COTUIT, MA -- Woodworking tooling manufacturer, Whirlwind Tool Co., which specializes in flesh-sensing table saw technology, has introduced a new patent-pending safety device, the Black Box.

According to Whirlwind founder and inventor David Butler, this latest device can be attached to existing machines, including most woodworking table saws and band saws.

The Black Box device controls the electrical power supplied to the machine and can sense the operators flesh coming too close or in contact with a blade enclosure. Upon sensing the danger of the operator’s proximity to the spinning blade, the Black Box stops the machine in a fraction of a second without causing any damage to the machine which may be immediately restarted by the operator. The emergency stop serves as a warning and learning aid to operators of these dangerous machines.

Butler was trained early as a cabinetmaker and industrial woodworker and has built many classic American period furniture reproductions. He switched vocations to electronics in the military and has enjoyed a lengthy career in computer engineering and related fields from which he has since retired.