Table and miter saws are involved in nearly 40,000 hand and finger injuries each year, according to our analysis of data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. While no power saw can prevent human contact with the blade, SawStop’s CB31230 can stop itself before it does serious damage.

Circuitry within this large table, or cabinet, saw senses when the blade contacts a finger or hand by sensing current in the body. It then sends an aluminum block into the blade, stopping and lowering the blade into the table within just 3 to 5 milliseconds, SawStop says.

The device worked as promised on chicken thighs and hot dogs we used to simulate real mishaps, reducing a potentially devastating injury to a small nick. It was also free of false triggers, even with damp wood. Price: $2,800 for the saw, plus a new brake cartridge ($69) and blade ($75 and up) whenever you trigger the brake. But avid do-it-yourselfers could find the peace of mind worth it.

SawStop’s finger-saving technology could help make other saws less risky. The CPSC recently supported a petition by SawStop for mandatory rules to prevent injuries from blade contact. While it’s too early to tell whether the proposals will become law, several steps can make your current sawing safer:

Mind the basics. Wear eye and ear protection and a dust mask. Tie back loose hair. Avoid loose-fitting clothes and jewelry. And read the safety warnings in your operator’s manual.

Stand correctly. Distribute weight evenly between your feet. Don’t stand directly behind the cut line. Avoid leaning into the cut. And use a push stick to guide wood past the blade.

Use the safeguards. Don’t remove the blade guard, spreader or splitter, or antikickback device from table saws. Adjust the rip fence parallel to the blade. For miter saws, tighten the holding clamp to secure the wood.