Woodworkers of Head Case unite!

[swt61]

I think there are enough woodworkers on HC to warrant a thread now. Between Myself, Milo (AKA Al, AKA DOTU), Naaman, Doug, Jeff, Marc and I know there are others. I thought it might be nice to have a thread to keep up to date on various projects, new tools, new accessories and new enovations.

For example: A new enovation I find very interesting, is a new blade stop safety system from The Felder Group. Like the system from SawStop, it's immediate, and it drops the blade out of the way before any damage to digits can be done. Unlike the SawStop system, it doesn't use a sacrificial cartridge to stop the blade. Don't get me wrong, the SawStop system was nothing short of a miracle in my mind. You sacrifice a $75ish cartridge and whatever the cost of the blade you're using. And a separate cartridge for stacked dato blades. But again, a couple of hundred dollars vs. a digit or more? It's a no brainer. 

But along comes The Felder Group (Felder, Hammer & Format 4) with new technology for sliding tablesaws. The PCS system simply drops the blade out of contact with your flesh. No damaged cartridges to replace, no damaged blade to replace, no over-inflated ego to repair (I'm an expert on that last one).

Thoughts?

Edited August 8, 2021 by swt61
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[swt61]

And please, let's use this thread for new projects we'd like to share. New tools you find interesting, or any other woodworking related topics.

[Kerry]

Very cool protection system. Trying to figure out how it actually works. 

[dsavitsk]

Blades are cheap, cartridges are cheap, that Felder detector is a $10,000.00 option.

[Fitz]

48 minutes ago, swt61 said:

But again, a couple of hundred dollars vs. a digit or more? It's a no brainer.

Yeah but that's why you come with spare digits.

[swt61]

40 minutes ago, dsavitsk said:

Blades are cheap, cartridges are cheap, that Felder detector is a $10,000.00 option.

That's one Synergistic Research power chord.

33 minutes ago, Fitz said:

Yeah but that's why you come with spare digits.

True, but I have this thing about being symmetrical. 

Seriously though. It's new. It's going to come way down in price.

[Voltron]

When I inquired about a table saw with the PCS system to the Hammer / Felder sales guy I dealt with, he simply said that it is not cost effective for consumer machines and moved on. 

[dsavitsk]

The first of the sawstop patents expires this month. The others over the next few years. So competitors will exist before too long.

I made a turtle pond.

[swt61]

Well that's good news. Not that there's anything wrong with the SawStop, but competition generally brings about innovation. 

It's something I'd like to see all manufactures offer. It's about saving digits, not profits.

[dsavitsk]

6 minutes ago, swt61 said:

 

It's something I'd like to see all manufactures offer.

Turtle ponds?

[Fitz]

2 minutes ago, dsavitsk said:

Turtle ponds?

Yes, they're in very high demand these days.

[dsavitsk]

8 minutes ago, swt61 said:

but competition generally brings about innovation.

That was the theory behind airline deregulation. How's that working out?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2021/08/03/american-airlines-spirit-airlines-flights-cancellations/5467052001/

[swt61]

13 minutes ago, dsavitsk said:

Turtle ponds?

While I think it's a beautiful art piece, I don't think it would be conducive to long turtle life.

Edited August 8, 2021 by swt61

[swt61]

2 minutes ago, dsavitsk said:

That was the theory behind airline deregulation. How's that working out?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2021/08/03/american-airlines-spirit-airlines-flights-cancellations/5467052001/

If it weren't for the competition in the 'Best Twink Buns' contest of 1972, at The Stud, we may never have innovated to the 'Wet Jockstrap' stage walk, after the talent portion.

[Voltron]

Stone turtles don't need much to survif. That's not a recent project, however.

[swt61]

Imagine life without twinks in wet jockstraps!

1 minute ago, Voltron said:

Stone turtles don't need much to survif. That's not a recent project, however.

Damn, not sure I can blame that on spell check. 

[Voltron]

21 minutes ago, swt61 said:

Damn, not sure I can blame that on spell check. 

  It was a very French spelling. 

[dsavitsk]

29 minutes ago, Voltron said:

That's not a recent project, however.

It's the most recent project posted in the thread.

[Voltron]

4 hours ago, swt61 said:

And please, let's use this thread for new projects we'd like to share. New tools you find interesting, or any other woodworking related topics.

Twinks, turtles and tortured spelling. We're off to a good HC start. 

[HiWire]

I like this Felder PCS sawdrop. Spent the morning reading about brigandine armor – protect all the things!

Edited August 8, 2021 by HiWire

[swt61]

Personally, I wouldn't have any issue buying a tablesaw without this kind of safety feature. You'd think that after loosing a good part of my finger, that I'd be a bit gun shy. But I know why that accident happened, and it wasn't because I wasn't paying complete attention. It was because I was too big of a douchebag to continue arguing with my then boss. He wanted me to do something unsafe, to save himself an hour of time getting the right material. I argued the safety concerns, and he shrugged them off and insisted. I didn't stand my ground, and sure enough things went bad.

That mistake won't happen a second time. This is not to say that unexpected things can't still happen, I'm just saying that I've been using a tablesaw for 48 years now, and I'm hyper aware when I'm on a tablesaw. I know what causes the saw to grab and kickback material. I won't use a tablesaw without a riving knife anymore. A riving knife can stop 95% of most kickbacks. 

My biggest concern with a tablesaw is how well the saw is made. Powermatic is still one of my favorite saws and still on my want list. Fortunately, SawStop is also a very well thought out and well built saw. The inventor never intended to manufacture saws. His original intention was to sell his safety feature to companies already manufacturing table saws. They didn't have the foresight to see the potential there and thought it wouldn't be cost effective. So he went out and built his own saw, with his patented safety device. A really stupid move for all of the manufacturers that said no to him. 

Anyway, I'd like to have this safety feature, but I'd like to have options on a saw that SawStop doesn't currently offer. That's why I'm interested in other companies achieving the same safety standards.

[dsavitsk]

5 hours ago, swt61 said:

but I'd like to have options on a saw that SawStop doesn't currently offer.

Such as?

There are options I would like, but I'm not aware of any (affordable) saw that has them. So I'm curious what you are missing.

[swt61]

I would like a 14" blade and a 7 hp motor. SawStop doesn't offer either.

[Voltron]

You're right. And wrong. Nothing bigger than a 10" blade, but they offer both 230V and 480V industrial cabinet saws with 7.5 HP motors. 

[swt61]

Noted. 

The point I'm trying to make is that to my mind it would only be more beneficial to have these safety systems on a variety of different tablesaw brands. It looks as though that will most likely happen, as I have to believe these other manufacturers have seen how successful SawStop (a relatively unknown company a few years back) has become in a short period of time.