So, I am going to press this a bit more, not because I want to start an argument, but because I think that there are some important points to be made here. I’m hoping this is taken in the spirit of an open discussion and civil debate.
My point was meant to be that you initially made a statement, and now two more, that may be viewed as facts but are opinions.
“A fact is a statement that can be proven true or false. An opinion is an expression of a person's feelings that cannot be proven.”
“but most of us have bypassed the switches”, “No one wants to admit to it”, and "most experienced users (have bypassed the switches)" are not facts. Actually, the second statement can easily be shown to be not factual, as in this thread alone two users in addition to yourself have admitted it:
For the sake of helping those who are using this forum, I think it is important that fact vs. opinion be clear.
Your statement “However, I can say from personal experience, without any interference from the cover switches, my machine, a B machine with over 2000 hours carving time, has not only had fewer problems but has been a lot easier to use.” is a fact. However, I can also offer the fact that after I did replace a faulty switch early on, I have had over 1000 trouble-free hours on my machine. My point here is that it is not necessary to bypass the switches to fix cover switch problems – the problems can be fixed without compromising safety features.
Take a look at this thread:
As Al explains, and as is backed up by the experience of the author of the thread himself, an electronics failure can cause the cut motor to start unexpectedly at any time – and it did. “One just has to be smart enough to keep objects away from the spindle while it's spinning.” with switches bypassed is not sufficient, because it can start spinning at any time with an electronics failure.
So my second point is there is more information on this topic that has been presented elsewhere, but not here. I would like anyone reading this thread and considering bypassing switches to be informed.