ToolBoxBuzz: Apparently our Government has decided that table saws are too dangerous and therefore must be built with more safety features than a modern day car or passenger jet. Poor decisions by drivers of automobiles must be acceptable yet poor decisions by untrained people using table saws is not acceptable. Folks I fear our Government is about to put so many restrictions on table saw safety that many hobbyist will no longer be able to afford a table saw.
Friday, October 07, 2011
If You Want an Affordable Table Saw You Better Buy It Soon
ToolBoxBuzz: Apparently our Government has decided that table saws are too dangerous and therefore must be built with more safety features than a modern day car or passenger jet. Poor decisions by drivers of automobiles must be acceptable yet poor decisions by untrained people using table saws is not acceptable. Folks I fear our Government is about to put so many restrictions on table saw safety that many hobbyist will no longer be able to afford a table saw.
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12 comments:
This article raised many valid points and I agree with all of them. I defiantly agree with his right-wing- anti-socialist political views. The issue I would like add concerns the ethics of Stephen Gass and his lobbying efforts. However, if you are interested in making money this is a sure fire way to get rich quick. Step one, invent and patent an expensive piece of technology. Step two, lobby congress to you’re your new invention required for manufactures to put on the devices they make. ( The easy part here is that I am going to suppose that few congress persons have actually USED a table saw and stories of three fingered wood workers who are on disability are very compelling.) Step three; sit back and count your money! For about 3o seconds until the radial arm saw people find a way around this legislation. As read this article I think back to how much I miss my 3-wheeler.
Safety is a wonderful thing, but the additional cost didn't come to mind when I thought about all the new rules and safety measures being discussed surrounding the table saw. When it comes to safety though, should cost matter? Well, I have to agree with Dale a bit. The people benefitting aren't just those who are keeping more of their fingers, but the manufactures and inventors.
I'm pretty sure at least ONE OF US has brought up before the idea of needing a licence to own or operate a table saw being a BETTER idea than legislating a product that only solves HALF of the problem. The other half, the half this author points to and the half that products like SawStop simply do not fix, being User Error.
Safe is great but no amount of flesh-detecting technology can solve Stupid. If we're so worried about table saw safety [and I think Dale's right: Stephen Gass isn't worried about safety so much as he's worried no one will buy his product] why not START with a simple piece of technology that has ALREADY been proven to makes table saws safer:
Riving knives.
If the author of this article really wants you to write your senator then he should present more information. This article should spell out the safety measures that the government is pursuing. After reading this article I should have a clear opinion if I think it is a good thing or a bad thing that the government is stepping in. Instead I am left with little information and a lot of empty opinions.
While I feel that the author is a little crazy about the issue and table saws are very dangerous and their safety should not be scoffed at I completely agree with the point the author was making. Education is the best tool to make table saws safer and the accidents would be prevented in the first place rather than making them overly safe. While increasing saw safety laws isn't necessarily a bad thing, the price should still be considered, if we are going to start doubling the cost of a new table saw this is not the right legislation. Perhaps more R&D should go into saw safety to make it more affordable.
While I'm not a huge fan with how the author presents his information, I do agree with the central message, that the bigger issue here is not one of dangerous table saws, or any other tool, it's the lack of education and respect for these tools. At the end of the day, these tools are designed for mechanically separating materials like wood and steel, and in order to do those things effectively, some amount of risk must be assumed, and it's ultimately the operator's, not the government's responsibility for keeping all digits in tact.
My biggest concern with this is something that David mentioned in class that once this rule is passed, people won't be willingly spending ridiculous amounts of money on new table saws, but repurposing their currently available saws to do the job of a table saw. This would be incredibly unsafe, and I have no doubts that it will happen. I would like to know if these companies are considering this before they make overly expensive table saws required for ostensibly "safe" reasons.
Jake makes a great point. Putting more safety features only helps a little bit. Its the user that is usually at fault. the solution is not to be stupid. I can't decide if i like the idea of making people needing license to operate or buy because on one hand i bet there would be less accidents. On the other i think that would be too much of a restriction, especially in educational environments. It would take more time to train and license all the students. It would be a hassle.
I'm against making laws for the sake of making laws , this is an example of that. instead of taking the responsibility for training people and giving the expectation that something is dangerous. There is a reason why things are dangerous, it keeps people from becoming cavaleer about its use , yet here we are again trying to ignore that fact and theres no way that there isnt a political agenda behind this...(sarcasm). Either way i am strongly against these laws and fear thier negative implications on my field
I agree with some of the key points made by the author in this article, but I feel like there also are quite a bit too dramatic of rules being brought into question. I think instead of taking drastic measures to change to the way table saws are made, in which causes the cost then has a drastic raise, there should just be a law that requires a informational training session for people who want to use it. A lot of injuries that you hear about happening on the table saw are because the people that were using it were not well informed of the proper precautions to take while using the saw. If there are laws put in place to "certify" those who use the table saw many injuries could be prevented.
As others have noted, while safety features are generally good, and can help prevent injuries, when it is done at a higher cost, it's generally prohibative to those who want to buy it. If a product is available cheaper without some (perhaps superflous features or that don't provide much additional safety features) features, then people will go for that cheaper option. I think experience and having someone around who really understands the machine is a more important requirement than all these safety features. That will probably make you much safer in the long run in using a machine, table saw or otherwise.
ok there is a lot that goes into this article, yes we know that table saws are inherently dangerous tools that any home carpenter with half a brain can own. Now to say that this is all due to people being too stupid to use a table saw is a bit of a stretch. Accidents within shops are caused by either the individual being not comfortable enough with the tool or being too comfortable. The most experienced carpenters can become too relaxed with tools and accidents happen. Now yes it is debatable exactly whether or not its the governments place but what people need to realize is that this safety feature is simply to prevent accidents. There is also the consideration that is the regulation on table saws, not a drill press or a chop saw. with a table saw if an accident is too occur its potential for causing more damage is much higher.
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