I have seen the SawStop demonstration with the hotdog a dozen times.

But I always felt that it was done under premium conditions to ensure that it worked properly with optimal results.

At several of the demonstrations I had questioned the demonstrators and requested that they place the hotdog in a glove so we could see the results.

My request was always denied and I was always told, “You shouldn’t wear gloves at the table saw.”

Well, I live in the real world where other contractors are on my equipment, we work in extremely harsh conditions, and I can’t keep control of everyone every time they use the table saw.

So, even though it is unsafe, contractors wear their gloves at the table saw all the time. That is just reality.

My local cabinet hardware supplier, A&H Turf, recently became an authorized SawStop dealer and so I made the request to them and they took me up on it.

This video shows how far a SawStop will drag the glove into the machine before it kicks off.

I hope you enjoy my version of the SawStop test and stay safe out there;)

Your friend in the shop,
Todd A. Clippinger
Let your work be your signature.

 

Edited February 25, 201610 yr by Todd Clippinger

Very good demo video, Paul. 

I can't see me every putting my Shopsmiths out to pasture in favor of a Sawstop but, your "real life" demo was impressive.

I understand that the saw, regardless of the stop feature, is an excellent machine.

1 minute ago, Gene Howe said:

Very good demo video, Paul. 

I can't see me every putting my Shopsmiths out to pasture in favor of a Sawstop but, your "real life" demo was impressive.

I understand that the saw, regardless of the stop feature, is an excellent machine.

 While I have kicked it around for some time, I had some doubts about the machine. Hence, I sought out this answer. 

But I also am in a similar position in that I have a 10" JET cabinet saw that I have been using since '99 and it is a great machine. So it is difficult to fork over the cash for a new 

tablesaw when the one I have works so well. 

One of the larger forces that have pushed me to consider it is that I have other guys work in my shop too, and there is the liability factor. 

 

Todd, that was so well done, now I am impressed. I thought as we were going into the video things were going to turn out as you expected, not good. But it turned the other way! Good! I wonder if SawStop ever tried this out, and if they had, why not just demo it this way as well? It was obviously successful. Great job Todd, and thanks, this was a wonderful test, and I am impressed.

2 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Todd, that was so well done, now I am impressed. I thought as we were going into the video things were going to turn out as you expected, not good. But it turned the other way! Good! I wonder if SawStop ever tried this out, and if they had, why not just demo it this way as well? It was obviously successful. Great job Todd, and thanks, this was a wonderful test, and I am impressed.

Thanks John. 

I don't know if SawStop ever did anything like this test. I had not watched any internet SawStop videos before I made this one. (As hard as that may be to believe.) 

The video, although I add humor, is actually very genuine in everything that I say and the reason I wanted this test done was because a friend of mine was wearing gloves just like in the video and his saw blade grabbed his hand in and cut off 3 fingers and damaged a 4th. 

 

The question in my mind was this, "If he had been at the SawStop, would it have saved his hand?"

 

The more I was denied the hotdog in a glove test, the more it left me with doubt that it would work. 

7 hours ago, Todd Clippinger said:

The more I was denied the hotdog in a glove test, the more it left me with doubt that it would work. 

Well that would be a natural assumption, so it looks like the SawStop would have saved his hand.

Ok, the million dollar question, and this may be a regional thing, out here in southern CA, nobody wears gloves while woodworking, the only time I ever wore gloves is when I was framing a home up in our local mountains and it was about 27 degrees out. That being said I wasn't using a table saw either, no need for it while roughing out a home, I had my pouches, my big framing hatchet, and a Skilsaw. Nothing really to get my fingerless gloves hooked up in.

So, is the glove thing in your area because of the weather? Or?

6 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Well that would be a natural assumption, so it looks like the SawStop would have saved his hand.

Ok, the million dollar question, and this may be a regional thing, out here in southern CA, nobody wears gloves while woodworking, the only time I ever wore gloves is when I was framing a home up in our local mountains and it was about 27 degrees out. That being said I wasn't using a table saw either, no need for it while roughing out a home, I had my pouches, my big framing hatchet, and a Skilsaw. Nothing really to get my fingerless gloves hooked up in.

So, is the glove thing in your area because of the weather? Or?

The weather here can be brutal. I have worked at -10° and that is my limit of tolerance. So the weather is a big factor. 

 

I worked a remodel in San Jose a couple of years ago for a friend who is a woodturner. He went through 3 contractors that just couldn't seem to do a decent job. I tore out probably 80% of their work and redid it. Then the job just kept growing. I remodeled most of the house over a 5 month period. 

