4 ms·

The Bosch design wasn't just similar, it was much better, by being non-destructive. Bosch instantly retracts the blade into the table using a $5 gas cartridge.

The Bosch design wasn't just similar, it was much better, by being non-destructive. Bosch instantly retracts the blade into the table using a $5 gas cartridge. Replace that cartridge and get back to work. By contrast, SawStop destroys a $100+ brake module PLUS your $$ saw blade every time it triggers (including false positives due to damp wood). To this day, I wish I could buy the Bosch design in the US.

solomonb 3y ago
Nitpick: It doesn't destroy your blade. You just have to get it resharpened and possibly get some new teeth brazed on. Otherwise, yeah i agree its annoying to pop the break on a wet piece of wood or a missed nail.
- jjav 3y ago
  > You just have to get it resharpened and possibly get some new teeth brazed on. This looks quite destructive to the teeth that contact the stop: https://youtu.be/Ibp2Gy2CFrY?si=Pa98Vey2oE0Atx1e&t=7 https://youtu.be/Ibp2Gy2CFrY?si=Pa98Vey2oE0Atx1e&t=7 I can't imagine it will ever be cost-effective the labor of repairing a blade after that instead of just getting a new one.
  - solomonb 3y ago
    When I ran a woodshop we would get our blades resharpened for about $30 and new teeth were a few dollars each. Its absolutely worth it when your blades are $100+
    - shaftway 3y ago
      I wouldn't re-use a blade that SawStop triggered on. I assume the blade itself will go out of true based on the forces. It's a lot more damage than a few teeth.
      - solomonb 3y ago
        Professional sharpeners have tools for testing blade conditions. We had a guy who would drop by the shop once every couple months and pickup all our used blades to service. This is really standard fare with professional carpentry. I don't understand why so many people here are in shock at the concept of blade servicing.
        jjav 3y ago
        > This is really standard fare with professional carpentry. I don't understand why so many people here are in shock at the concept of blade servicing. For me, I'm just surprised that the economics of it can work. I'd imagine such a specialist is not going to charge less than a $100/hr so I wouldn't have expected the cost of repair to make sense. But interesting that it does!
        solomonb 3y ago
        I think they make their money in the scale. They have a pickup guy who drives all over Los Angeles to pick up blades from all their customers. We had him come in every 2 months. He would return a batch of sharpened blades and take whatever blades were dull. Definitely an old school style of business.
        lazide 3y ago
        Have you had a SawStop? It really doesn’t seem like it, because if you did you wouldn’t be so stuck on this line of argument. Just getting saw blade out of the stop is a major effort with a vice and engineers hammer. The way it brakes is an extremely violent process. It definitely warps the blades in weird ways, and fixing them to actually be true is unlikely to be economic.
        solomonb 3y ago
        Yes I have the industrial grade Sawstop. I ran a professional carpentry business for years using it as our main saw. I probably bought it around 2012 or 2013, I can't remember exactly. I don't know what to tell you. I ran a professional shop, I'm not a hobbyist. I couldn't tell you how many feet of lumber I've shoved through my table saw. I've never personally had the Sawstop pop due to a safety issue, but every single time it happened in the shop I was able to remove the blade and get it serviced for around $30-40 depending on how many teeth were lost. Most of my saw blades are greater then $100 new so this cost is worth it.
- greedo 3y ago
  Ha. I've owned a SS for five years and used several of their high end cabinet saws in other shops. No one is going to bother brazing on new teeth on a saw blade. They'll just buy a new blade...
  - solomonb 3y ago
    I've done it plenty of times. New teeth cost a few bucks when you get your blade resharpened. When you have blades high cost blades ($100+) its absolutely worth it to get them resharpened and teeth replaced.
- TheCleric 3y ago
  I have wrecked blades on my SawStop and while they likely could have this done, the easiest path is buy a new blade.
  - solomonb 3y ago
    It really depends on the cost of the blade.
  - lancesells 3y ago
    Are you saying you've possibly saved multiple fingers or serious injuries then?
    - TheCleric 3y ago
      In these cases no. It was stupidity of a different kind on my part, but never where I was in danger. For example I added a flexible ruler to one of my jigs without thinking about the fact that it was metal. The ruler (which I happened to be touching at the other end) touched the blade, so in essence the saw thought I was touching the blade. Prior to owning the SawStop though I have had some close calls that would have been much less painful and dangerous had I been using a SawStop.

