When you hear that a table saw injury can be drastically life-altering, you can’t really appreciate what that means until you live it. Dennis Melton lives it. The Portland, Oregon man suffered a workplace injury that forever changed his life. 

While working in a production shop, Dennis was ripping boards on a table saw, same as any other day. Then disaster struck. 

“It was lunchtime,” he said. “All I wanted to do was get a few strips cut. The guys had already gone into the lunchroom. I was pushing (the board) with a push stick, saw everything was going good. The wood bound up, and the push stick broke. I fell forward. By the time I could get my hands straight up, it was too late.” 

His right hand fell into the unguarded blade, severing his thumb and index finger. 

“I didn’t even want to look at it. I decided if I had cut it off, it would hurt worse. So, then I did take a look. I saw bone marrow, a ring of bone, index finger was dangling down here. I picked it up and grabbed it.” 

He got to a hospital quickly, where doctors worked feverishly to save his fingers. 

“They reattached the thumb, put the index finger (back in place), pinned both of them. Two days later, the thumb died. Index finger had to be moved to the thumb.” 

You read that correctly. To best manage Dennis’ future ability to use his right hand, the doctors amputated his thumb and index finger and reattached the index finger where his thumb had been. The procedure worked, and his finger survived in its new role. 

Dennis spent seven days in the hospital, underwent four operations, and missed 23 weeks of work. Ironically, he got out of the hospital on Thanksgiving Day.  

His injury not only changed his life, but also his workplace. 

“When I got back, I found they’d replaced four saws, all four of them a SawStop. Best thing they could have done. It gives me the peace of mind (to know) that even though I do things right and something happens, the saw’s got my back.” 

But the damage to Dennis was done. 

“I like to work on cars. I’ve got a small pickup with a V8 in it and I got my commuter car. I’ve got a fuel filter that I can’t get (off) with this hand. I can’t wrap my hand around two wrenches. Pliers are difficult to use. The ‘thumb’ is supposed to flex like a thumb, and it just doesn’t.” 

The post One little slip, one mistake can change your life forever  appeared first on Sawstop.

––David Stivelman 

Every first-time parent knows how challenging it can be to care for an infant. From changing diapers to buttoning or snapping onesies and other clothing to feeding them to bathing them, it’s often a struggle.  

Now imagine doing all that with a hand mangled by a table saw. 

David Stivelman had to learn to care for his newborn son just nine months after suffering a horrific accident in his home woodworking shop. The accident cost him half of the index finger on his right hand, as well as permanently damaging two other fingers. 

“Once he was born, I felt the impact of my lost dexterity in a way I hadn’t before,” David said. “Diaper changes, onesies, zippers, buttons, snaps, putting together furniture, toys, this all presented me with a really significant challenge. 

“Before he was born, I was practicing changing diapers and figuring out how to grip this and hold this and move things around. By the time he was born, I thought we’d done a pretty good job of addressing most of the things, but I was so wrong. I’ve learned buttons are my greatest enemy. We got as many things with zippers and Velcro as we could.” 

Here’s how David’s life disruption happened. 

The Accident 

The modest basement workshop in his Baltimore home was anchored by a portable table saw in 2020, an older model given to him by his grandfather. It did not have a blade guard, riving knife, or any other safety devices. David enjoyed making all sorts of projects, and even had a decent market for small projects through an online vendor. On the day it happened, he was making repeated crosscuts from maple stock when disaster struck. 

“I was rushing a bit, since I had an order to fill, and I had fallen into a rhythm and wasn’t paying full attention. With my right hand, I grabbed an offcut to move it out of the way without first stopping the saw. As I grabbed the piece, it moved into the blade, which pulled in both the wood and my hand. I didn’t realize at first how serious the injury was, but when I looked down, I saw that my index, middle, and ring fingers had all been mostly severed. The blade had cut through all of the bone and tendon and all three fingers were still attached by only a piece of skin. 

“There’s that moment when you get hurt when it’s kind of like, you don’t know how bad it is, and I look down, and I’m like ‘Oh s***.’” 

“My immediate memory is just the sound of it, it sounded the same as when a piece of wood would kick back. It just wasn’t the sound I would expect. There’s that moment when you get hurt when it’s kind of like, you don’t know how bad it is, and I look down, and I’m like ‘Oh s***.’” 

Thankfully, David’s wife was home at the time—and able to rush him to the hospital. However, because this happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, his wife was not allowed to stay with him in the ER. 

“I yelled for her, and she later told me that the sound of my voice was chilling, and as soon as she heard it, she knew something was seriously wrong. We wrapped my hand in a kitchen towel, and she drove me to the emergency room.” 

After stabilizing David’s hand, the hospital transferred him to a different hospital equipped with a hand specialty center. 

“They’ve got one of the best units for that in the area. They knew immediately I needed surgery, and they had a hand surgeon on his way. The accident happened mid-afternoon, so by this point it was 2 or 3 in the morning, and they couldn’t really do anything for me until I went into surgery. They just managed the pain as best they could and at 6 or so in the morning I went in for surgery. It was about a four- or five-hour procedure. The surgeon reattached all three fingers but warned me that he did not think the index finger would survive. I had pins in the fingers that would need to be removed in six weeks.  

“I was able to return home a few hours after the surgery. Not long after, the local anesthesia wore off and the intensity of the pain really set in. Three days after the surgery, I returned to the doctor to have the bandages removed and assess the healing so far. This was the first time I’d seen my hand since the accident, and it was shocking. My index finger had already started to die and had turned mostly black. Six weeks later, I returned for the surgery to remove the pins and amputate most of my index finger. Although my middle and ring finger had been successfully reattached, their range of motion was (and still is) significantly impacted. I lost most of the dexterity in my right hand and will never get it back.” 

Before he got into the months of rehabilitation and therapy, David knew he had to face one fear head on. 

“Probably a day or two after I got home, I came down to the basement just to move a couple things around to grab something, and I had to move the table saw from where it was just to a separate spot in the room. It was unplugged, the blade was retracted fully, and, still, when I touched it, I had this moment of almost instinctual fear, like something I had never felt before. I had to kind of step back. It was really strange, because I knew no matter how much logic I had, saying ‘There’s no possible way this can hurt me right now,’ my body just instinctually kind of recoiled from it. I realized in that moment I knew I could never use this saw again because it didn’t have any of the safety features or anything and I just had to get rid of it. So, I listed it on Craigslist and sold it pretty quickly. 

“The moment I really remember is getting home after my time in the hospital, and I sat down on the bed with my wife, and I just broke down. It was the first time I’d had to really sit and breathe and think about what had happened. I didn’t know how bad it was going to be. I didn’t know that I was going to lose my finger at that time. I didn’t know what kind of dexterity I was going to have. I just knew my life was changed.

“The emotional toll has definitely been as significant as the physical toll, if not more.”

Needless to say, David missed significant time from his job while he recovered and continued to search for ways to deal with the injured hand. 

“After the accident, I was in physical therapy for several months, and it was about six weeks after the accident when I had the pins removed and my finger amputated. I was unable to work for about two months and ended up losing a significant amount of income. I had to keep doing therapy for a year.

“You kind of instinctually know that you use your hands always. They’re important for almost everything you do. If you had asked me before this happened to list all the ways my life would be impacted if I had a serious hand injury, I could have talked for hours and I still wouldn’t have hit a fraction of it.

“It’s truly amazing how many tiny little things that are so natural and so normal that you don’t even think about until, suddenly, you have trouble doing it.”

I mean, turning a doorknob, starting your car—I couldn’t start my car for weeks without having to reach my other hand over, and I didn’t have a push button car at the time, so turning the key was a real challenge because I couldn’t get that grip, I couldn’t turn it.”

And even though woodworking led to the accident, David said he kept feeling the call to get back in the shop.  

“As my recovery progressed, I was itching to get back into the shop, but found myself increasingly nervous and apprehensive any time I needed to use a tool with a blade. So, after it happened, I knew there was going to be a time where I was recovering physically, of course, and while I was doing that I was thinking how quickly and to what extent did I want to start doing woodworking again. Like, did I want to dive right back in, or did I want to really take my time? And even less than the physical limitations, just the mental block that kept me from being comfortable using a table saw for a long time really put a dent in what I was able to do with woodworking.” 

The Cost 

Thankfully, David’s health insurance and other coverage helped to minimize what would have otherwise been medical costs deep into six figures. But it’s not just the medical bills that hit him hard. 

“The cost was definitely a bigger impact than I expected. I was unable to work for a long time. I was on short-term disability, which was 50 percent pay, so I lost a lot of income. I also lost the income from doing my woodworking business on the side. And even though my wife was working and I was still getting some pay from the disability, my income was reduced so much I ended up putting a lot of expenses on credit cards and really accumulated a lot of debt that I’m still paying off and will be for a long time. Once you get kind of under that kind of debt, it’s just increasingly hard to dig yourself out.” 

Grandpa 

David’s grandfather, a retired surgeon and lifelong woodworker, helped David learn the craft from an early age. He’s also the one who gave David the table saw. 

“My grandpa had been a woodworker his whole life, and because he was a surgeon, he was very aware of the risks and potential for injury from power tools. So, when he gave me the saw, he walked me through all the kind of common knowledge safety things and told me all the things that I need to do to be safe. As he taught me more as I got older, he gave me my first set of tools, really basic hand tools. Even when he taught me how to use a hand saw, before he would let me use anything, he would go out of his way to explain, make sure you’re avoiding this and avoiding this and you’re doing this particular thing, because he knew the risks involved.

“Every tool he gave me and everything he taught me to do came with its own lecture about safety, its own set of rules that I had to learn before he would let me start using the tool. And the table saw was no different. When he gave me the saw, he reiterated things that he taught me before but just the very basic ideas of table saw safety, you know, picture every cut, make sure you know all these different ways to avoid kickback, just common-sense things that everyone should know, and things that I did know and just let lapse in that one moment. But it was really important to him that he went into detail about that and made sure that I was aware before he sent me off with a tool.” 

That’s why David knew he had to talk with his mentor right away. 

“My grandpa was one of the first people I spoke to after the accident. Of course, I called my dad, let him know right away, but my grandpa and I were always very close, and because he got me into woodworking, especially. After I got home, he was very sympathetic.

