[lumbering_on]

At the end of the day, it s your call. if you can afford it, why not? The fit, finish, power, usability, and safety are fantastic (yes, I have one). The only reason I got one was 1) My old Delta contractor saw wasn t going to do what I wanted in the long run, 2) saw a very very experienced woodworker on YT (Mathias Wandell) have an accident and realized the Reality that it can happen to anyone regardless of experience (Diresta too). That was enough to push me over the edge. Don t regret it one bit. If you Do decide to get it, don t skimp on the accessories, especially on the Mobile Base.

- Rayne

In addition to those videos, and they are worth watching, I came across this video a couple of years back.

Not a well-known YT channel, but he's run a cabinet shop for over 40 years. Notice that he's using quite a good safety set up, but still makes a big mistake.

 

[lumbering_on]

I m all for safety (also motherhood and apple pie), but I ve never liked the way SS achieves it. From the beginning, I was convinced it s not necessary to stop the blade, it only needs to drop beneath the table. Slamming it into that sacrificial aluminum block is like stopping your car by driving into a bridge abutment.

Bosch came up with a rival design (I actually saw one in the flesh at my local hardware store), but I believe SS sued and shut them down. Too bad, because I like to see any monopoly challenged. Videos of Bosch s looked good, and much easier and cheaper to reset in the event of a triggering. And it didn t ruin the blade.

- runswithscissors

I'm not a fan of what they did, but the founder was a lawyer, so that's what happens. Festool's parent company actually bought them, so I'm interested to see what happens when the patents expire in a year or two. The Bosch saw is still available here, but it's only in a contractor saw, so it's pretty limited.