The object
Stephen Gass invented SawStop’s flesh-detection system for table saws, using electrical sensing to trigger a brake and retract the blade after skin contact. SawStop says the technology has protected woodworkers in hundreds of thousands of saws, and a 2025 company history describes Gass’s invention and continuing founder status.
01
What Stephen did
invented SawStop’s blade-braking safety technology, which detects skin contact and rapidly stops the saw blade
02
Why it matters
SawStop reports that its system stops a blade in under five milliseconds and is deployed in hundreds of thousands of saws worldwide.
03
Living-status check
SawStop Europe published a profile of Gass and his invention in December 2025.