There was no ‘See, I told you so’ kind of moment. One of the first things he asked me was whether it was the saw he had given me, and I did not tell him that it was because I didn’t want to put that on him.  “But he was very interested in the recovery process and just being present for me. He was really helpful as I started to consider getting back into woodworking and try to find where my comfort level was with using tools again. He helped me a lot with finding my comfort in that again. Because of his emphasis on safety he was able to give me a space where I felt like I could go back to using things that I was a little nervous around because I had him helping me out and guiding me through it. Even things that I’d known my whole life that weren’t anything that would have made me think twice before, suddenly I had this very intense awareness of what could happen. So, he was really crucial in helping me get back into that process.” 

The Son 

So how do you teach a toddler about Dad living with a disabled hand? 

“I’ve been very open with him. He’s seen my hand looks different than his and I just tell him ‘Daddy got a big boo boo’. So, he’s starting to ask questions about it. This age is tough because you don’t really know how much he’s going to retain or understand, and you’ve got to find the right ways to talk about it without going into too much detail.  

“It’s funny, my other grandfather actually lost a finger when he was young, too, and I remember being a kid and seeing that as well and I remember finding it really fascinating and really terrifying at the same time. Young people, myself included, think we’re invincible, like that won’t happen to me. Knowing that there can be long-term effects from not being careful enough or from doing something wrong I think is a lesson that I took from seeing my grandpa missing his finger when I was a kid and I think something that my son will hopefully carry with him as well. 

“He’s immediately drawn to anything that I do, and especially power tools. They’re loud, they make noises, they make a mess, they’re cool, and he’s immediately drawn to them. We’ve gotten him toy tools, and I bring him into the shop sometimes just to watch or to help me with small things or ‘Here, you hold this.’ I’ll have him help me put something together.  

“I think about the importance of not just teaching him the safety, but teaching him to appreciate what woodworking has to offer. I really do think there’s a lot of value in being able to create something and have that pride of knowing that you built something that is useful or beautiful, something that you created with your hands that was not there before. Something about that is magical, and I want him to be able to understand that.  

“Once he’s a little older, I can really go in depth about how it happened and how it’s affected me. It’s something where even if he doesn’t take off with it as a career or hobby, I want him to be able to appreciate it and find the lessons in it that I have found useful, but still make sure he’s safe. As a parent, my first instinct, my number one priority is to keep him safe, keep him happy. And as much as I know the value in learning a hobby or trade like woodworking or anything like that, the inherent risk of doing so is always front of mind for me, because it has to be.” 

“I can’t count the amount of times—it’s less now, but it still happens—where I’ll just grab something the way I’ve done it for 30 years and I just drop it.” 

“I’m at the point where there’s a lot of residual effects, a lot of pain sometimes. I’m not at a point where any more progress is being made, so I’m kind of where I will be for the rest of my life with it. Probably the biggest thing I’m still dealing with and making progress on is just learning ways to do things that I used to be able to do without thinking and now have to be creative, whether it’s pick things up or move things around, or even things like playing guitar or doing woodworking, I just have to find new ways to hold things or do things, and that’s something I think is going to be a constant learning process. 

“It’s something where I’m faced with it every day because you use your hands constantly, and whether it’s buttoning my shirt or getting my son dressed or even just things around the house. I still do a lot of things primarily right-handed, like brushing my teeth, and I’ve had to really readjust to small things: the way I hold the toothbrush, the way I even turn on the faucet, or grab a cup of water. So many times, I’ve reached to grab a cup or a plate or something and immediately dropped it because I forgot that things like grabbing a cup of water or picking up a piece of food from the table are hard now. I can’t count the amount of times—it’s less now, but it still happens—where I’ll just grab something the way I’ve done it for 30 years and I just drop it.” 

The Guitar 

Woodworking was not David’s only hobby to be affected by the injury. David has played guitar from a young age, and now his picking hand will never be the same. 

“There are some things, no matter how much I practice, I just will not be able to do the way I used to do. Some different playing techniques that are just impossible with what I have available.”

“It’s always been a central part of my life, and when I realized ‘Oh, it’s not just that I can’t play as well as I used to, it’s I need to relearn essential foundational techniques from scratch.’ That’s something I had the time to do when I was younger. It’s not something I have the time to do now or the energy. It’s been a struggle just having to look at something that used to be so central to who I am and so important to me, and have to kind of accept that it’s just completely different now. 

“There are some things, no matter how much I practice, I just will not be able to do the way I used to do. Some different playing techniques that are just impossible with what I have available. It’s been a struggle to realize that. Even though it’s not something that is as central to my life as it used to be, it’s still a big part of my identity.” 

Reflecting 

“The one lesson I really take from it is just how quickly it happened. No matter how confident or how experienced you are, it’s just a split second, and I feel like when you’re using a tool with that potential and that power, everyone’s bound to have an accident and it’s just a matter of when and how bad is it going to be.” 

“As a hobbyist woodworker, I’m not someone who has been using these tools my whole life and working full time with them, but I can see how quickly it happened, how small of a mistake it was. It was a fraction of an inch that really made the difference here. It doesn’t matter how comfortable you are, how long you’ve been using them, if you’re in a rhythm, especially if you’re making repetitive cuts like I was, you kind of get into a zone, you get in the rhythm, you’re doing things you’ve done a thousand times and when you’ve done them so much you start to get comfortable that you can let your attention wander for just a moment. I feel like no matter how long you’ve been doing it or how comfortable you are, whether you’re having a bad day, or you’ve just got something else on your mind, or there’s a noise off to the side while you’re making a cut and you look for a second, that’s all it takes. It’s a second and it happens. 

