From: bennett@adobe.com(Bennett Leeds)
Subject: Re: Power Miter Box Safety Warning (plus flame warnings)
Reply-To: bennett@adobe.com
Organization: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Distribution: na
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 19:16:07 GMT

Gary Benson writes
> >Bill McGeehan (IRMTAQA2@SIVM.BITNET) wrote:
> >: From: Bill McGeehan
> >:   This weekend, while using my Craftsman power miter box, I was
> >: showered with a spray of metal. It seems that when I moved it to
> >: the 45 degree angle I needed, the fence didn't move enough to clear
> >: the blade. When I looked further, there was a chunk of wood that
> >: had fallen through the table from the previous cut. This didn't
> >
> >: to get some opinions. Should a product be able to function this
> >: way? It seems negligent in that the pointer showed I was locked in
> >
> >Ok, since you asked......
> >
> >QUIT WHINING!

Not that Bill needs me to defend him, but I detected no whining in his
original post. He had a minor accident with his tool and asked whether
we thought it was Sears' fault or not. 


>  No matter how hard any manufacturer tries to make his tools
> >safe and/or fooproof, not all circumstances are forseeable.  That chunk of
> >wood that blocked the motion wasn't there when they shipped it.

But is certainly is foreseeable that since the saw produces offcuts that are
chunks of wood, that these chunks could get caught in the saw's mechanisms. 
As Bill stated, the feedback that the saw provided  - the angle pointer - 
showed that all was ok.


>  It's your
> >responsibility to see that you keep the mechanism of all your tools (all
> >the moving equipment you posess) clean and in proper working order.

It's the manufacturer's responsibility to design the tools so that they are
safe to use under the conditions they are sold to be used within. I'd say
that for a cutoff saw, that designing so that cutoffs don't get wedged in
the tool is something to be expected of a manufacturer. Remember, according
to Bill, the chunk of wood was below the table surface, not something
you'd notice in normal operation.


> >The nature of the environment in which this equipment is required to  
function
> >is dirty, fraught with peril and therefore deserves extra attention.

Therefore, extra attention is also deserved at the tool design stage.


> >This is not meant to be a personal attack but in our sue happy society, I
> >have had my fill of the general attitude of "protect me from myself".  When
> >it comes down to it, your the one with his finger on the trigger and no one
> >can protect you but you.

No one mentioned suing anybody until you spoke up. 

While I certainly don't defend the litigious nature of our society, let us
remember that there is responsibility on both sides. Before these "protect
me from myself" laws were enacted, how many babies died from choking on
small pieces of toys? How many people died in cars that didn't come equipped
with seatbelts? How many people died in Ford Pintos? How many Suzuki's
rolled over and injured occupants?


> In article <BzH8uB.9xG@fc.hp.com> scot@fc.hp.com (Scot Heath) writes: 
> My own message to Bill: no, Sears has no liability unless one of their
> official spokespersons is standing beside you saying, ok, yup, go ahead and
> do that, yes, that's fine, do that, yup, and so on.

Luckily this is not true. 

Say it was true - and take a different case. Suppose a carbide tooth hadn't
been welded onto the blade properly, and it flew off the first time you went
to cut with the saw, and the piece hit you. Would Sears still have no
liability since no "official spokesperson" was standing beside you? Of
course not. Sears has a responsibility to ensure that their tools don't 
harm users who are operating them properly. That means supplying working
blade guards, marking danger areas, ensuring quality control, and designing
the tool so that under expected use it is not dangerous.

- Bennett Leeds
bennett@adobe.com
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking