Okay, I've just got to explain the ice water. It had nothing to do with bleeding, numbing effect or contact detection. The high speed camera they used needed an extreme amount of light to be able to get a good image due the very short time available to capture each frame. The lights were so bright I had to wear the welding helmet to even be able to see - it was like staring at the sun without the helmet. The byproduct of all the light was heat. The lights were so hot that they would scorch my hand in seconds so the ice water cooled off my skin to start with and gave me a little more time to touch the blade before I got burned by the lights.

Steve Gass
President, SawStop LLC