“The one thing I would always want to reiterate to anyone who does woodworking is just the speed with which (the accident) happened. People say, ‘Well, if you knew what you were doing, if you were being safe, or if you weren’t being an idiot this wouldn’t have happened. I’ve been using table saws my whole life, I know what I’m doing, and if you know what you’re doing you’re not going to get hurt.’ And, yeah, there are safety rules you can follow and there are things you can and should do, and there’s things that I did wrong that day, and I will never deny that I did something wrong. But it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been doing it or how comfortable you are, it’s a split second, it’s a lapse of attention, you hear a sound and turn your head for a second and all of a sudden that blade is pulling that wood, and it happens so fast. 

“The one lesson I really take from it is just how quickly it happened. No matter how confident or how experienced you are, it’s just a split second, and I feel like when you’re using a tool with that potential and that power, everyone’s bound to have an accident and it’s just a matter of when and how bad is it going to be.” 

David also had to deal with the mental anguish and guilt within himself. To help, he got a tattoo of his “new” hand wrapped in flowers and herbs that hold special meaning to him. 

“I have a tattoo of my hand that I got a few months after it happened because I realized it’s something where I was having, like flashbacks almost, where I’d look at my hand and have this persistent thought of the moment it happened, the blood and the sound and everything. And I realized the image of my hand was something that was really sitting with me in an unhealthy way, and I wanted to turn it into something that I could control and something that I liked and found beautiful. I worked with a local artist, who I think did a really great job incorporating it, and just kind of took that back and turned it into something that I can look at and be proud of instead of something that takes me back to a kind of horrific memory.” 

SawStop 

Obviously, if he could turn back time, David would find a way to prevent this accident. Change his routine. Take a break. Focus his mind on the task. Or replace his saw with a SawStop model, with its unique finger-saving technology. 

“When this happened, I had been saving for a SawStop because I knew the saw I had was older, wasn’t accurate, wasn’t powerful, and I had seen the demos everyone has with the hot dog, how the technology works. I was really close to ordering it, but I just didn’t have the cash, and it was something that was going to have to be put on credit, and I didn’t want to have to worry about the interest, didn’t want to have to worry about paying off the credit card. I was just going to save up until I had the cash to buy it. That was less than a month before the accident happened. It would have saved me a lot of money in the long run. 

“I think it was like a week after the accident, one of the YouTubers that I follow did a video really in-depth, explaining all the technology and everything, it felt personal. It was definitely interesting to see how the technology works after I’d seen what can happen when it doesn’t.  

“With technology like that in those moments where you have a lapse of attention or there’s just a split second where something goes wrong, even if it never happens, having that peace of mind, of just knowing that if something were to happen or if someone else is using it, is incredibly valuable. If my son is here and he’s learning woodworking and he doesn’t have all the experience I have, or if you’re teaching someone, or so many different things that can go wrong, just knowing in that case there is an extra level of security and safety there no matter how many safety steps you take, having an additional level just to make sure or just to prevent any serious injuries is huge.” 

The post David Stivelman testimonial  appeared first on Sawstop.

What’s a picnic or an outdoor gathering of family or friends without playing a few games of cornhole (also called “bags”). This simple game can be enjoyed by anyone able to grip a corn- or bean-filled bag and toss it to the board at the opposite end.

The basic rules of cornhole:

• The boards should be 2’x4’ in size with a 6”-diameter hole.
• Official bags are 6”x6” in size and weigh 1 lb each.
• Boards are placed 27’ apart per the official rules, but can be moved closer as needed.
• One player of each team plays from opposing ends. When tossing, players alternate turns.
• Players throw the bags from behind the front edge of the board.
• Bags that go through the hole score 3 points each. Bags that land on the top surface without touching the ground score 1 point each. A game is played to 21.

While you can certainly buy premade cornhole boards, we’ll show you an easy way to make your own cornhole boards for a fraction of the price. The materials we chose result in boards that are sturdy enough for play, yet light enough to easily carry. Plus, you can customize the cornhole boards to your liking with a paint scheme or decals that you purchase. Have fun with it! Now, let’s get started.

Materials:

• (1) half-sheet (4’x4’) of ¼” hardboard
• (6) 1”x4”x8’ pine boards
• (1) 1”x6”x8’ pine board
• (1) 1-lb box #9 x 2” coated deck screws
• (2) pair draw catches
• (1) 5-1/2” utility handle
• (4) ¼”x2-1/2” carriage bolts
• (4) ¼” flat washers
• (4) ¼” nylon lock nuts
• (1) tube construction adhesive

Step by step:

1. Start by cutting four frame sides 48” long, eight frame rails 22-1/2” long, four middle stretchers 15-1/2” long, and two bottom stretchers 16-1/2” long. Rip all these parts to 2-1/2” wide.

2. Build the frames by screwing the frame sides to the end rails.

3. Screw the middle stretchers to the middle rails, then screw this assembly to each frame.

4. Measure the distance between the end rail and the lower middle rail, cut the bottom stretchers to fit, and screw in place.

NOTE: The middle rails and stretchers not only add strength to the frame, but they also prevent the bags from bouncing excessively on the top during game play.

