Oh boy, all of this RAS talk brings back memories of when I was an apprentice carpenter. I was watching some dim-witted journeyman rip a piece of 1/2" lumber from the wrong end, I guess the "Do Not Rip or Plough From This End" warning lable didn't apply to him. At anyrate, I was on the 2nd floor window as he fired it up, stuffed the board in from the wrong end and it took off like an arrow, probably shot out into a field over a hundred feet. He looked around to see if anyone had seen his blunder, as I ducked back to avoid his gaze. I never did reveal what I had seen to him, but vowed never to be near the "Monster Saw" while he was using it.
Oh yes, this saw could have changed my whole life, as I was the guy that had to cut all of the blocking for the carpenter crew. One morning, a 2x12 with frozen snow on it had to be cut into blocks. I tried to pull it along to butt it against the butt block when my hand slipped and I slammed the back of my hand against the spinning 16" blade! Fortunately it hit it near the center and not at the tooth area. I guess I would have been called 'Lefty' after that. it scared me to death, and I've hated them ever since. I only use mine to cut quantities of drawer sides or shelving to length. Otherwise it's the table saw for me. One drawback no-one has mentioned is that the teeth of a RAS come up through the wood, splintering it badly, whereas the table saw's teeth go down and make a neater cut on the top, 'good' side of the lumber.
Roly, the ten-fingered woodworker, and hope to keep it that way