Slingshot

How to make (play) wooden slingshot.

Good demo of how strong wood lamination can be.

I am not normally a Health and Safety zealot, but some of the sequences with the circular saw and spindle moulder (upturned router) in particular, did have me twitching.

Push sticks, ring fences and retaining all 10 digits, not very big in your neck of the woods?

Dont worry about my fingers.

We have one of those saws here. (And we've had one trip on it.) A solenoid (or something else, it's a single use device) drives an aluminum stop into the blade, and I think the blade"s inertia retracts it into the table. We only had to replace the stop cartridge (didn't even noticeably hurt the blade). But for only $70, changing that cartridge is considerably cheaper than having a finger sewn back on.

But as to our "false" trip. We aren't sure what happened. A couple of idiots were using the saw, they slammed a 5x10 sheet of 3/4" MDF into the side of the (running) blade, and tore the guards all up, they then made one cut then went to make their second cut (after turning the sheet around) and noticed the blade was gone. They claimed they did not hit the blade or guards when they where turning the sheet (yeah right) and have no idea why it tripped (they didn't hear or notice when it actually tripped).

People like this are why we bought the saw to start with. Personally, for myself, I was fine with the old Delta it replaced. A saw is a dangerous tool that needs to be treated as such. Small children and morons should be kept at a safe distance.

andypugh wrote:

Todd wrote:

But for only $70, changing that cartridge is considerably cheaper than having a finger sewn back on.

Ah, well, over here in the UK we get fingers sewn back on for free. Assuming you have enough fingers left to pick them up with.

There's a conundrum for you. Honey? Can you come and get my fingers? Maker-Works has a Saw Stop. It has fired a handful number of times (pun intended). Wet wood, or a nail/metal can set it off. It is indeed an expensive proposition. It cost about $130 USD for the cartridge in addition to a new blade each time it goes.

Bosch now has an alternative that does not destroy the blade. You may get nicked but not sliced.
www.gizmag.com/bosch-reaxx-table-saw/36636/

-Tom

[quote=" We only had to replace the stop cartridge (didn't even noticeably hurt the blade). But for only $70, changing that cartridge is considerably cheaper than having a finger sewn back on."[/quote]

You should have any blade that been stopped this way inspected by a competent saw shop before it is put back in use.. You need to make sure that is still flat and has no loose carbide tips. With the blade going from about 4K rpm to a full stop in less than 5ms. I've seen teeth ripped off and the plate warped,,mostly on cheap blades. You can't even walk through the emergency room door for the $70 cost of a new cartridge.

I work In a store that that sells these saws and get to see the results of a lot of table saw accidents. I also get to hear from happy users that still have all their (remaining) fingers after an incident with one of these saws.