5. Cut four leg blanks 12” long and 2-1/2” wide. Laminate the blanks with double-faced tape into two pairs. Lay out a location at one end 1-1/4” from the end and edges. Draw a radius with a compass on that end, then cut and sand the radius to shape. Drill a ¼” hole at the layout mark. Cut each blank to 11-3/4” long with a 10° miter. Separate the taped-together legs.

6. Cut two 4” x 21” leg stretchers to size. Lay out the location for the leg stretchers on each leg, then screw them together into two leg assemblies.

7. Cut the hardboard into two 2’x4’ pieces. Lay out the centerpoint of each hole in both pieces 9” from the top edge and centered side to side.

8. To cut the cleanest holes, use a router with a spiral bit mounted on a trammel. (If you don’t have a storebought trammel, you can easily make one from a length of plywood or hardboard.) Begin by drilling a hole at the centerpoint equal in size to the pivot pin in your trammel. Set the bit to cut inside the line. Support the panel, including the circle, underneath with sacrificial boards or rigid foam board. Plunge and rout the circle in one pass. Repeat for the other panel.

NOTE: You can also cut these holes with a jigsaw, but it will require more sanding and cleanup work.

9. Secure a panel to each frame using construction adhesive (to avoid having any exposed fasteners on the top surface). Clamp the panel to the frame securely and allow to dry.

10. Drill a ¼” hole in the top end of both frame sides 2” from the end and centered across the width to accept the leg bolts. Install a leg assembly to each game board with a carriage bolt, flat washer, and lock nut. Don’t overtighten—the leg should pivot stiffly.

NOTE: The acute angle (less than 90°) of the feet should be at the end of the board, farthest from the hole.

11. Sand any rough or sharp edges or corners.

12. Clamp the game boards together with the playing surface outward. Install two draw catches on each end.

13. Install the handle to one of the sides, centered along the length.

Now you’re ready to play! The hardboard presents a smooth surface that works well as is, but you can also paint or decorate the boards to your liking. When finished playing, store the bags inside the game boards, lock them together, and carry in one piece to the garage until next time.

So, build your own set of custom cornhole boards and enjoy game after game of fun with friends and family. Post photos of your boards on social media and be sure to include #sawstop so we can see your designs. Enjoy!

The post Build Your Own Cornhole Boards appeared first on Sawstop.

One of the most helpful shop projects you can make is a DIY crosscut sled for your table saw. This sled allows you to crosscut wider workpieces than you typically can with a miter gauge. Plus, the hold-downs provide the ability to clamp workpieces in place, keeping your hands away from the blade. The clear acrylic shield serves as a blade guard to further keep your hands safe.

NOTE: This sled is made to fit a SawStop Professional Cabinet Saw (PCS) with a 27”-deep top (front to back). Adapt dimensions to fit your saw as needed.

Materials List:

• Half-sheet (4’x4’) of ¾” Baltic-birch plywood, MDF, or MDO (we used MDO)
• 2 @ 24” aluminum T-track (#4 x 1/2” screws might not be included)
• 1 @ 36” aluminum T-track (#4 x 1” screws)
• 2 @ 5-1/2” hold-downs with T-bolts and star knobs (or anything similar)
• 1 @ 1-1/2” T-bolt with star knob
• 12 @ #8 x 2-1/2” wood screws
• 12 @ #8 x 3/4″ round-head or pan-head screws

Step by step:

1. Cut the base to size (36” x 27”).

2. Rip four pieces to 4-1/2” wide for the fences; crosscut them to 36”. Rip two pieces 5-1/4” wide; crosscut to 12”. Laminate the long pieces in two sets of two, and laminate the short pieces. Allow the glue to dry.

3. Cut two hard maple runners to size (11/32” x 3/4” x 29”) until they fit in the miter slots without side-to-side wiggle yet still slide smoothly. White oak can also be used, but avoid softer woods that can easily deform.

4. Lay out the locations on the base for the blade (centered) and miter slots; with the base centered on the blade, lock the rip fence in place at the right end of the base.

5. Place four dimes in each miter slot, spaced equally along the length. Apply double-faced masking tape (or instant glue) to the top of the runners and place the runners on the dimes in the slots, flush with the far edge of the table (overhang near you). With the base resting against the rip fence, lower it onto the runners and press down firmly for good adhesion. Lift the base and turn upside down, then trim away any excess tape. Replace in the miter slots and check for smoothness of glide back and forth.

6. Secure each runner to the base with four #6 x 3/4” flathead screws countersunk into the runners. Trim the runners with a shoulder plane or rabbeting block plane, if needed, to improve the glide.

7. With the blade fully lowered, position the base on the tabletop aligned with the front and back edges. Hold the base securely to the tabletop, adding weight if needed; turn the saw on and raise the blade up through the base until about 1” shows. Slide the base forward until about 6” remains uncut. DO NOT CUT FULLY THROUGH EITHER THE FRONT OR BACK EDGES. Turn the saw off and lower the blade.

8. Trim the laminated fence blanks flush, if needed.

9. Lay out locations on the base’s top face for the T-track grooves. In this case, the inner edge of each slot is 7” from the blade kerf.

10. Install a 3/4” stacked-dado set in the saw and set the height to cut a channel that allows the T-track to fit perfectly flush. Make test cuts in scrap stock until you get the setup perfect. Then cut the grooves in the base.

11. Cut a similar groove in the rear fence (the one near you as you operate the saw) 1” from the bottom edge for the stop block T-track. Glue the laminated short fence blank to the back of the rear fence, centered along its length and flush along the top edge.