 

It was 50° at night in San Jose and I was painting trim outside and it was -20° back home in Billings. 

So it is a weather thing. Ya, out here we can dang near work in our flip flops and board shorts year round, that is a slight exaggeration of course. But you get my point. I lived in Aurora Ill when I was just a kid for a few years, that is the coldest I ever was, other than that the cold is nothing but a far off memory!

I bet you were breaking a sweat painting that trim!

3 minutes ago, John Morris said:

So it is a weather thing. Ya, out here we can dang near work in our flip flops and board shorts year round, that is a slight exaggeration of course. But you get my point. I lived in Aurora Ill when I was just a kid for a few years, that is the coldest I ever was, other than that the cold is nothing but a far off memory!

I bet you were breaking a sweat painting that trim!

I had to take these pictures when I was outside painting trim because of the extreme difference. Keep in mind we were spraying it outside in the yard and then moving it inside to dry. But we left the french doors open while doing it and just production going. 

 

Love it!

But wait, Todd, don't think I am slamming Montana, I can't wait to get the heck out of CA as soon I as I can! Heading east to wherever!

1 minute ago, John Morris said:

Love it!

Here is my buddy Brian Havens spraying trim at night. He was going to get rid of his Campbell Hausfield HVLP because he said it did not work very well. I taught him how to mix his product and set the gun and he went wild spraying everything. It was great to see him get it. He sprayed and I was moving the material.

 

Brian makes great woodturning videos look him up on YouTube. 

 

5 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Love it!

Did you notice the time on my iPhone screen shots? I worked some hideous hours to get that project done. 

34 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Well that would be a natural assumption, so it looks like the SawStop would have saved his hand.

Ok, the million dollar question, and this may be a regional thing, out here in southern CA, nobody wears gloves while woodworking, the only time I ever wore gloves is when I was framing a home up in our local mountains and it was about 27 degrees out. That being said I wasn't using a table saw either, no need for it while roughing out a home, I had my pouches, my big framing hatchet, and a Skilsaw. Nothing really to get my fingerless gloves hooked up in.

So, is the glove thing in your area because of the weather? Or?

Are you still in the trades?

 

No not professionally Todd, I hung it up in 1999 when I went back to school and became a Land Surveyor. Before I retrained to be a Land Surveyor the last thing I was doing was hanging residential doors for a living. Over the last 16 or so years since I became a Land surveyor I have however loaded my truck back up and hung doors on the side for extra family cash, it's my fall back trade when times call for it. Every now and then I'll jump on a roof or help lean a wall up for someone's home, but beyond that my main bread and butter is my career in Land Surveying, I love it.

I am close to the trades however, I am the project surveyor for many jobs working hand in hand with carpenters and masons and steel workers. I am currently the Chief Surveyor for a major bridge and road expansion project here in So Cal. So I am still around the buzzing saws and men with hard hats and porta potties, even though my career took a different path, I am not far from what I am comfortable with.

1 minute ago, John Morris said:

I am close to the trades however, I am the project surveyor for many jobs working hand in hand with carpenters and masons and steel workers. I am currently the Chief Surveyor for a major bridge and road expansion project here in So Cal. So I am still around the buzzing saws and men with hard hats and porta potties, even though my career took a different path, I am not far from what I am comfortable with.

That is cool. I stayed mostly doing remodel for residential and small businesses. I tried new construction for a while but found I liked taking something that was work out or liked like crud, redesigning, and remodeling it. That was my niche. 

 

9 minutes ago, John Morris said:

No not professionally Todd, I hung it up in 1999 when I went back to school and became a Land Surveyor. Before I retrained to be a Land Surveyor the last thing I was doing was hanging residential doors for a living. Over the last 16 or so years since I became a Land surveyor I have however loaded my truck back up and hung doors on the side for extra family cash, it's my fall back trade when times call for it. Every now and then I'll jump on a roof or help lean a wall up for someone's home, but beyond that my main bread and butter is my career in Land Surveying, I love it.

I only plan on doing one last roof, and that is my own. We got hail damage and I was able to replace the shop roof last fall but the shingles and supplies are still waiting to go on the house. 

 

I am making some doing some changes to the roof so I will do it myself this time. But after this one I will hire it out. 

 

I just keep crossing things I will do off the list. 

I hate roofs!

6 hours ago, Todd Clippinger said:

Brian makes great woodturning videos look him up on YouTube. 

 

Edited February 26, 201610 yr by lew