it also sets the sawstop off. The cartridges costs upwards of $75. Add that to a blade cost and it becomes a really expensive tool to operate. Also, what happens when you move from the table saw to any other tool in the shop thinking you will be safe when you touch the blade?
You can't fix stupid. Sawstop might help fix stupid but it will make people less careful with the table saw and I think it will transfer a lack of healthy fear of saws to other tools. This is a slippery slope and I love the fact that Colbert did a story on it. This debate has gotten out of hand. As with all technologies use this only in appropriate applications and do not make it a congressional issue for the love of god.
All right, I'm woman enough to admit that I'm disagreeing with Colbert. I think that, more than a Constitutional right to mutilate ourselves, that Sawstop could increase the accident rate, not on table saws, but on other tools with equal mutilation potential. As far as I'm aware, no one's proposing a Chopsawstop, or a Drill hair sensor. My fear with having one magical-flesh-sensing dangerous tool, is that people would have less respect for other equally dangerous tools, and their accidents would increase. I also think that there is an aspect of Darwinism to idiots and power tools, and that the use of dangerous equipment is a privilege for those who respect it, not a right that needs to be protected.
Post a Comment