Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Fired the cartridge on Sawstop...Questions
I was cutting a taper on my Sawstop PCS using an aluminum taper jig. I was touching the aluminum and it touched the blade and fired the cartridge. Knocked a couple of teeth out of the blade, still usable.
My question is if I had been wearing nitrile/rubber gloves would it have fired?
Second question...if I wear rubber gloves will the Sawstop work at all.
Re: Fired the cartridge on Sawstop...Questions
The SawStop safety system will protect you even if you are wearing gloves. In that case, the system will trigger when the blade cuts through the glove and touches your skin. It is possible that the blade could snag on the glove and pull your hand into the blade, resulting in a slightly deeper cut. That is why SawStop recommends not wearing gloves when using a SawStop saw. However, if you decide to wear gloves, you are still protected.
Re: Fired the cartridge on Sawstop...Questions
I would not use that blade again. Retire it and get a new one.
A.J.
Re: Fired the cartridge on Sawstop...Questions
Sometimes the brake will fire even if you just get too close to the blade, that happened to a friend of mine. He had the adjustable miter set to about 1/8” away from the blade. Oops! I’d have the blade looked at by a trusted sharpener. If the teeth are just missing and there’s no damage to the support behind it, it should be okay. When in doubt, throw it. It’s more likely the blade is damaged if it’s a thin kerf blade. They’re not as robust as a full kerf plate.
I'd send it out for repair
Teeth used to cost me 50 cents apiece in the good old days, when I sent blades in for sharpening. Whatever they cost now has got to be less than the cost of replacing the blade.
Ellis
Re: Fired the cartridge on Sawstop...Questions
Or send it to a sharpening shop that can replace broken/missing teeth.
Re: I'd send it out for repair
I was thinking about that. I have had good luck with sending Forrest blades to Forrest, but this is not a Forrest blade. Not much luck locally.
Re: I'd send it out for repair
I always dealt with an outfit that picked up cutters on a Monday and returned them sharp and repaired, if necessary, by Friday. You'd want to talk to an industrial supplier or a local cabinet shop to see who does their work. It's generic sharpening in the biz.
To answer your question....
The touch of the aluminum would have triggered the firing.
Even particle board, mdf, plywood, etc. can cause a triggering because they can have foreign metallic materials in them....makes no difference whether you are actually touching them...or whether you are gloved or not.
Re: I'd send it out for repair
replacement teeth are $1 apiece here in Colorado Springs
Re: To answer your question....
Care to quote your source about mdf, plywood etc triggering the sawstop because of metallic materials in them? How often does that happen in real life? Even a small nail or staple may not cause the sawstop to fire unless it's grounded.
Re: I'd send it out for repair
WOW! I'm getting an implant tooth and it is north of $5,000. I'll look into carbide flat grind next time. 
Re: I'd send it out for repair
To get the $1 per tooth rate, you have to detach the jaw from the skull and UPS it to the factory with a return paid label. ;^)