Saw Stop: Cutting to issues at the heart of Capitalism

Saw Stop: Cutting to issues at the heart of Capitalism

Feb 13th’s “The Colbert Report” featured a section on “Saw Stop” a brilliant innovation which detects contact with flesh and instantly disables a table saw only nicking the threatened appendage.

One would think that the saw industry would jump at such an innovation.  Steve Gass, a woodworker and inventor is trying to avoid some 4000 injuries a year involving table saws.

So what’s the problem?  Well it makes the table saw more expensive and in our current economy, all production runs on very low margins.  The Power Tool Institute has voiced opposition to Gass’s invention calling it:

  • dangerous because it requires the user to come in contact with the blade before activating;
  • unproven, particularly in terms of durability;
  • prone to false trips caused by commonly available wet and green wood;
  • potentially vulnerable to latent damage that cannot be inspected and may cause a hazard;
  • costly to the user because once activated, saw blade and cartridge must be replaced; and
  • significantly more expensive, ranging from a minimum of 25 percent and ranging upwards depending on saw type

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SawStop]

Here is the Saw Stop in action:

At the end of the video Gass uses his own finger as a test subject against the finger hungry blade of a table saw. 

It’s obvious that Gass believes in his design but why doesn’t anyone else?  According to the Power Tool Institute, Gass’s invention would add $100 to a tool which is typically priced under $200.  The institute also counters that saw blade guards are amenable to the task at a fraction of the cost.

Every person who has ever used a table saw knows that the only thing discarded sooner than the blade guard is the manual.

Now it’s easy to throw all the blame to big industry and crony lobbies but picture yourself going to purchase a new saw.  You’re faced with a choice between a $200 tool and a $300 tool.  You’re new to woodworking as so many of us are and we want an entry level saw.  Even if the safety feature is well advertised on the packaging, how many of us would be willing to pay the extra $100?  We have to justify purchases to our spouses, our family, and balance them against other priorities.  Perhaps the invisible hand of capitalism senses our inhibition over the higher price and is protecting both themselves and ourselves from a choice we wouldn’t typically make.

The invisible hand of capitalism has all of its fingers, but if we don’t learn that it’s actions are not always in our best interest, perhaps it is up to us to point an accusing finger at it while we still have fingers left.

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