12. Lay out the center “arch” on each fence blank and bandsaw or jigsaw to shape. (Shaping in this way removes unnecessary material to lighten the overall weight of the sled.) Smooth the cuts at the spindle sander, with a handheld sander, or hand tools. When satisfied, rout a 1/4″ round-over along the top edges and ends, but not the bottom edges.

13. Cut the T-track into two pieces 17-1/4” long. (NOTE: If you cut these aluminum pieces on your SawStop table saw, first bypass the safety system.) Install these in the fence groove, flush at the ends. (This leaves a necessary gap on each side of the blade to avoid accidental brake activations.)

14. Mount the front fence to the base by installing one screw at one end. Align the fence square to the saw kerf, and add another screw on the opposite end. Don’t add any more screws for now.

15. Repeat for the rear fence, attach one corner with a screw, align to the saw kerf/blade, and secure with another screw.

16. Make a test cut and check for accuracy. If not perfectly 90°, remove the second screw for that fence and recalibrate.

17. Once both fences are perfectly square to the kerf/blade, add four more screws to each fence (no glue).

18. Cut and install the T-tracks in each slot in the base, making sure to start the track 1-1/4” back from the front fence’s inner face. This void allows you to remove and insert the hold-down T-bolt on each track.

19. Cut a 2”x3” hardwood block for a stop block, drill a hole for the T-bolt centered on the T-track. The stop block must rest squarely on the base when tightened in the track to be perpendicular.

20. If you want, cut a 1”x4” oval at one end to provide a handle and a way to hang the sled on a wall hook. Round over the top and bottom edges of this oval.

21. Sand any rough spots to ensure smooth sliding and comfortable grip.

22. Create the blade guard by cutting a piece of ¼”-thick acrylic 4” wide and 27” long. Cut two side rails from ¾”-thick wood or plywood 2-1/2” wide and 24” long. Lay out holes on the acrylic for the screws to mount it to the sled and the side rails; drill pilot holes for each. Remove the plastic covering from the acrylic and sand away the rough or sharp edges and corners. Screw the guard assembly to the sled, centered side-to-side on the blade kerf and squared to the fence. Then screw the side rails to the acrylic.

23. Apply paste wax or paraffin wax to the runners occasionally to ensure a smooth, easy glide in the miter slots.

The post How to Build a Crosscut Sled for a Table Saw appeared first on Sawstop.

Watch the video to learn about the differences between our Professional and Industrial Cabinet Saws and get some detailed insights into SawStop’s dust collection options.

Video Highlights:

• Straightforward instructions for assembly of a SawStop Industrial Cabinet Saw
• Learn about the key differences between a SawStop Professional and Industrial Cabinet Saw
• Why Cam opted to equip his ICS with SawStop’s Large Sliding Crosscut Table and Floating Overarm Dust Collection setup

The post Upgrading from a SawStop Professional Cabinet Saw to an Industrial Cabinet Saw appeared first on Sawstop.

Patrick Callahan was working at his stone and countertop production business in 1998, cutting Corian (a synthetic material used for countertops) on a contractor-style table saw—without the blade guard in place—for a custom job. Unfortunately, the Corian rode up on the blade, then snapped back down and shattered, pulling Patrick’s left hand—his dominant hand—into the blade. Instantly, he suffered severe injuries to his thumb and two fingers. 

“I didn’t know how to react at first,” Patrick said. “I was pretty much in shock that this might be the end for me in a way. It sounds ridiculous, but I didn’t know at the time how much damage was done to my hand, and since I work with my hands, what my future would be.” Fortunately, doctors were able to save a finger and thumb, but he lost most of his index finger. The ensuing months and years of surgeries and rehabilitation, lost wages, exorbitant medical bills, and personal strain nearly broke Patrick. 

The accident happened on Feb. 13, 1998—Friday the 13^th—in the shop Patrick owned in Heber City, Utah. A hurried work pace and a not-careful-enough mindset led to disaster. “We were always behind on projects,” he said, “and we were cutting and processing small Corian parts for a custom shower install. I had a guy in my shop that said he was nervous about it, and I told him to get out of the way, and I started doing it myself. And that’s when the accident happened.  

“The speed of the accident was because the material I was cutting was brittle, and as I was pushing it through the table saw it actually shattered. I fell on the blade…the blade was probably almost full height. Because of the material and the way it needed to be cut, we were what we call free-handing. The fence wasn’t actually the guide—I was just free-handing pushing it through.” 

Immediately after it happened, Patrick said his injuries didn’t seem as severe as they turned out to be. “My first reaction was, I just sat down on a bucket. I was pretty much in shock that this might be the end for me, in a way. It sounds ridiculous, but I didn’t know at the time how much damage was done to my hand. 

“The person who drove me to the hospital definitely panicked more than I did, he was running around like a crazy person. He basically grabbed me and stuck me in the back seat of a truck (with a trailer still attached). We drove to the nearest hospital, which was about 11 minutes away. I was holding my hand underneath my arm to try to hold enough pressure on it. By the time we got to the hospital, I had bled a lot down my side. And they didn’t know exactly what had happened to me because I wasn’t so coherent, still in shock. They actually, at first, thought maybe I had been stabbed or shot because of all the blood down the side of me. 

