The Houston Schools agriculture shop is now safer for students after the addition of the new table saw from SawStop. Through the use of federal dollars, Perkins Funds, which are funds available for the advancement of career and technical education, the agriculture department has purchased a new tablesaw, which is referred to as the “finger saver.” It greatly reduces the likelihood of a serious tablesaw injury occurring, officials said.
The SawStop tablesaw has recently become a major safety solution for schools, contractors, cabinet shops, furniture factories and amateur woodworking shops.
The state-of-the-art SawStop safety system will cause a saw blade spinning at 100 mph to decelerate to a complete stop within 5 milliseconds after the blade comes in contact with a woodworker’s hand or finger.
The SawStop table saw safety system works this way: The saw blade carries a small electrical charge that is constantly monitored. When skin comes in contact with the blade, the human body’s capacitance alters the charge on the saw blade and this change is immediately detected by the safety system, which triggers the release of a heavy spring, jamming an aluminum brake into the teeth of the spinning saw blade. Within milliseconds the blade comes to a complete stop. After the aluminum brake stops the saw blade, the blade’s centrifugal force causes it to instantly retract below the surface of the table just as the tablesaw’s electrical motor shuts off.