As you know, woodworking has its hazards. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, every year table saws are involved in over 60,000 injuries (3,000 of these result in amputations) and rack up almost $2 billion in injury related costs. Our goal is to significantly reduce that number of injuries.

We have to admit, we never tire of hearing stories of how SawStop has saved people from serious injury. On May 30th of this year, John Miller was relieved that he was an owner of a saw that stopped short of taking his finger. He has always been happy with his SawStop Industrial Cabinet Saw but he has never been happier with it than since his accident.

When John was in the market for a saw, he did his research - two years of research to be exact. He wanted to be thorough. After working many years on a 10" JET 1 ½ HP Contractor Saw, he was ready for an upgrade. He looked at many different cabinet saws on the market but said, "It was obvious from the moment of my first turn to raise the blade that the SawStop 10" Industrial Cabinet Saw was head and shoulders above even the best of the cabinet saws. And all the benefits of the mobile base and quality fence and trunnion adjustment were great advantages. I noticed all these advantages even before the easily removable riving knife and the dust collection."

The breakthrough innovations, premium features and reliable performance appealed to John in addition to the SawStop safety system that stops the blade within 5 milliseconds of detecting contact with skin. John says, "I would have bought it without that, but honestly the safety system clinched the deal!"

John called us on June 17 to return his cartridge for a free replacement. He was only too happy to tell us his story. "I was ripping a 2" by 24" piece of 3/8" walnut with my right hand and I used my left hand to assist on the back side of the blade. My thumb touched the back side of the blade," John remembered.

John estimates that he would have lost the tip of his thumb, including half of his nail, if SawStop's safety system hadn't detected his finger and stopped the blade before serious damage could be done. John said that after his accident he, "cleaned and covered the scratch with a band aid for one day. After that no band aid was needed."

John is back in business now, working in his home shop in Washington State. We're thrilled that another potential tragedy was avoided and that John is back in his shop doing what he loves. John is one of over 600 people who have reported a save while using our saws. Have you had a finger save on a SawStop saw that you'd like to share? If so, please email us to tell us about it.