SawStop CB73480 - Manual (Page 13)

SawStop 10” Industrial Cabinet Saw 11
The SawStop ® safety system does not interfere with your use of the table saw in any way. You can still make
all the cuts that you can with ordinary saws including 0° to 45° bevels, non-through cuts, and dado cuts (with the
optional dado brake cartridge—sold separately). Furthermore, no special blades or other accessories are required.
Any standard 10” saw blade or 8” dado set is compatible with your SawStop ® saw.
Although your SawStop ® saw operates similar to ordinary table saws, there are a few important points to keep
in mind as you use the saw.
1. Do not rely on the SawStop ® safety system to protect against unsafe operation. Although the system is
designed to react and stop the blade very quickly in the event of accidental contact, it cannot react until contact is
detected. This means that you will receive at least a minor injury even with the SawStop ® safety system. Therefore,
always use safe operating practices, and use the blade guard, push stick and other safety devices whenever
possible. The SawStop ® safety system, like the airbag in a car, should be considered as a last measure to minimize
injury when all other safety practices and devices have failed to prevent an accident.
2. Do not operate the saw in Bypass mode unless you are cutting electrically conductive material. When
Bypass mode is engaged, the SawStop ® safety system will not activate the brake if contact is detected and a
serious injury could result if you contact the blade.
3. Do not use non-conductive blades, including abrasive blades, blades with plastic hubs, or blades that
have non-conductive teeth. The safety system cannot induce the electrical signal onto a non-conductive blade, and
blades with non-conductive teeth may prevent the system from detecting contact. Only standard steel blades with
either steel or carbide teeth should be used.
4. Do not use saw blades or dado sets that have a lacquer or other coating on the teeth. These coatings are
non-conductive and therefore can reduce the speed at which the system detects contact. In other words, a coated
tooth must cut slightly deeper into the skin for contact to be detected, resulting in a somewhat more serious injury.
Used blades that originally had a lacquer coating are OK to use since the coating is worn away within a few uses.
However, SawStop recommends that you examine each tooth on such blades to confirm that no lacquer remains. If
you decide to use a new blade that has lacquer on the teeth, be especially carefully during the first several uses.
5. In the event of contact, the blade will be stopped in about 3–5 milliseconds (coarse toothed blades stop
more quickly than fine-toothed blades such as plywood blades). Therefore, the seriousness of the injury incurred
will depend on the speed at which a person’s hand or other body part is moving in toward the blade. For example, if
a person’s hand is moving toward the blade at 1 ft./sec., then the depth of the cut will be approximately 1/16th inch
(1 ft./sec. * 0.005 sec. = 0.005 ft. or 1/16th inch). At faster speeds, the cut will be proportionally deeper. Therefore,
it is possible to be very seriously injured even with the SawStop ® safety system.
6. Never use a blade with damaged or missing teeth as this can result in a more serious injury or a false
activation of the brake. Blades with variable spacing between teeth are compatible with the SawStop ® safety system,
however you must ensure the brake is positioned correctly by rotating the blade at least one full revolution to be
certain that none of the teeth touch the brake (see page 18 for more information on setting the brake position).
7. Never attempt to use a blade other than a single 10 inch blade with the standard SawStop ® brake
cartridge. Never attempt to use a dado set or blade other than an 8 inch dado set with the SawStop ® dado cartridge.
The use of smaller diameter blades with a brake cartridge designed for larger blades could result in a serious injury
because the brake cannot be positioned correctly to stop the smaller blades.
8. Do not use molding heads. The use of molding heads could result in a serious injury because neither the
standard brake cartridge nor the dado brake cartridge is designed to stop a molding head.
The SawStop Safety System
Cabinet Saw Manual 1st Reprint.i11 11 3/9/2010 8:32:40 AM