If you caught this week’s This Old House you may have be alarmed as I was, watching Tommy rip pvc stock through his SawStop without a push stick, his digits less than an inch away from the blade.
Either Tommy has a lot of faith in the SawStops safety brake or someone gave him an early Christmas bonus for shaving it thin!
I’ve seen the SawStop millisecond brake-away demonstration numerous times; I’d still keep my fingers well away from a spinning blade.
Carl
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Replies
He reached over the top of the blade, too...his hand was awful close.
Saw it and had the same reaction. Especially after the cut when he grabbed the cutoff and passed his wrist over the spinning blade.
Do you guys think Tommy's showing off the merits of SawStop? He wouldn't be that foolish, would he?I've got great impact protection in my vehicle but I take every precaution to avoid crashes!He needs to listen to Norm "...let's take a moment to talk about shop safety.."Carl
I think that saw stop is a great safety feature, like air bags in cars. You don't want to depend on them though.
Seriously, Tommy Silva - a role model for thousands - should not be taking careless safety risks like the one he demonstrated Thursday night on TOH. We all take risks; take the guards off our table saws, breath sawdust, forget to wear eye and ear protection. But on a television show, where wanna-be's and DIY'rs are watching to learn - illustrating a blatant disregard for safety is almost negligent.Oh well, I can only hope that if he ever trips the brake and zings his finger, they air the accident on TV!Carl
there was an example where they took a hot dog and the hot dog was placed on the blade. the hot dog barely had a nick. didnt see this episode w. silva.
Plus don't you have to buy a new cartridge ($70) AND blade ($100?) if you trip it?
Yep, you put a band-aid on your owee and order another unit online - with all ten fingers.Carl
You hope!
DonDon Reinhard
The Glass Masterworks
"If it scratches, I etch it!"
You missed a step in there...Changing your shorts in between the band-aid and ordering another brake mechanism.
Seems like a bargain compared to the Ambulance ride alone. ;)
Seems like a bargain compared to the Ambulance ride alone. ;)
Well of course but *why* be careless about blowing $200+ ?
I personally know a guy who runs an after school shop for high school students that put his hand into a Saw Stop machine with a dado head. He still had a messed up couple of fingers, but it wasn't his whole hand. Still, high school students and he's that careless?
I've wondered if a feature like that might make a careless person let down some mental guards, even subconsciously. Not that I wouldn't love to have one!!
__________________________________________________
I have CDO.
It's like OCD, only the letters are in alphabetical order like they're supposed to be.
http://www.truenorthcarpentry.net
Edited 11/28/2009 11:14 pm by True North
In my view, respect for a spinning saw blade is as ingrained as primal fear of snakes. When I rip on a table saw or cross cut with a SCMS, I check very closely where my left hand is before pulling the trigger. The sound of that whirring blade should give you great pause. Not saying it couldn't happen to me, but when I see someone using a dangerous power tool as casually and by rote as Tommy Silva, I fear they're headed for a serious accident.Carl
Don't get me wrong, I'm not like the guys who ride track bikes on the street without brakes because it "sharpens your awareness," or the guys who pin back their saw guards.I completely agree with you about Silva. He shouldn't have done that and it certainly should not have made it to the final cut. __________________________________________________I have CDO.It's like OCD, only the letters are in alphabetical order like they're supposed to be.http://www.truenorthcarpentry.net
Edited 11/28/2009 11:52 pm by True North
I recall seeing that bozo Riley on a Vila show doing something stupid.
I even said to the DW, Oh man, that could get ugly.Sure enuf, 2-3 episodes later..hand all in gauze wrap. Then after that, 2-3 fingers shorter than originally equipped.At some point Bob mentioned he had a little mishap in the shop.Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations
PROUD MEMBER OF THE " I ROCKED WITH REZ" CLUB
Ha!__________________________________________________
I have CDO.
It's like OCD, only the letters are in alphabetical order like they're supposed to be.
http://www.truenorthcarpentry.net
I saw that episode and I even paused it to point out to my wife that I didn't like the way he made that cut.
I have a lot of respect for Tommy Silva and I suspect that it may have looked worse on television than in person. Nonetheless, if it looked careless (and it did) it should not have made it to the final cut.
About 10 years ago I had a router table accident. About 2 months after that DW and I were watching TOL and Norm did EXACTLY the same thing I did (minus the accident). I said - "look at that !!!" - pointing to the TV. A few months after that we were watching again and Norm had a big bandage on his hand - from what, I don't know. Conclusion: These guys are human too. You would think the producers or someone would get rid of the segments showing unsafe activities though. BTW - I'm big on push sticks myself.
