Bosch REAXX Portable Table Saw Preview

 

Bosch Takes Jobsite Safety to New Levels with REAXX Table Saw (GTS1041A)

Just a few weeks ago, I attended the Bosch Innovation Experience, which is the event they hold to show off their upcoming tools for the year to the media during World of Concrete. There were several great previews, but they always have one or two that seem to be in the early stages of development, so while they want to get feedback, they also ask us to sign a statement saying we won’t talk about them until they are closer to launch. This year, that was particularly hard to do because of the tool that they have just revealed called the REAXX Jobsite Table Saw. We saw a demonstration, and I can tell you that everyone there was truly impressed and eager to share news of this tool with all of you out there who love tools as much as we do. We really thought it would be months, if not closer to a year, before they allowed us to talk about it and show pictures and videos, but low and behold, they are letting us tell you now.

So what is the REAXX saw? It’s a saw that will change the way we think of safety on the jobsite. Most of you are probably familiar with SawStop and their flesh detecting technology. Though we have not seen one in person yet, we understand they have recently come out with a jobsite saw, which is certainly a game changer. No doubt, a little inconvenience of having to fuss with a saw is better than losing a finger. But the major complaints with SawStop in general are that the blade is ruined if the saw is triggered to stop and drop the blade, and that the cartridge, which wedges into the blade to stop it is kind of expensive to replace.   So how does REAXX solve those problems? Watch for yourself and see if you are not as impressed as we were when we saw it in person.

What you can't hear in the video, is that when it triggers, it's LOUD!  It certainly gets your attention.  And I can’t tell you exactly how it works, but I do know that the tool engineers at Bosch called on the automotive department to borrow technology from airbags. When the blade senses flesh, the cartridge goes off and pushes the blade down and over. It can’t pop back up through the throat plate. The blade is not damaged, and I witnessed a cartridge change, which took less than a minute. The blade does stop, but as you saw in the video, it’s not the immediate break that the SawStop technology uses. Hopefully, you’ll never need to use both sides of the two-shot cartridge, but if you set one side off, you can quickly flip the cartridge and keep working and order a spare at a later time.

But does it perform?

Here’s what Bosch Product Manager Craig Wilson had to say about that:

“We’ve engineered the Bosch REAXX Portable Jobsite Table Saw to offer users the best injury mitigation system available in the power tool industry. But even with the safety enhancements incorporated, the award-winning attributes of the Bosch 4100 table saw series remain. There’s a heritage in jobsite table saws that Bosch has spent decades building and users will find that this saw maintains that high standard.”

On-board Control Panel

The computerized on-board control panel is easy to read. It’s color coded for ease of use. Green means the saw is ready to be used. Yellow means the operator has put the saw in bypass mode to cut conductive material. Red means the saw cannot be used, and blue means it’s time to service the saw.

How many times can you reset the saw?

We asked that question at the press event. The on-board control panel keeps track of what is going on in the saw, and the number of activations of the cartridge. Once you have reach 25 activations, you’ll need to take the saw in to have it looked over. But hopefully, you won’t ever reach that number. And you can store extra cartridges on board, so there is never a need for down-time on the jobsite.

Features:

There is a phone app that allows you to communicate with the saw through the on-board control panel. And you can access instructions, videos, and manage the saw for users. You can use the app to select who can use the bypass mode. And you can even lock the saw from your phone.

• The REAXX Comes with the Smart Guard System which offers extra safety and protection from kick-back.
• Equipped with a 15 amp, 4.0HP Max Motor that generates 3650 RPM
• Includes the SquareLock Rip Fence which is used with the optimized rail system for precision cutting
• Cast aluminum table
• Capacity: Rip up tot 25” on 4’ x 8’ sheet goods, with rear outfeed support providing and extra 18” of support to longer pieces
• And a Tool Skool Favorite: The Gravity-Rise Stand. Sets up easily, rolls smoothly on the 8” wheels.

The Bosch REAXX Jobsite Table Saw (Model GTS1041A) will be available Fall 2015. The saw with the gravity-rise stand and outfeed will sell for approximately $1500. Replacement cartridges will run a little under $100, but remember, you get two fires per cartridge, so that’s $50 per fire.  We are certainly looking forward to getting our hands on this one and testing it out.  Check back for more info.