Patent ID: 7347131

Claim:
A miter saw comprising: a base adapted to support a workpiece during cutting; a motor; a rotatable, circular blade driven by the motor, where the blade includes teeth around its periphery; a pivot arm assembly associated with the base and supporting the blade above the base, where the pivot arm assembly is adapted to pivot down toward the base to move the blade toward the base to cut a workpiece supported by the base, and where the pivot arm assembly includes a handle adapted to be grasped by a user so that the user can move the blade down toward the base by hand; and a safety system having a detection subsystem adapted to detect an occurrence of an unsafe condition between a person and the blade, and a reaction subsystem adapted to mitigate the unsafe condition, where the reaction subsystem includes a brake mechanism adjacent the blade, and where at least a part of the brake mechanism is adapted to pivot into the teeth of the blade to engage the blade.