Weve all been following the lawsuit where a jury awarded a Massachusetts man million dollars for an accident he had while using a Ryobi table saw. (Need to catch up? Click here for an article in the Boston Globe, here for an article in INC. magazine about the SawStop technology and here for a piece from The Oregonian). Catching up with the case is easy, but working with the numbers, not so much.
The Oregonian reported that there are, An estimated 700,000 table saws are in use across the U.S. The Journal of Trauma reports that between 1990 and 2007, 565,670 injuries related to table saws were treated in U.S. emergency departments. Thats an average of 33,274 injuries per year. Of those injuries, it is estimated that 10 percent result in amputation. I found that statistic alarming, and Im willing to bet that most woodworkers did, too. Think about what non-woodworkers might think.
The more we talked about the figures here in the office, the more we wondered if the numbers were real. I don’t intend to doubt the number of injuries that were reported. I’m sure that those numbers are well documented, and insurance companies are similar. Let’s look at the other side of the equation. 700,000 tablesaws were responsible for more than half a million injuries. In 17 years, theres nearly one injury for each table saw being used. How dangerous is this machine?
Are there 700,000 table saws in use in the United States? There must be, I read it on the Internet. Actually, that exact number has already been repeated in an online article. Soon, it will be a fact! (Please note the sarcasm I use in my voice.
After looking at the numbers, it was decided to speak with an industry professional. Someone who has held a position in a number of the companies that sell table saws and other woodworking tools. Someone that has dealt with factories abroad, large chain store orders and has worked a lifetime inside the woodworking machine and tools industry. We needed a reliable source.
We discovered that Sears sold Craftsman tablesaws in large numbers. This was despite them being the only woodworking machine retailer I knew. In its peak, the stores sold approximately 50,000 table saws for contractors and 150,000 benchtops each year. Back a few years, Delta would sell 15,000 to 18,000 Unisaw models each year, as well as 25,000 contractor saws annually. One of the large chain stores placed an order for benchtop table saws in excess of 110,000 units, and that was just for the holiday rush. These numbers dont add up to 700,000.
If that doesnt make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention, take a look at this figure: There is a single factory abroad that produces 700,000 benchtop table saws every year!
It is safe to say that The Oregonian’s quoted figure is inaccurate. When asked to provide a number as to how many table saws are in use within the confines of the United States, our source said, Four million, maybe more.
That certainly changes the injuries-to-table-saws ratio. Is it not?
