What trips the Saw Stop?

I was looking for a list of known triggers for the Saw Stop. Can’t find a list.

I searched Talk. I searched the wiki. It’s not in the Woodshop section, and it’s not on the Sawstop page.

I know Woodshop wants the same material taught consistently in 101, so I looked for something that tells the instructors what material to teach. The Woodshop Basics page on the wiki is just a blank placeholder page and I couldn’t find anything in the committee drive.

Here are the things I think I remember:

  • Metal in proximity any time the blade is moving (e.g., staples in pallets, rulers, or the saw sled)
  • Green wood (??% moisture?)
  • Laser cut wood
  • Using the dado blade
  • Graphite / graphite cloth

I don’t suppose there is a reminder list posted on the wall in the woodshop?

If someone can point me to the right place, I’ll link to it from some of the obvious places.

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ssshh. It’s a secret :wink:

I believe tape measure is another one.

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As seen on TV, a hot dog. :yum:

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Also hot dog sized human fingers.

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Effectively, anything that is conductive. Yes Lasered wood is conductive, as is green wood, metal, etc.

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Yes, I get that but I was looking for some examples that are a little more explicit. There have been some things (like lasered wood) that weren’t necessarily obvious to everyone until we found out the hard way. Another example … at roughly what percent moisture content does green wood become conductive?

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Not sure if this helps, but I found this on their website, though it doesn’t directly answer your question Chris.

If you are unsure whether the material you need to cut is conductive, you can make test cuts using Bypass Mode to determine if it will activate the safety system’s brake. The red light on the control box will flash to indicate conductivity.

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Charred wood - from fire, laser, etc…
Chemical treated lumber
Green wood
Wet lumber
Metal shards (staples, etc…)
Fingers, steaks, and hot dogs/sausages

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I believe painted wood like for picture frames can as well? I seem to recall that from my intro class.

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Thanks everyone for your inputs.

Since it does appear to be common knowledge, but undocumented, I wrote a short section on the Sawstop wiki page.

Anyone can feel free to add to or correct it.

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I’m not an avid woodworker but am comfortable with table saws so I typically favor the other table saw over using the SawStop. In order to activate the Bypass mode, are the keys with the machine? I’ve never noticed them on the few occasions when I’ve used it. If someone is going through the process to activate the Bypass mode because they are unsure of their material, why not just use the other saw?

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Theres a lot of physical information on the sawstop in the file cabinet right outside the woodshop door in a green folder labeled sawstop or white binder labeled sawstop table saw docs which may have the actual list. Wouldn’t making test cuts be dangerous/costly if there was a nail or something hidden in the wood to damage the blade, seems weird they would say disable all these safety features and just cut it. I thought that’s why there was the metal detector and holding the sides of the piece you’re trying to cut to the blade without actually running the blade to see if the indicator light remains green.

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Not necessarily painted wood, unless the paint is conductive. One instance that set off the Saw Stop here was a member that cut a frame that he thought was just painted, but had actually been silver leafed.

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Is it a true metal detector? Would it detect wet or charred wood or some of these other things?

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I was just trying to add that to the paint mention on the wiki but still can’t log in, thanks for mentioning it. I’m assuming lead based paint would trip it too, though I’d hope we didn’t have anyone tablesawing something that had that on it period, not just because of a chance to ruin the blade.

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Sorry! Working on it!

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No problem. Is it just me that can’t login, because it’s probably my wiki literacy problem then. I have no clue what username and password to use

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That’s a great question, no idea! The blade will detect wet wood to a point if you hold it up against it on but not running. The little metal detector thing that is kept on the bottom of the left leg detected metal for Chris when he was teaching our class on Fri however I went to use it Sunday(?) And I couldn’t get it to do anything but constantly detect metal even just holding it in thin air. Kept it as far away from the arm that has a metal plate in it and anything else metal and it still went off. Mr.Ghaly would probably be able to enlighten you a little better

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We do have metal detectors in woodshop to detect nails, staples, screws, etc. It will not detect the charred wood or wet wood. Holding wood up to the blade will also only let you know if the outside is dry or not, there may still be enough moisture inside the wood to trip it.

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When I took WSB they mentioned that certain types of metallic paints on picture frame molding had tripped it.

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