Yes, unfortunately I have seen that happen. Not fun. The one we had had a plastic belt cover which got completely smashed off in the tumble. The company I was working for at the time had bought it for some small work they had to do. The supplier wasn't able to sell them a spare cover so the whole thing went straight in the scrap bin. Sad but true.
Anyway, on a lighter note:
Here's my donkey saw.
Got it from a scrap yard. It was just a big ball of dirt and rust, with a bird's nest in the middle.
The scrappy threw it on the weighbridge and sold it me for it's weight in cast iron.
It took a lot of work to get it into this condition, but was definitely worth it.
I love the thing.
It will munch it's way through anything that will fit in the vice, and it's a big vice.
Just leave it running and go off and do other things.
Blades are comparatively cheap and last for ages. The good ones are solid HSS, so when they do finally wear out, I grind them up to make knives, scrapers and welding slag chippers.
one_rod.