Safety Switch

[MikeDingas]

One member posted an incident where they lost power at night during a cutting operation. Avoiding injury in the darkness was a really concern. Some excellent suggestions were offered. Here's another.

Refer to the attachment: The idea is to provide a method to remove power from a power tool if you lose all power to the shop. This would prevent the tool from restarting automatically once power was restored. The circuit is simple. S1 is a momentary contact switch. When depressed it applies power to relay K1. The upper set of contacts will keep the relay closed as long as power is maintained. The lower contacts route power to the tool only if K1 is energized. If power is lost, K1 de-energizes removing power from the tool. Power can only be reapplied by pressing S1 again.

If you decide to try this be sure that S1 and K1 are rated properly for your voltage and current needs. You'll also need one 'circuit' for each power tool of concern (i.e., table saw, bandsaw, router).

[Pop]

Mike...similar circuit to that I use for my remote start/stop switch for the dust removal system in my shop. By adding a normally closed push buttom to the other side of the coil (K1) you can stop any piece of equipment plugged into the receptacle 'on purpose'. I added a switch above my bench to make it more convenient to start or stop the dust collection system I have in a small addition outside my workshop. It was cheaper and easier than buying the switched blast gates for every tool.