“I had a total of five surgeries on my hand. The first one was to basically just get everything closed up and cleaned. I had damaged three fingers, including my thumb. That surgery was about two hours long. And then I had a second surgery six hours later. And then another surgery about a week later. Then I had some nerve damage (surgery) that was another six months past that. I had lots of physical therapy. I had some follow-up every week for almost a year.” 

Saving one finger and the thumb was nothing short of a miracle, but the constant pain and rehabilitation, the doctor visits, additional surgeries to enhance the appearance of his injured and missing fingers took a toll on Patrick, both personally and professionally. 

“My recovery for the short term was the harder part. It was really hard to come to grips with just even getting dressed. Everything was different, everything was tender. It took a good year before I felt like I could function again just on a day-to-day basis. The emotional impact for me was, because I work with my hands, the hardest part. I felt like I didn’t have a future working with my hands. Even the smallest tasks became big challenges.  

“Financially, short term, self-employed…at the time I had six employees, a smaller shop. The impact immediately was I couldn’t work. So, I was relying on employees to run the business for me, and it was very hard financially. I didn’t have health insurance, so it drained everything for six months. Physically working took me about a year. The accident itself caused me to be home, like really home, for the first time in my first marriage. And what happened was, no one’s expecting to be damaged or hurt and be home for a long period of time. It put a real stress on the finances, plus it put a lot of stress on my marriage. It was hard to have a positive attitude. 

“The first year we know that we lost around $700,000 in just production income. The doctor bill itself for the first three months was just over $125,000. It took about 8 years to pay it off. Then I did some more physical therapy later on, some specialized stuff, because I started having some problems controlling the end of my finger. 

“The event of losing my finger started events that led to my divorce and the loss of my business. I spent years dealing with it. I still write with my left hand, and I have limited feeling in my thumb, and now that I am older, I am getting arthritis in my hand.” 

Despite missing nearly a year of work, Patrick made a point to go back to the shop a week after the accident to use the very saw that had injured him. 

“I wanted to make sure I could use the same saw, basically get back on the horse, so to speak. My dad and one of my employees had cleaned it up quite a bit, but there were still blood stains on things and there was kind of a big stain on the floor in the area. I did use the saw that day, just enough to make sure I could actually go back to work or have a future going back to work. That was very difficult, to go back and see it.” 

Patrick’s accident not only changed him, but also his way of operating the business. He said they found workarounds to some of the cuts they had previously made on a table saw.

“My relationship with the table saw has changed a lot. Because of the accident, and the fact that we had a couple of table saws, and we’d had little nicks and little things happen to other people, we made a (change). The accident itself caused quite a bit of turmoil in the shop because I had a few guys that were already nervous about table saws, and working with plastic is a little different than working with wood at the table saw, and they just didn’t want to go back to that. The guy that actually took me to the hospital never came back to the shop. 

“I just couldn’t imagine if by my choice and what I asked someone to do, they got injured because I didn’t have the proper equipment, I just didn’t want to live with the fact I could do this to someone else.” 

“Accidents usually happen to the more seasoned than they do to the unseasoned; unseasoned are scared. Seasoned get like I did, we get too comfortable. We feel that we don’t have any fear for the piece of equipment, and that’s when accidents happen. I have only had one newbie hurt himself on a table saw, but nearly all the table saw accidents we’ve had have all been with experienced people. 

“What I would like to share most with people about my accident is the fact of how much it changes us all over. My perspective of life changed, of what was important. The thought of having one of my employees ever get injured to that level became a big fear. My recovery was hard enough, I didn’t want to put anyone else through a similar situation. So, we changed a lot. We used to use table saws a lot for little work, and we changed how we produced parts, so our use of a table saw reduced by half in the first year. My biggest thing for me was the fact that being a business owner and what it changed in my life, thinking that that could be someone else’s life, if one of my employees…got hurt. I just couldn’t imagine if by my choice and what I asked someone to do, they got injured because I didn’t have the proper equipment. We talk about the safeties that are on some of these saws for kickback and things like that, I just didn’t want to live with the fact I could do this to someone else. 

“My experience changed a lot because I just didn’t want to have to go through something similar ever again. It was more of a mental thing to try to get over. One thing that changed was I quit wearing my wedding ring after that because I didn’t want to lose a finger because of that.”  

Over the years, Patrick has figured out ways to work around his missing finger. But he definitely misses it. 

“My counting to 10 is off,” he chuckled. “I don’t have the dexterity that I used to have. I don’t have the grip strength. Buttons, even goofy things like trimming your fingernails, your index finger is so much more agile and has more strength than your second finger. So, anything that has little details is hard, like tying a fish hook, anything like that that’s small and detail-oriented I struggle with. 

“There’s tasks that are harder and I just can’t do them like I would like to so I just don’t. Little things that you don’t think about became a problem. I had a hard time wearing a glove and riding four-wheelers or things like that because you worry about it (the empty finger) getting caught in the brake lever or clutch.” 

So would Patrick equip his shop, if he owned one today, with SawStop table saws?  

