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Eurekazone's new Powerbench aims to replace the table saw

By Rain Noe - June 8, 2010

in Object Culture | Video

Contractor Carlos Osorio has 1.5 million dollars that he can spend with seven fingers. The flooring installer severely damaged one of his hands while using a Ryobi table saw, then sued the company for "defective design" and won a settlement, causing a flurry of debate in woodworking blogs and forums: Was it Osorio's fault, or Ryobi's? One thing is certain: There are reportedly around 38,000 accidents involving table saws each year, or about one every 14 minutes! From now until this time tomorrow, another 104 people will have gone to the emergency room with a table-saw-related injury.

Enter Eurekazone. We first covered this New-Jersey-based company and their Smart Woodworking System back in 2008 and interviewed founder Dino Makropoulos around the same time. His is essentially the story of an inventor using clever design to replace an existing, well-entrenched system of products, and the challenges faced therein.

Since founding the company in 2000, Makropoulos has been working towards a massive undertaking: Replacing the table saw--the main workhorse of many carpentry, woodworking and modelmaking shops--with something easier to use, safer, and cheaper. At its barest, the replacement comes in the form of a "Smart Base" that attaches to any plain ol' circular saw. The saw and base then ride on a guide rail, suddenly turning a rough device into a precision tool.

His incremental improvements and expansions to this system have led to its most developed form, the EZ One Powerbench seen in the video below.

By going through woodworking forums, you find that Eurekazone's system has gained an Apple-like small but fanatical following, and opposition as well; old-guard woodworkers who have invested thousands upon thousands on big-ass tablesaws do not take kindly at all to an invention that promises to supplant their tool for a fraction of the price while improving the safety record.

In a bit of timely luck, Eurekazone put the finishing touches on their latest product, the EZ One Powerbench, around the time the Ryobi lawsuit started making news. The Powerbench is essentially a series of aluminum extrusions, assembled in such a way that you have slide-able stops and support along three axes; you can then attach a circular saw or router and cut virtually any size of wood in any direction. With table saw manufacturers now under fire and growing awareness of the tool's inherent danger--and financial liability--Makropoulos seems to be getting close to his dream of replacing the table saw at last.

(In my efforts to cram in information, the video comes in a bit long; those already familiar with Eurekazone's system can fast-forward to 2:03 to see the Powerbench.)

Makropoulos realizes he has an uphill battle ahead of him and that the widely-used table saw will not be an easy incumbent to unseat. But he plans to target trade schools, the educational market and even ID department woodshops, hoping that a new generation of woodworkers, unencumbered by history, will see the wisdom in a safer, faster, and less expensive tool. What school could say no to that?

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William Stacey

14 years ago

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@yosef. Sawstop prevents hand hitting blade. But does not prevent #1 issue - kickback. Wood flying back at you 100+mph sends many to ER. The riving knife helps, but is not a complete solution. For kickback issue alone, I would still concider ez solution first for most cuts.
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yosef shuman

14 years ago

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...and what's wrong with the SawStop (www.sawstop.com)?

The technology is already developed, It's been commercially available for years, and it's a really impressive product.

I'm not a salesman for anyone, but in SCAD's ID building, we dont use any other kind now, and we haven't had a serious injury yet.
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jeorje

14 years ago

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Please, explain why this invention needs luck to compete with Festool. The bridge is seld adjusting and performs like a clamp.
The tracks are heavy duty allowing the entire system to work without any flexing and limitations that are very typical to other tracks. The table is self adjusting with noumerous sliding stops and clamps. I see nothing to suggest that this system is similar to festool or any other design.
From what I read at the festool forum, the festool customers are trying to "invent" similar ways to get the best out of their system. Search ez at the festool forum and festool at the ez forum. You will see that festool owners are upgrading to the ez system or at least trying to copy all ez inventions.

The ez-one is a unique invention and has nothing to do with festool or others.
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nikitas

14 years ago

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Festool tablesaws, dominos or MFT tables?
I don't thing my Festool sytem is able to compete against the
ez-one powerbench. I tried to order the ez-one today and the inventor saved me $500.00 I will send my MFT to be modified to the ez-one. From my take the market demand for the ez-one is way above and beyond eurekazone's production capabilities.
Visit the ez-forum and see why festool owners are switching or upgrading to the ez smart system.
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makoto

14 years ago

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Good luck competing against Festool
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Shalin

14 years ago

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For more discussion on what seems to be the evolution of the table saw, check out this post:

http://toolmonger.com/2010/06/07/whats-the-next-step-for-table-saws/
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james penn

14 years ago

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The editor ( Rain) only had few hours and one page to test the tool.
All your concerns are valid and legit.
If you visit the tracksawforum you will see the answers and solutions to your concerns.
The ez-one works better than a tablesaw. You can feed the wood perpendicular to the bridge and rotate the saw.
You can do arched doors and cove/crown moldings, cut 1/4" narrow strips and even tapered dados.
The advantage here is that you can do more than you can do with a tablesaw without any jigs.
We need more videos and time to grasp the concept.

Thanks.
JP
Eurekazone
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Gert

14 years ago

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Hey JJ Abrams, use a tripod when you're filming. Even YouTube clips.

Also, how do I put a dado stack in my circ saw?
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- Ben O'Meara
  
  8 years ago
  
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  There is an attachment for using any router to cut dados, rabbits and grooves. They have a great video demonstrating the router attachment. Seems very effective.
  http://www.eurekazone.com
  
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GS

14 years ago

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miter cuts?
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Stephanie Vacher

14 years ago

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This is great, especially for schools with ID shops that want to reduce their rate of injuries. It's nice to see innovation in product design outside of the high-tech arena.

It also seems appropriate that an inventor would be working in a town called Edison :)
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Sinclair

14 years ago

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This is a REALLY good post, and that video is fantastically efficient and informative. I am really impressed Rain, and I want one. Sold. I hope Eurekazone is taking notes on your steez.
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gregeb

14 years ago

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Seems like a nice way to rip boards and sheets. But you have to reach across the board to move the saw, rather than feed the piece from a fixed standing position to a stationary blade (much easier). And table saws work with miter gauges and dado blades and allow for plunge cuts and to handle small parts ...

With finger boards and splitters and saw guards a good table saw is both safe and versatile. Not sure Eurekazone solves a big problem- but the system could be useful in a cabinet shop to split down large boards.
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