Use of the Blade Guard on the Workshop SawStop Table Saw is Mandatory
To all Workshop monitors and Members,
Attention to safety is our number one priority. It is also a Howard County and insurance underwriter requirement.
Effective immediately, USE OF THE BLADE GUARD ON THE SAWSTOP TABLE SAW IS MANDATORY whenever possible.
It is at the discretion of the Shop Monitor if the blade guard needs to be removed for any procedure on the table saw. Whenever a user operates the saw without the blade guard, it is the responsibility of that user to put the blade guard back in place when they are finished.
Use of the blade guard has been included in the Workshop Policy manual (view Policy homepage) for some time, and has been widely ignored. I fully realize there are operations that cannot be performed with the guard in place. We will be working to deal with some of these in the near future (e.g., crosscut sled that can be used with the guard).
I plan to have a Workshop Monitors meeting in the near future to further address safety concerns.
If you have any comments, or suggestions, please ad your comment to my post for review.
Ron Lambert
Workshop Coordinator
Ron,
I use a “Dubby” cross cut sled. I have an old model. The new models Java an upgraded fence. It works great. I keep my blade guard on all the time. An additional advantage to using the Dubby sled is that you can change the angle of the cut.
If people need to cut real thin strips, that are narrower than the blade guard , a skilled woodworker could probably design a sled with a 2 panels on each side for the blade with a bridge over the blade and cover to hold the panels together.
Jerry Simpson
Well said Ron.