solomonb 3y ago

Nitpick: It doesn't destroy your blade. You just have to get it resharpened and possibly get some new teeth brazed on. Otherwise, yeah i agree its annoying to pop the break on a wet piece of wood or a missed nail.

jjav 3y ago
> You just have to get it resharpened and possibly get some new teeth brazed on. This looks quite destructive to the teeth that contact the stop: https://youtu.be/Ibp2Gy2CFrY?si=Pa98Vey2oE0Atx1e&t=7 https://youtu.be/Ibp2Gy2CFrY?si=Pa98Vey2oE0Atx1e&t=7 I can't imagine it will ever be cost-effective the labor of repairing a blade after that instead of just getting a new one.
- solomonb 3y ago
  When I ran a woodshop we would get our blades resharpened for about $30 and new teeth were a few dollars each. Its absolutely worth it when your blades are $100+
  - shaftway 3y ago
    I wouldn't re-use a blade that SawStop triggered on. I assume the blade itself will go out of true based on the forces. It's a lot more damage than a few teeth.
    - solomonb 3y ago
      Professional sharpeners have tools for testing blade conditions. We had a guy who would drop by the shop once every couple months and pickup all our used blades to service. This is really standard fare with professional carpentry. I don't understand why so many people here are in shock at the concept of blade servicing.
      - jjav 3y ago
        > This is really standard fare with professional carpentry. I don't understand why so many people here are in shock at the concept of blade servicing. For me, I'm just surprised that the economics of it can work. I'd imagine such a specialist is not going to charge less than a $100/hr so I wouldn't have expected the cost of repair to make sense. But interesting that it does!
        solomonb 3y ago
        I think they make their money in the scale. They have a pickup guy who drives all over Los Angeles to pick up blades from all their customers. We had him come in every 2 months. He would return a batch of sharpened blades and take whatever blades were dull. Definitely an old school style of business.
      - lazide 3y ago
        Have you had a SawStop? It really doesn’t seem like it, because if you did you wouldn’t be so stuck on this line of argument. Just getting saw blade out of the stop is a major effort with a vice and engineers hammer. The way it brakes is an extremely violent process. It definitely warps the blades in weird ways, and fixing them to actually be true is unlikely to be economic.
        solomonb 3y ago
        Yes I have the industrial grade Sawstop. I ran a professional carpentry business for years using it as our main saw. I probably bought it around 2012 or 2013, I can't remember exactly. I don't know what to tell you. I ran a professional shop, I'm not a hobbyist. I couldn't tell you how many feet of lumber I've shoved through my table saw. I've never personally had the Sawstop pop due to a safety issue, but every single time it happened in the shop I was able to remove the blade and get it serviced for around $30-40 depending on how many teeth were lost. Most of my saw blades are greater then $100 new so this cost is worth it.
greedo 3y ago
Ha. I've owned a SS for five years and used several of their high end cabinet saws in other shops. No one is going to bother brazing on new teeth on a saw blade. They'll just buy a new blade...
- solomonb 3y ago
  I've done it plenty of times. New teeth cost a few bucks when you get your blade resharpened. When you have blades high cost blades ($100+) its absolutely worth it to get them resharpened and teeth replaced.
TheCleric 3y ago
I have wrecked blades on my SawStop and while they likely could have this done, the easiest path is buy a new blade.
- solomonb 3y ago
  It really depends on the cost of the blade.
- lancesells 3y ago
  Are you saying you've possibly saved multiple fingers or serious injuries then?
  - TheCleric 3y ago
    In these cases no. It was stupidity of a different kind on my part, but never where I was in danger. For example I added a flexible ruler to one of my jigs without thinking about the fact that it was metal. The ruler (which I happened to be touching at the other end) touched the blade, so in essence the saw thought I was touching the blade. Prior to owning the SawStop though I have had some close calls that would have been much less painful and dangerous had I been using a SawStop.