# I would like to bypass the safety key



## Haynie (Apr 21, 2013)

I have an old craftsman radial arm saw.  Carftsman being craftsman made it do the thing will not turn on unless I have the little oval yellow two pronged safety key.  I misplaced the damn thing again and this time I am sure it is gone for good.  It has been two years since I used the saw and lord knows where the little yellow thing wondered off to.  

Anyone know how to bypass this little feature?  I have no little kids running around in my shop and in my shop when one machine is running the rest are unplugged.  There is no safety issue to worry about here.


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## Smitty37 (Apr 21, 2013)

Haynie said:


> I have an old craftsman radial arm saw.  Carftsman being craftsman made it do the thing will not turn on unless I have the little oval yellow two pronged safety key.  I misplaced the damn thing again and this time I am sure it is gone for good.  It has been two years since I used the saw and lord knows where the little yellow thing wondered off to.
> 
> Anyone know how to bypass this little feature?  I have no little kids running around in my shop and in my shop when one machine is running the rest are unplugged.  There is no safety issue to worry about here.


  All the plug does is complete a circuit - same ithing a fuse does. 

If you can find a piece of wire that will fit in the recepticle you can just make a 'makeshift' key.  I would use insulated wire and not leave any bare wire showing.  

Second way - if you can get at the wiring to the recepticle you can just short it out so it will appear to the circuit that the plug is in.


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## KenV (Apr 21, 2013)

I used tohace some tools like that --  made pegs to fit and that worked.


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## Curly (Apr 21, 2013)

Pull out the switch and I believe you will find that the key is to bridge the inner and outer parts of the switch. You can either get a new switch and glue in the key, figure out a way to glue the parts of the existing switch together or replace the switch with a toggle or rocker switch of the correct rating. 

Should I mention that it is a good idea to unplug the saw before you do any of the above?


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## maxwell_smart007 (Apr 21, 2013)

Rather than bypass a safety feature - which is never a good idea - why not look online for a replacement?  I'm sure you can get a key for a buck or two somewhere.


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## ed4copies (Apr 21, 2013)

Idea number one:
Plastic Casting - Craftsman Safety Key | www.connecticuthackerspace.com


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## ed4copies (Apr 21, 2013)

Idea number 2: (I have no idea WHICH of their radial arm saws you have)
Craftsman Radial Arm Saw Parts : eReplacementParts.com


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## ed4copies (Apr 21, 2013)

Idea #3:  (Took a stab--this fits mine)

Key [22255] - $6.59 at eReplacementParts.com


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## Mike_in_Atlanta (Apr 21, 2013)

or you search for one on ebay - New Craftsman Yellow Oval Safety Key for Switches Fixed $2 99 Any | eBay
or Sears Craftsman Yellow Switch Safety Key Table Saw Radial Arm Jointer Band Drill | eBay


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## Smitty37 (Apr 21, 2013)

maxwell_smart007 said:


> Rather than bypass a safety feature - which is never a good idea - why not look online for a replacement?  I'm sure you can get a key for a buck or two somewhere.


I can tell you were not raised on a farm Andrew.:biggrin:


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## jaywood1207 (Apr 21, 2013)

Order a new one and don't remove it.  I have never taken them out of my machines and that way they don't get lost.


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## Smitty37 (Apr 21, 2013)

I never remove them either...nobody gets to play in my sandbox but me and I pull plugs if someone comes who might "try" my tools out.


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## pensbydesign (Apr 21, 2013)

lost mine about five years ago, took some scrap plastic and made two wedges that fit in the two slots so it will grab the switch inside and allow it to pull out and on can easily be removed if i need to. use nothing more than a knife to trim it until it fit


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## SteveG (Apr 21, 2013)

Aloha Mark
I have a spare one of the oval design. PM me if you want it with your address.
Steve


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## frank123 (Apr 21, 2013)

A switch is a simple device, anything that switches the right number of wires will work (i.e. single or double pole and single or double throw).

Just buy a new one at Radio Shack or a hardware store in a size that will fit and put a new switch in and be done with it.

Tinkering with it or bypassing it will work, of course, but is still a jury rigged fix -to make something do something it was not intended to do- for a machine tool that deserves better treatment because you own it.


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## KenV (Apr 21, 2013)

maxwell_smart007 said:


> Rather than bypass a safety feature - which is never a good idea - why not look online for a replacement?  I'm sure you can get a key for a buck or two somewhere.



