If you ever thought you had a great technical idea and wondered how easy it would be to get it accepted by industry, then you need to hear the story of Stephen Gass.
Gass, a former patent attorney with a PhD in physics, may finally be on the verge of changing the power tool industry. Then again, this isn't the first time he has believed that.
"It seems like, at long last, things may be breaking loose and moving towards the implementation of this technology," Gass told me recently. "It's more likely than not, but it's not a done deal."
To understand Gass's technological odyssey, though, you need to go back to the inception of his idea. Twelve years ago he conjured up a way of keeping table saws from cutting off the fingers of woodworkers. Using a capacitive technique to sense a drop in voltage whenever the blade teeth contacted salty wet tissue, Gass's saws "recognized" potentially dangerous situations. Within a few thousandths of a second, they could engage a spring-brake, stop a blade dead in its tracks, and save a digit or two. On his company's Website you can watch a video demonstration of this (on a hot dog).
Stephen Gass’s Sawstop system reportedly has saved more than a thousand fingers that have touched the saw blade. Source: Sawstop LLC
Gass, of course, believed in 1999 that he had come up with a significant idea. According to statistics from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 30,000 people per year were being injured by table saws, with about 10 percent of those accidents involving amputation. Gass saw his idea as a way to deal with that loss of fingers.
Still, not everyone agreed. Power tool manufacturers, quite understandably, saw the concept as a manufacturing nightmare. They balked at the possibility of having to invest frightening amounts of capital to retool existing production lines. Moreover, lawyers viewed it as an enormous product liability problem. What if it didn't work and someone lost a finger? Worse, what if it did work? Would it mean the manufacturers would be now legally liable for all other saws that didn’t use the new technology?
Legal experts were clear on one point when it came to table saws. The unwritten rule says, "Use it at your own risk." Because adult users understood the propensity for sharp edges to cut, the saw makers were legally protected. For them, the brutal status quo made a lot of sense.
During the initial seven years after Gass invented the technology, power tool manufacturers butted heads with him. They claimed his idea didn’t work. They complained it was too expensive. They argued that his licensing fees were exorbitant. They said his technology would create a monopoly.
Then, in 2006, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) shocked the industry by recommending the government begin a "rulemaking process" requiring that future saws incorporate an active injury mitigation system. We wrote about this five years ago when Gass thought he’d been vindicated.
But it turned out to be just another bump on a very rocky road. A week after the Commission voted in Gass's favor, the chairman, whose vote had been critical, retired. And the battle resumed.
This important safety story reminds me of seat belts, shoulder-harness seat belts, and air bags. All of those developments were around years before they were widely adopted. Of course, as you point out here, there's a little bit more involved in terms of retooling. Still, you'd think the prospect of spare digits (not to mention, prevention of deaths) would be something that'd get customers crying out to the vendors to implement this great feature. (Everyone should see that video.)
This should help prevent accidental injuries and hopefully there is a measure in place to prevent tampering of the safety device. This article should be tied into the common sense article. Safety is only as good as the person using the tool.Engineers can always design safety into the equipment, but in the end it comes down to the operator.
I have been following SawStop news for years. This is great technology for industry and the home wood worker! It's good to know that he may be gaining more acceptance. Besides the litigation aspects, I imagine that this comes down to the numbers, 30,000 injuries a year may be very small compared number of saws sold annually. As in the pharmaceutical industry, a new drug is not worth developing unless profit can be realized from millions of new customers. Perhaps in the near future Mr. Gass can reduce the cost of the system to make it more appealing to the masses.
Given the attention the Sawstop and Stephen Gass has gotten over the years for this exciting invention, is it a stretch to think that power tool manufacturers might jump on acquiring or licensing the technology? Especially if there are signs of possible regulation pending that might mandate similar safety functionality. I would think there would be plenty of opportunity there unless Gass prefers to hold out.
