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Shedders Review

Men’s Sheds have been approached by an inventor with a new invention he is trying out. We asked our Ambassadors to share their impressions…

Immanuel Joseph Doss’s tool is designed for safely cutting wood using a manual saw.

He came up with this idea when he saw his three-year-old son being taught how to cut wood in his nursery and also after witnessing a professional joiner cutting his thumb while sawing.

The tool is very simple, clips onto wood and can be used up to 2″ (50mm) in thickness. It is suitable for both left and right-handed people.

Immanuel said “The aim of the tool is to provide a suitable guide for the initial cut, protecting the indexing thumb – especially for beginners and DIY personnel who have still not perfected the smooth cut.

If the hand saw does not have a smooth flow and gets stuck, people tend to put in additional force which can cause the saw to bounce off the groove resulting in injury.”

He came up with this idea when he saw his three-year-old son being taught how to cut wood in his nursery and also after witnessing a professional joiner cutting his thumb while sawing

Immanuel carried out some market research on joiners in his local area and based on their feedback the design was perfected.

The tool was well received with his local nursery, they felt it was very useful for them to teach children woodwork with minimal risk, it was also well-received among people who have difficulty gripping pieces of wood who may be at increased risk of injury.

“The tool is also aimed at the home DIY enthusiast for whom the hand saw is the main tool of cutting.

This, in combination with plywood/thinner sheets and also no suitable holding vices makes the risk of injury greater – this tool will reduce that risk significantly and also give them a safe initiating cut.”

Thanks to Patrick Abrahams and the Shedders from Frome Shed, Doug Mizon and the Shedders from Halesworth Men’s Shed, and Paul Egerton and the Shedders from West Bletchley Shed for taking the time to use and review this product. Check out their thoughts below…

USER FEEDBACK

  • The absence of any guidance material on how to place it across timber that has to be cut in half was a bit of a turn-off for those guys who don’t do the Internet so couldn’t watch the YouTube clip (we do not have the facility to show it the Shed). 
  • Having tried it myself, I can see it has uses perhaps for those who have learning difficulties or those who have trouble cutting in straight lines – I do not, so tend to use the traditional joiners cutting method of thumb as guide.
  • Our female members thought it could be very useful. 
  • My own view is that, if it is aimed at children, perhaps the part you hold needs to be rather smaller.  It seems a bit chunky for small hands.
  • “Richard, Have you ever cut your finger sawing anything ?”

“Loads of times – Yes”

“Do you think this particular device here would be useful to prevent people cutting their fingers when sawing ?”

“I think it’s a very clever device, which could stop a lot of people damaging their fingers when sawing.”

PRODUCT USE

  • I gave it to two Shedders – they quickly understood how it worked. However, using the device on anything larger than a 1.5” (4 cm) piece of wood, feels like hard work separating it, and a worry it might break – We did not want to try anything larger for fear of destruction.
  • I think it would be very useful if some indication of the thickness of wood that this tool can be used on as it doesn’t say. It appears to be quite difficult to get it to sit correctly onto the wood, but I soon worked it out.
  • Where it would score is if it were to sit right across the piece of wood or board to be cut thus ensuring that a straight cut is maintained particularly when cutting board. If there were a larger version for larger pieces of board, then I could see greater adoption.

MARKETING

We think it needs to have better name than a ”safety hand tool” – Finding information on it is tough. Some suggestions – HandsawGard, FingersavingSawing – These give more descriptive names than “safety tool”  

I would price this at higher than £4.99 – Probably nearer £7.99

FINAL THOUGHTS

  • We will be keeping this in the Shed, with the idea that novice users may find it useful when hand sawing.
  • As a training aid, it’s a good idea. A great start, but more refinement to allow for thicker and larger timber plus some instructions for non-Internet users would be my feedback.

Visit the links below if you would like to find out more about the Manna Safety Tool or purchase one for your Shed.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/373523428263?hash=item56f7bb33a7:g:7d0AAOSwO0dgZuvG

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