Introducing SawStop to South Africa

The table saw is one of the most dangerous power tools to use and is responsible for one injury every 9 minutes*. SawStop takes the risk out of using a table saw.

 

Table saws cause tens of thousands of serious injuries every year. SawStop minimises the risk of injury by stopping the blade within 5 milliseconds of contact. That is ten times faster than a car’s airbag and ten times faster than your reflexes can respond to danger. The SawStop Contractor Saw will retail at around R32,000 and be available at larger tool suppliers around the country, or get in touch with www.VermontSales.co.za for more information.

Detect

The SawStop blade carries a small electrical signal that is continually monitored by the safety system. When skin contacts the blade, the signal changes because the human body is conductive. The change to the signal activates the safety system and immediately stop the spinning blade to prevent harm.

Stop

When the safety system is activated an aluminum brake springs into the spinning blade, stopping it and carrying to blade beneath the table, removing the risk of subsequent contact, while power to the motor is shut off. All this happens in less than 5 milliseconds!

Reset

Manually resetting the saw is easy. Simply replace the blade and affordable brake cartridge and your saw is operational. The entire reset process takes less than five minutes.

Contractors, cabinet makers, and DIY enthusiasts can now choose a table saw where safety comes first, followed by unmatched quality, precision and meticulous engineering. SawStop saws are built to last, built to cut, and built to protect. SawStop has received numerous awards since its launch and is recognised as a leading products.

 

SawStop raised the bar of table saws when it released its model with injury-preventing blade brake technology. That's because the saw comes with the same skin-sensing technology as larger saws, which stops the blade in milliseconds, preventing mishaps from becoming tragedies. And, from a safety standpoint, skin-sensing technology has been sorely needed in the portable saw category to protect pros and DIYers wherever they need to work. [woodworkers journal]

Although it’s designed for the construction industry in general, I took SawStop’s new table saw into my shop and tested it to see if it would pass muster for furniture making. The saw has convenient onboard storage for the fence, miter gauge, spare blade, spare brake cartridge, and wrenches—it even has a spot for a tape measure.

The motor had ample power. It handled 20mm-wide dadoes without any trouble, and I was able to rip hard maple (although I did have to slow the feed rate). The cabinet has a dust port connected to a shroud around the blade. Hooked to a shop vacuum, the saw did a very good job capturing chips and dust, especially with the blade guard in place. [fine woodworking]