Yes, I've followed this story as well, and I'm surprised some manufacturer hasn't grabbed this technology to give its products a competitive edge -- especially since this story is getting around and there is likely some pent-up consumer demand. Maybe that's the push is needs, a producer willing to incorporate the technology and test it on the upper end of the saw market. I've heard $99 quoted as the additional cost of incorporating Gass's technology. And apparently it works.
I work around a 15 inch cold saw with 100 whirling carbide teeth. There are also numerous other wood working and metal working saws on site.
When I was a kid, we had a small project and my dad set me up on a radial arm saw. He told me "This saw will take off your hand of before you know what hit you."
In high school I worked for a large structural steel fabricator with steel flying all over the place and in my adult life have been around all types of moving automation.
Over the years I develpoed a policy of keeping my hands and fingers at least a foot away from any saw or moving machinery. I use a piece of wood or clamps to hold the workpiece.
I remember the Sawstop, it is a fantastic idea, and I am sure very difficult to perfect. But as was said earlier, if the safety measure is applied to this saw then it needs to be applied to all saws.
(Do we want to teach people that it is ok to stick your fingers into "certain" saws. - knowing human nature, probably not)
This is impracticle with all the different saws and cutters out there. Additionally that would send mixed signals about the danger with saws...
Kind of like looking both ways before crossing the street...
Sharp blades spinning at a high rate of speed are dangerous. This is key to any cut off fixture design. For manufacturing, the two main focuses are the cut off operation and then protecting the operator from the cut off operation. There should be no reason why this mentality should not carry over into the consumer market. The standard (cheap) solutions from saw manufacturers have been splitters and saw covers. These are cumbersome and block view of the blade. They are also easily removed which defeats their purpose. Upgrading to the Sawstop technology will put a non-removable safety technology on a very dangerous piece of equipment.
Two somewhat contradictory comments from an engineer and amateur wood hacker. First of all, what Stephen Gass and Sawstop have done is fantastic. Not only does his invention work (have you seen the demo where someone actually places their finger on the line! No - not the hot dog but someone (Mr. Gass?) actually puts their finger in front of an operational blade!) but the tablesaw itself is a darned good one. IF I had the money and the space and the need for a new table saw, I would certainly buy one.
So the saw itself is a darned good saw and the blade stopping safety mechanism works and works well.
BUT (you knew there had to be a but) should all saws be required to have this type of technology? I'm not at all sure. A lot of accidents where folks lose a finger or two to a spinning blade are their own fault because they don't use the saw the way they should. They defeat/remove the saw guard, they get zero training on the saw, etc. It is truly amazing the number of ingenious ways people think of in order to get their fingers down there in the danger zone.
By mandating a 'stop the blade' mechanism, we will be increasing the cost of a table saw rather substantially. I'm guessing that if the Bill of Material cost went up by $100, the selling price would go up $200 - a big jump for a $400 table saw and prohibitive for a $200 table saw. If I had my druthers, I would pay the price but I think a lot of people would be a bit unhappy.
None the less, the sawstop technology is fantastic and the gumption of Stephen to produce a new saw (actually a line of saws) incorporating this technology is wonderful. A great saw and a great accomplishment.
I understand the arguments against this technology. But this is a technology that should come down in price and spread to more types of saws in the coming decades. It's still in its infancy today. When I talked to Gass last week, he said, "I like to imagine that 30 years from now, people will tell their kids about how saws could cut your fingers off back in the old days. It will be comparable to talking about how bleeding people was once an accepted medical treatment."
One application I could see for this product would be in aluminum foundries. Traditionally, band saw operator is one of the first jobs for new employees. It's also one of the more dangerous. Installing a Sawstop would be much cheaper than a robotic cut-off cell, and the savings in terms of lost work time, workman's compensation, insurance, medical costs, etc. would easily justify it. Plus, it might just help a foundry win some goodwill from OSHA.
Maybe instead of focusing on home power tool manufacturers, Gass should focus on industrial users. As T.J. pointed out in another thread, under the U.S. legal system, the employer as well as the equipment manufacturer are liable in industrial accidents, since the employer has the responsibility to provide a safe workplace. If the equipment manufacturers are resisting this technology, maybe the employers will be more receptive.
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