Along those same lines I channel grazed across DIY and "cool tools" a few minutes ago. Guy was doing demo on the table saw/mitre saw blade with the sand paper on it. He was ripping (maybe 3-4" piece) and not using a push stick.
Anyone try that deal, his cuts looked pretty great?
Show would not be bad if Grundy did not act so silly.For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
I have a table saw blade with sandpaper. It's called a Sandblade. I don't know if this particular brand is still around, but the blade works great.
I don't use it too often because I don't want to wear out the sandpaper making ordinary cuts, but when I do use it, it completely eliminates saw blade marks.
This is the blade they showed on the program I was referring to:
http://www.finalcutblade.com/
I just saw the episode with Tom. I think it was a pretty bad breach of safety consciousness. Any one getting into a habit counting on Saw Stop technology can get their fingers bit on someone else's saw. There was no mention that he was using the "safe "saw.
A retired carpenter I met once who had more than a few less than ten digits had just got bifcals and needed to make a cut. Went over to store next door and borrowed theirs and left a few on the ground, before the days when they had the ability to successfully reattach.
I am sure they will hear about it.
For those who have fought for it Freedom has a flavor the protected will never know.
Either Tommy has a lot of faith in the SawStops safety brake or someone gave him an early Christmas bonus for shaving it thin!
still cant figure out why waste the money if you didnt have faith in it?
Yeah sounds like risky behavior to me too. I'm a shop guy now and I get the shivers every time I see something like that. Having said that I have a lot of experience out in the field as a carpenter and in my younger days that sounds like some of the stupid stuff I'd do. I can remember the attitude back then, "ohh I've done it this way a thousand times, I'm in a hurry and need to get this done yesterday, etc." A couple of decades older and several visits to ER's and I'm a lot wiser now and won't take even the slightest risk any longer. Time off from work and missing appendages just doesn't sound very appealing.
I haven't seen the episode you're describing, but having worked in TV, I can say that the camera tends to compress distances. So, what might have looked close on TV may not have been that close in person. That's not to say that if the cut appeared unsafe on TV, maybe the producers should have thought twice about using the clip.
I just watched the next episode in the series. It's the one where Tommy Silva makes up some PVC casing and sill.
That man needs to learn when to use a push stick! Even if it's only to set a good example for the TV viewers.
One thing I can say for FHB, they're very careful about that stuff in the photos they publish.
When I was writing the divided-lite storm sash article, I had to make stick cuts on some 1.5"-wide stock. FHB's shop manager John White spent a couple of days designing and building an mdf sled to hold those pieces on the router table and when I got there for the photo shoot, they insisted I use it.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Biggest problem is not everyone has a sawstop! It might save Tom a problem and a follower of tom get hurt copying him!
Get it together tommy boy!
While what you say is true this one is not the case. Cutting bevel on piece less than 3" wide and pushing through w/o a stick. The camera angle where he moved his hand over the blade would not have given much of an illusion of lesser distance. About a blade diameter away is about how far I like mine above a blade (;-)
I saw the same thing. I sat there thinking, "I can't believe he is doing that on camera". Not that he wouldn't do it again, but - on camera?
Just think if all of our jobsites were on camera
Barry E-Remodeler
For reals.__________________________________________________
I have CDO.
It's like OCD, only the letters are in alphabetical order like they're supposed to be.
http://www.truenorthcarpentry.net
You are forgetting the cover with the framers in running shoes scrambling all over the roof with no fall protection, within the last couple of years.
You are forgetting the cover with the framers in running shoes scrambling all over the roof with no fall protection
Yes, I was, but IIRC they published an editorial 'Ooops' in the letters section in the following issue.
They know perfectly well that pros don't go 'by the book' in real life, but they make an effort to show them doing so anyway. I remember my former editor telling me once about how the art department had to Photoshop a work boot onto a guy in a photo in one of his other articles.
Dinosaur
How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....
Saw Stop says that most times if you send the blade to the manufacturer they can remove the stop block, then test and refurbish the blade for you.
I haven't seen it either, but I've also worked in motion pictures and TV. If it was OK but looked dangerously close, the DP or director should have caught it and moved the camera to give the audience an accurate idea of the distances. Or, they could have come back after they wrapped Tommy and shot an insert with somebody else making the cut.
-- J.S.