Robatoy wrote in
:


Actually, it would make surprisingly little difference in the size of
the nick although there could be some. There is only so much work you
can do in 5ms. IOW, there is no residual 'wind-down' during which time
any further cutting can take place. When that blade is gone out of the
path, it is gone. The cutting path recedes backwards and downwards at
that speed, you'd have to catch the blade on the way down. SawStop's
effectiveness isn't so much in the stopping of the blade as it is in
the disappearing act.


Well, that's why I asked about that a few days ago. Imagine, if you
will, though the unlikely event of getting a glove or some string caught
in the blade. If your hand gets pulled in to the blade because of that,
stopping the blade is the only way to keep someone safer. (If the blade
disappears, your hand is going to slam on the cast iron top. If you get
cut and then stuck, you could conceivably die. A regular saw might do
the same thing, though.)

Obviously, both mechanisms are there for a reason, and perform different
vital functions in making the saw stop effective.

Puckdropper