Sawstop breaking unit - Woodworking Talk

Nate1778 · 05-08-2009, 09:22 PM

Well, I can now attest, IT IS FAST. No it did not involve skin either. I had a jig set up on my miter gauge for cutting small dowels. Well the first couple cuts went well, then one of my metal clamps that was holding the jig together fell and hit the blade. I can say that the unit is so fast, I could not detect any "Kickback" action of the clamp. I heard a CLANK and the clamp landed on the ZCI over the blade slot and it was all done.

Now I am pretty pissed that the generic rig I had together for cutting dowels puked on me mid session, ruining a perfectly good $30 blade and a break cartridge. But I am pleased at the speed at which it re-acted. GUYS THIS IS FAST.

It could have kicked the clamp back at me, maybe it would have, maybe not. Now I need to figuer out how to get the newly combined combination out of the saw.

ACP · 05-08-2009, 10:46 PM

Glad to hear it worked so well and prevented a possible accident Nate. Hope you get your saw back up and running soon.

woodnthings · 05-09-2009, 10:40 AM

Did you have any expectation that the Saw Stop would Stop in a situation like you described? Was it promoted as such where metal touches the blade rather than sausages or fingers? And another concern I have is purely psychological, if it was, did that "permit" you to use the metal clamps instead of screws which might have been safer, knowing that "no matter what happened..." the saw would stop? I would think the Saw Stop company would very much like to promote your experience with it and you should charge them?

bill

Nate1778 · 05-09-2009, 10:47 AM

Yes.
Yes.
No.

The clamp was actually holding my stop block to my MDF fence attached to my miter gauge. Would have used the clamp as many would on any other saw. The Stop was not as loud as I had thought, Got the unit/blade combo out last night, it would take some work to get the two apart.

SawStopService · 05-11-2009, 02:40 PM

Best way to get 'em apart is to put the blade in a vice, teeth pointing left and the brake about the 9:00 position. You can then gently tap along the line of the teeth with a hammer and a small block of wood to free the brake from the blade with the least damage. In your case it was a $30 blade, so not too big a deal, but an expensive Amana, Freud or Forrest blade would be worth fixing if any of the carbide tips got damaged. I haven't checked with Freud or Amana, but I know Forrest will repair and straighten their blades for a reasonable fee, so you don't have to eat the whole $180 cost of a new Woodworker II... questions/comments welcome at service@sawstop.com.

Nate1778 · 05-11-2009, 03:18 PM

Hey thanks, I keep it up on my pegboard to show people, it is absolutely amazing how far that blade dug in.

So can I talk about this new professional saw yet?

SawStopService · 05-12-2009, 05:00 PM

Have you got one? We have some out in the field now in beta test... I think they're pretty cool, but I do have a bias...

Nate1778 · 05-12-2009, 05:30 PM

Yep, and I would love talk about it, but SS hasn't given the OK yet. Cool saw though, and your guys service ROCKS!