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Table saws are the most dangerous product in the shop. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety

Commission (CPSC), table saws are responsible for over 67,000 medically treated injuries every year at a

cost to society of over $2.3 billion. To put that number in perspective, the total retail market for table saws in

the U.S. is probably less that $300 million. In other words table saws impose a cost on society of almost 10

times their purchase price.

The Power Tool Institute (PTI), in their opposition to making table saws safer, argues that they only know of one accident on a saw with their new-style blade guard. Unfortunately, this statement is misleading at best.

The PTI has also asserted that they only know of 70 accidents happening per year on their saws. In reality

the PTI’s number is about 1,000(!) times less than what the CPSC actually measures using its nationwide

injury surveillance system.

The PTI also argues that the CPSC is considering a mandate that every saw include SawStop. This is

simply not true. The CPSC would never mandate a particular system – they would simply say that saws

must be made safer. SawStop represents one, but not the only way to achieve that result. The industry is

free to develop their own system to address the problem of table saw injuries. Only if they can’t come up

with their own ideas would they need to license SawStop’s inventions. I certainly have never said that any of 

SawStop’s patents would be infringed by any alternative design. It isn’t possible to say what would and

wouldn’t infringe without actually seeing a design and I certainly wouldn’t comment on the issue without

having examined a product.

Lastly, the PTI argues that we should just let people buy whatever saw they want. Putting aside any

considerations of compassion or morality, if people worked in isolation and when they were injured there

was no help from societyto provide medical treatment and keep them from starving, then the PTI’s “free

choice” argument might have some merit. However, as it is, we all pay when someone is injured on a table

saw. The Medicare system alone, which we all pay for with tax dollars, likely spends more treating victims of 

table saw accidents than the combined cost of all table saws. That’s the rest of us subsidizing the cost of the

PTI’s dangerous products.

Rest assured, if the PTI members were paying the true costs of accidents on table saws, rather than rest of 

us, they would have adopted a voluntary standard for safer table saws long ago. Unfortunately, there is an

economic disconnect where the table saw manufacturers, who decide whether to make their products safer or not, do not pay the costs of the accidents so they don’t want to spend money to eliminate those costs. In

the absence of intervention by the CPSC, the PTI members will simply keep making and selling the same

dangerous tools they have always made without a care for the consequences on the rest of us.

I encourage you to review the more detailed documentation we have provided on the PTI’s various

arguments against making safer table saws. The facts speak for themselves and demonstrate that a

requirement for safer table saws is long overdue.

Safe Table Saw Practices

These safety practices shall be followed where a hazard exists to employeesfrom use of a table saw. Only operators trained in the safe operation of a tablesaw are allowed to use the saw.

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1. The operator should check the following points before operating the table saw:

a. Operator must wear safety glasses

b. If the material chips severely, a face shield should be used in addition to safety

glasses

c. Blade should be checked for tightness

d. Check the hood guard and anti-kickback devices for proper operation

e. Verify location of off switch and/or emergency power disconnect

f. If used, check to ensure the fence is set properly and tight

g. Ensure that the table is clear of materials, tools, and debris

2. All table saws must have a hood guard, splitter, and anti-kickback deviceinstalled. One or more of these devices may be removed ONLY if absolutelynecessary to perform a specific cut (e.g. dado or rabbit) and only with theapproval of a shop supervisor. These safety devices must be re-installedimmediately after completing the cut(s).

3. The fence and miter gauge should never be used together. Use the fence for ripping and the miter gauge for cross-cutting.

4. Push sticks, feather boards, hold-downs, etc. must be used whenever an

operation is performed that would require the operator's hands to pass within 6inches of the saw blade.

5. When boards over 3 feet in any dimension are cut, a helper should be used toassist in supporting the work.

6. Blade height should be set so that the top of the teeth extend no more than 1/4inch above the wood.

7. The operator should stand to the side of the wood while it is being fed throughthe saw.

8. After completing work, the saw blade should be lowered below the table.

9. A two foot perimeter around the saw should be kept clear of debris andsawdust.

10. When changing the blade or servicing the saw, the power disconnect must belocked in the "off" position. For saws with a cord and plug, the saw must be

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unplugged. The saw must be tested after disconnecting power and beforebeginning service.

11. Wobble blades are not permitted on table saws.