I've never seen a saw stop demo in person, but have seen a few videos and I was very impressed. However one question. If you have a saw stop, would you be more inclined NOT to use your guard? I know most guys don't anyway, but using it makes all cutting safer, especially on some of the more risky cuts and kick back risks too. Anyone have an opinion that owns one?

I have a Sawstop saw and do not use the guard. Not sure why, I have just never found it convenient to use one with this or other saws I have. I can tell you that I love the saw, with or without the flesh detecting circuits it is a great saw. I can also tell you that it works as advertised. No, I didn't get my finger in it but I did move my miter gauge to the other slot and forget to move the fence, not a cheap lesson.  Hope that helps.

Ron

 

Dunno about saw stops and whether they lead to complacency, but I can tell you that with very,very few exceptions I find all those safety gizmos guards riving knives grabbers grippers etc all entirely unhelpful unnecessary and generally in my way. I like eye protection. I'll use ear protection when the need arises usually when jointing wide boards or my Paslode air nailer or powder nailing. Rarely and only if I'm doing a lot ripping nasty wood that is just itching to squeeze up on the blade I'll mount the knife than it comes off as soon as I'm done. I can't imagine trying to use a saw with a chip guard.I laugh with peals of derisive laughter at goofy rules like never have fingers within X inches of a blade. Well, I don't actually laugh, but I think it's silly. Complacency is a funny thing. I rather suspect that owning a machine that is supposed to shut down and prevent you from getting hurt won't cause one to become complacent unless one actually uses that function sufficiently to train oneself to rely utterly on the technology as one does with ABS braking and Fly by Wire aircraft. I can't see someone shoving their hands into the blade enough times to accomplish that.

I dont have one but even if I did I wouldn't use the guards. Only piece of safety stuff I have on my saw is a step on cut off for the motor to stop it when I get a piece with too big a twist in it.

I have a SawStop saw and love it. The only time the safety brake device has gone off is when I first got it and replicated the famous hot dog test to do a video for CabinetMakerFDM showing how it works. I do not use the overblade guard most of the time. It seems to be a pretty good guard, better than most, but like all overblade guards, it obscures your vision of the actual cut. I find that more dangerous than not using the guard. The SawStop has a very excellent riving knife that does not get in the way of cutting joinery, so I keep that on and functional all the time. I also keep handy several GripTite magnetic featherboards to help secure smaller stock when ripping. Before I got the SawStop I did have a minor table saw accident with a kickback while ripping small stock. The blade went 3/4 of the way through the tip of my left thumb, which was saved but is now a kerf-width shorter than my right thumb. As for the SawStop technology making someone more complacent, that is not the case with me. It actually makes you think about safety. When you first turn the saw on for the day, you have to wait as it goes through an electronic check and arms the emergency brake system. Because I don't want to accidentally set off the brake, I pay especially close attention to everything near the blade. And, as others have said, even without the safety features, it is a great, well-made saw.

I used the guard. The problem was others kept taking it off. If you want the protection one must use all the protection and not parts of it...