*graphic warning* Saw safety, replace guards!

[Tinhack]

ZOMBIES!

I still have and use my Craftsman table saw. It's a fine machine with a huge cast iron table.

 

[PILOON]

ZOMBIES!

I still have and use my Craftsman table saw. It's a fine machine with a huge cast iron table.

Don't doubt it.
Most Sears/Craftsman tools were simply re badgered items with usually some minor change and different part numbers.
Most repair shops refused to service their branded tools due to the lack of parts cross reference.

On a table saw, other than a switch and possibly the basic HP there is little special parts that could be incorporated.
Well, perhaps the cross cut guide slots might be different.

 

[Cliff_Johns]

A few years ago I saw a fella had invented a sensor that would stop! a table saw blade instantly, as soon as it senses flesh. He demoed it with a hot dog.

I saw it 2-3 times, worked every time. I believe a big piece of aluminum is mounted and spring loaded below the table. The blade slams into that, stop!

I'm guessing it somehow measures resistance or something but, it worked. I couldn't test it with my finger if my life depended on it!

It's called Saw-Stop and it's patented so no one else can produce it unless they pay the inventor a good deal. That's why it isn't prevalent. It also destroys the blade and the gadget that stops the blade. I sometimes misfires on wet wood. Still, better than a missing finger.

 

[Cliff_Johns]

Thanks for info. Can you or others speak more on the subject of setting blade depth.
I never know how, or why, to adjust the depth of my circular saw.

All I know is that when cutting a “corner” out of a board, sheet of plywood, etc.. that a deep blade (cutting “upwards”) makes matching the corners easier as the cuts aren’t beveled. But there must be a reason blade depth is adjustable.
Does it make a difference on whether board will get “splinters” when cutting, or is that a function of what type of blade you’re using?

Pardon the hijack of the thread regarding this “related” topic, let me know if I should post these questions separately.

The main reason to set the depth of a circular saw blade close to the depth of the wood being cut is safety. If the saw kicks, or if there's something under the board (like your finger), or if the board decides to move (like just as you finish your cut) not as much of the spinning blade of death is showing. Also, like on a table saw, if the blade leaves the wood, then reenters at the other sided of the blade as it turns, there is a contention between the two directions if they aren't aligned perfectly. That is, you are more likely to get a kick it the blade isn't kept perfectly on track.