splitter thickness?

[journeyman Mick]

I'm in the process of fabricating a splitter guard assembly for my 2nd hand 12" generic Taiwanese TS as it didn't come with one. Just wondering if anyone outhere that owns one and a set of verniers can check the thickness of the splitter for me. I want to make it stiff enough that it won't bend and bind but it obviously needs to be narrow enough that it will clear the kerf. I'm guessing 2mm at this stage as this should be pretty sturdy but thin enough to clear even a thin kerf blade. Thanks in advance,

Mick

[derekcohen]

Mick

My splitter is 2.6mm thick. The 12" blade is 3.0mm

Regards from Perth

Derek

[bitingmidge]

Mine is 2.4 (thinner paint maybe?) :)

Jet 10" Contractor's saw. Figured you'd know the blade thickness. :D :D

Regards,

P

[Andy Self]

The SuperSaw splitter is 2.1mm and the blade 3.0mm. I knew there was a reason for the price.

[echnidna]

Mick, The optimum thickness for a splitter is just a tad thinner than the saw kerf, so the thickness of the splitter actually depends on your saw blade.

If its too thin internal timber stresses can tighten up on the blade while still being loose about the splitter.

[Wayne Davy]

Mick,

My OEM splitter is the same as Derreks - 2.6mm. My replacement one is just on 3mm and the CMT blade is 3.2.

[journeyman Mick]

To all,
thanks for the help, I picked up a piece of 2.5mm plate today from a mate who has a sheet metal shop. I don't think I'll be using any baldes with TCTs thinner than this. I'm making two splitters, one that has an arc that corresponds to a 12" blade fully extended and another for a 10" blade. Bob, point taken about the thickness, I wanted it to be as thick (and therefore rigid) as possible without being too thick for a thinner blade. I've got a fairly large blade collection and all of them have TCTs thicker than 2.5mm. I figured that the manufacturers would have sized theirs to be a good compromise between stiffness and compatibility with thinner kerfs. If I end up buying a really heavy ripping blade I may have to make another, thicker, splitter but as it is I'm not looking forward to cutting these two out of 2.5mm let alone 3mm or 3.5mm.

Mick