[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZbPGNgrXmk[/video]Stephen Gass, the inventor of SawStop has done something extraordinary. He created a table saw which will stop the cutting blade within 5 milliseconds of detecting contact between your finger and the table saw blade with the purpose of preventing amputation of your “digits”

I have been a “part time” woodworking hobbyist for years, and the most stressful part of the hobby for me is when I have to deal with my table saw. “Knock on wood,” I have never been injured yet, probably because I am so extremely careful. However, there are circumstances which can occur even when taking precautions that can end up pulling your hand into a spinning table saw blade – and the best thing you can hope for when that happens is finger amputation; there can be much worse injuries if anything higher up than your fingers get pulled in.

The saw looks like an excellent wood cutting tool it is apparent that the team which Stephen put together designed the table saw “on purpose” – it does not appear that they have traded any features or functions which you would expect from a machine at this price point – however, I have not personally tried this one out yet – although, I am saving my pennies to get one! I would love to get one to try out and review on one of my insurance sites. The implications of this type of machine are far reaching.

In my opinion, I believe insurance companies should be falling over themselves to provide worker’s compensation discounts to shops who use this type of machine.

Check out their site and watch their videos, most importantly, if you are a woodworker, take the leap and get this saw, or advocate its use in your local high school – This machine does good.