“Yes, it’s like saying ‘Would you buy a car with seat belts?’ Would I put someone else in my vehicle without a seat belt? I would change that for anyone I knew. I would tell them what the outcome of poor choices can be. SawStop has the ability to…literally save lives. It may be a finger, it may be more, but the fact that there’s a very dangerous piece of equipment with a blade that sticks out of the top that can remove body parts, and there’s a company out there that can promise that you won’t get hurt? That’s a big deal. If I was to ask someone ‘How much do you value your finger? How much do you value your hands? And how much dollar value do you want to put on that?’ It’s a miniscule amount of money to change from something that can’t help you or can’t save your fingers to something that can for sure save your hand. A SawStop can take away that accident. You can eliminate that fear for you and your employees.”  

“It may be a finger, it may be more, but the fact that there’s a very dangerous piece of equipment with a blade that sticks out of the top that can remove body parts, and there’s a company out there that can promise that you won’t get hurt? That’s a big deal.” 

The healing, mostly mental and spiritual at this point, continues for Patrick. 

“The thing that changed in my life, other than not wanting to hurt anyone else, is the fact that, I know this sounds ridiculous, but, I’m not whole anymore. I had a part of me that through hurrying and bad choices, I don’t have anymore. And I can’t get it back. It changes how people see you. On a small scale, children don’t see it as just a finger, they see you as different. And for little kids, it’s hard for them to grasp that you are different. So, for me, being different, the changes of it, the long term and family would be important.” 

These days, Patrick tries to approach his long-ago injury as a way to educate people about the danger of table saw use. 

“I’ve taken something that was an accident, and it looks wrong, but I turned it into something where I could use it to my advantage, something to talk about, something to show, something to experience.”  

The post “I’m not whole anymore. I had a part of me that…I don’t have anymore. And I can’t get it back” appeared first on Sawstop.

SawStop began as a company selling table saws not to just enter a crowded field, but to bring sanity, sense, and purpose to the single most dangerous tool in any shop or on any jobsite. Even when outfitted and used with a blade guard in place, an ordinary table saw is still inherently dangerous, and no amount of proper technique will completely eliminate the chance of a life-altering injury. We developed our patented finger-saving skin-detecting technology and implemented it into a line of proprietary table saws to show the world you don’t have to put your fingers at risk every time you power up a table saw. We’ve sold hundreds of thousands of these saws, but too many people continue to use saws capable of cutting off fingers in less time than you can react. Buy a SawStop, and know that you’re protected.

1. Safety: Our patented skin-sensing system stops a spinning blade in less than 5 milliseconds should a finger or hand contact the blade. We have thousands of documented finger saves from users who are thankful to have been using a SawStop. Your 10 fingers are the reason SawStop exists! We could count them as our 10 reasons and be happy, but we’ve got more. Learn more at Table Saw Safety | SawStop.

2. Quality: We build each saw using only the absolute best parts and components, made from the highest quality materials. Learn more at Sawstop Engineering | Built for Woodworkers | SawStop.

3. Performance: Not only are our table saws the safest available anywhere, but they’re also truly excellent saws built by woodworkers for woodworkers. Many media and influencer reviews over the years have said our saws would still be considered great even if we didn’t have our proprietary safety technology. Hear from actual users at Stories Archives – Sawstop.

4. Dependability: Although we stock parts for all of our saws, hopefully, you’ll never need to make that call looking for a replacement part. Both our cast iron table saws and portable table saws are built to last. (Here’s a photo of an early model—serial no. 9, purchased in 2004!—still in everyday use.) See our cast iron table saw lineup at Cast-Iron Cabinet Saws Archives – Sawstop. Or consider one of our portable saws at Portable Table Saws Archives – Sawstop.

5. Service: In those rare instances when something does go wrong, our top-flight service team is always ready to help. Link to service portal: Contact Us | SawStop.

6. Warranty: Each of our saws carries at least a 1-year warranty against manufacturing and material defects and workmanship, with our Professional and Industrial Cabinet Saws each carrying a 2-year warranty. Learn more about warranties at Support | SawStop.

7. Dealer support: With over 600 dealers in the U.S., plus more in Canada and Australia, we have you covered for local support, sales, and service. Find a dealer at Find a SawStop dealer with our store locator | SawStop.

8. Easy to follow instructions and assembly: We appreciate you buying our saws, so we make each one easy to assemble, with clear, intuitive instructions, fully detailed owner’s manuals, and blister-packed hardware kits color-coded and labeled to match the instructions.

9. Superior dust collection: We want you to cut wood with your saw, but we don’t want you to breathe the dust that action creates. So, we equip our saws SawStop dust collection, with dust shrouds around the blade to channel the dust to a port where you attach a shop vacuum or dust collector. We also have a few upgrade accessories to better collect dust above the blade. Don’t be the filter for your dust! Check out our dust-collection accessories at Dust Collection Archives – Sawstop.

10. Accessories: In addition to those dust-collection hoods, SawStop offers a wide range of SawStop accessories for our saws. Among our offering: sliding crosscut tables, mobile bases, portable stands, an outfeed table, a router table and lift with accessories, miter gauges, storage cabinets, a number of 10” blades, an 8” dado set, zero-clearance insert plates, and replacement brake cartridges. Browse all of our table saw accessories at Sawstop Table Saw Accessories | SawStop.

You know what, we could say that’s actually 19 reasons (10 fingers + 9 others) to buy a SawStop table saw! Each one is important to us, but your safety is the critical core to our whole business. So, get a SawStop saw and enjoy a long, safe journey using it.

The post 10 Reasons To Buy a SawStop Table Saw appeared first on Sawstop.