It amazes me how in America the cabinet style table saw is still favoured above the European Slider. I own a European slider, and it allows me to have my hands further away from the blade, it allows for easier support of the workpiece...

In my opinion it's just way safer, especially if you keep the safety guard in tact.

The other culture difference I've noticed with American furniture makers is that they use the table saw for many more operations than we europeans do. For making rabbets, we generally use a shaper. Shapers can be daunting machines, but used with the safety equipment they come with they can be a blessing to work with. Things like kickback if you try to create a rabbet are prevented.

It just feels strange to see that difference between these two continents, maybe OSHA is just way more lenient, or the idea of the importance of employee safety is something totally different..