You have a point -- paint the peg yellow ---


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## maxwell_smart007 (Apr 21, 2013)

Smitty37 said:


> maxwell_smart007 said:
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> > Rather than bypass a safety feature - which is never a good idea - why not look online for a replacement?  I'm sure you can get a key for a buck or two somewhere.
> ...



You guessed wrong, Smitty - raised on a farm, and have a healty respect for safety features of machinery.


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## Smitty37 (Apr 22, 2013)

maxwell_smart007 said:


> Smitty37 said:
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 Well you fooled me...I know a lot of farmers - did some farming myself and lived in a dairy farming area in NY and the ajoining part of PA.  When a piece of equipment broke on Sunday afternoon and they had to get the crop off the field before the rain hit - they did whatever needed to be done to get that equipment operational, and if that meant disabling safety features they got disabled.


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## Sataro (Apr 22, 2013)

My solution was to use heavy nylon cable ties in each side of the switch. Not the best solution, but it worked ok for me.


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## sbell111 (Apr 22, 2013)

Smitty37 said:


> maxwell_smart007 said:
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And once they got the crop in, they drove down to the farm store to buy the part to properly repair the item.  Otherwise, their farm eventually turned into a useless (or dangerous) pile of bailing wire and duct tape.

(It should be noted that the OP hasn't used this tool in two years.  His crops are in.)


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## Smitty37 (Apr 22, 2013)

sbell111 said:


> Smitty37 said:
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 Most of the time they would, but it actually would depend on what had been disabled and how they disabled it.  

Just as an illustration -- My lawn tractor will not start unless you are sitting on the seat, have the speed control in 'park',  have the brake peddle fully depressed, have the blade disengaged, and have the transmission in neutral.   In addition, it will shut off if you try to engage the blade while it is in reverse.  If I ever have to bypass that last feature it will never be restored...for the simple reason the way I use my tractor it is not needed for safety.  The others all serve a useful purpose and I would restore them if I had to bypass them.  

There are similar safety features on farm equipment, some are really serving a usefull purpose and some are not much more than an annoyance.


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## sbell111 (Apr 22, 2013)

You can bet that every one of the safety features was added for a useful purpose.  The engineers are not sitting around trying to come up with ways to 'annoy' you.

My FIL tends to remove blade fences from his tools and never replace them because he finds them to be annoying.  The mere fact that he believes that doesn't mean that they aren't handy devices.


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## Smitty37 (Apr 22, 2013)

Truth is that every one of those safety features was added to comply with some government regulation.  Having owned lawn tractors continuously since 1969 and having seen most of them come into existance I am aware that they did not start being incorporated prior to the enactment of OSHA.  Given that as with all OSHA regulations in general some serve a purpose...some don't. 

I also tend to remove blade cover guards and not put them back on but I  highly recommend against doing that even though they are a PITA. Saws can bite nastily and very quickly--backing my lawn tractor up at law mowing speed can't.

EDIT: On one of our lawn tractors we disabled the "in the seat" switch because it was positioned such that if the seat was as far forward as it would go (where my wife and one of my daughters had to set it to operate clutch/brake) the seat did not engage the switch and the switvch could not be easily moved.  The maker fixed that on the next model.  



sbell111 said:


> You can bet that every one of the safety features was added for a useful purpose.  The engineers are not sitting around trying to come up with ways to 'annoy' you.
> 
> My FIL tends to remove blade fences from his tools and never replace them because he finds them to be annoying.  The mere fact that he believes that doesn't mean that they aren't handy devices.


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## sbell111 (Apr 22, 2013)

Smitty37 said:


> Truth is that every one of those safety features was added to comply with some government regulation.  Having owned lawn tractors continuously since 1969 and having seen most of them come into existance I am aware that they did not start being incorporated prior to the enactment of OSHA.  Given that as with all OSHA regulations in general some serve a purpose...some don't.
> 
> I also tend to remove blade cover guards and not put them back on but I  highly recommend against doing that even though they are a PITA. Saws can bite nastily and very quickly--backing my lawn tractor up at law mowing speed can't.
> 
> ...



Honestly, I've lost interest in this converation, also.  You 'win'.


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## Smitty37 (Apr 22, 2013)

sbell111 said:


> Smitty37 said:
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> > Truth is that every one of those safety features was added to comply with some government regulation.  Having owned lawn tractors continuously since 1969 and having seen most of them come into existance I am aware that they did not start being incorporated prior to the enactment of OSHA.  Given that as with all OSHA regulations in general some serve a purpose...some don't.
> ...


 Me too - so we agree again.


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