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I think we baby our table saws too much and it's making us worse woodworkers
My old contractor saw finally gave up on me last Saturday, mid way through ripping a 2 inch maple board for a shop cart I've been putting off. I found it at a garage sale near Tacoma for $80 back in 2019, no riving knife, no guard, none of the safety stuff everyone on here says you absolutely need. And you know what? I made a lot of good furniture with that thing and I learned to read the wood instead of trusting a plastic flap to save me. Now I'm shopping for a new one and every review and forum post is telling me I need a SawStop or I'm basically asking to lose a finger. I get the fear, I really do, but I can't shake the feeling that all this tech is letting people skip the part where you learn to feel a bind before it kicks back. My uncle ran a cabinet shop for 30 years and never had a serious cut, and his trick was just standing in the right spot and not rushing. Not saying guards are bad, but I think we've flipped it so the tool does the thinking and we don't. Am I crazy here, or did anyone else learn on a sketchy old saw and come out fine?
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bethj4428d ago
Sketchy saws still take fingers tho, uncle just got lucky.
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