Thread: Spliter question

Hi a bit surprised your saw has no splitter or riving knife, is it new or used,if new very surprised it would be sold like that

A riving knife is ALWAYS needed and I'm pretty sure it's been a legal requirement to have one fitted for many years

This is what I use. It is highly effective.

Reassuring to see I've been doing something right all these years......that's exactly how I make mine.

A couple of observations. For the JET tablesaw I have, 6mm MDF is the perfect thickness to make the insert sit flush with the table (very convenient). A lot of people will find that the blade won't drop low enough for the insert to sit in place when initially raising the blade up through it - I rout a shallow trench in the bottom of the insert along the line where the blade will come up; even a couple of mm deep is enough for the insert to then sit flat before raising the blade. I also cut a 2mm deep hole with a Forstner bit in the bottom of the insert at the far end (i.e. furthest away from the operator), and epoxy in a thin rare earth magnet. I have 1/2" dia. magnets which are a nice fit in a 1/2" Forstner bit hole. This sticks the insert to the metal of the saw at this point, preventing the insert from being lifted up by the rotation of the sawblade. No magnet required at the end nearest the operator, as the blade is pushing that part down into the saw. When the insert is eventually chewed up, the magnet can easily be recovered and re-used in the new insert.

My old table saw had a splitter and it was very frustrating to use. Ended up taking it off, most cuts were made without any issues. After a handful of kick backs resulting in a busted lip, bruised shoulder, and a broken fish tank (long story) I decided it was best to get rid of the saw and get one with a riving knife. My current saw has a riving knife and when its been used have never had a kickback incident.

As Elan says its an essential piece of kit

Hi sorry should have been a bit more specific, it a second hand saw it had been sitting in a shed for a few years, after being left by a building contractor, its a carba-tec KS-12K/MD, looks to be the same as a HAFCO 12B. doesn't have a saw guard or riving knife and the insert seems to be for a dado? (about 1/2" wide gap)

Best solution of all is a true "sharkfin" riving knife. This sits slightly lower than the blade (allowing trenching cuts), moves up and down with the blade (which a splitter doesn't), and also follows the blade when cranked over for angled cuts (which neither the homemade zero clearance insert or splitter do).

Unfortunately not many hobbyist level saws have a true riving knife. I think the SawStop does, and possibly some models of the Harvey/Laguna saws?

Get in touch with Carbatec about spares, it would have been sold with one

The removal of riving knives and splitters is unfortunately a common practice. Second hand saws often come onto the market minus this feature. The main reason is varying blade thickness causing the knife to become virtually useless when paired with an out of thickness knife. Invariably the offending tool is removed and never replaced. That is until the operator experiences a serious kick back. After which, the saw finds its way onto the second hand market, ready for the next sucker.

Good point.

Yet another reason why a high quality combo blade lives permanently on my tablesaw - works beautifully for crosscutting and ripping, and no need to make up multiple zero clearance inserts for blade changes...... Crosscut performance gives a glassy smooth finish, and ripping is almost up to the standard of dedicated rip blades. If I have to rip unusually thick or hard stock, it's over to the bandsaw, followed by thicknesser for light surface clean up.

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Yet another reason why a high quality combo blade lives permanently on my tablesaw - works beautifully for crosscutting and ripping, and no need to make up multiple zero clearance inserts for blade changes.....

You shouldn't need multiple inserts anyway, unless you're using a thin-kerf blade, they'll all be the same width for any given diameter. At least the pro/industrial ones are...

I do indeed have a thin kerf combo blade; it is the thin kerf version of this

https://www.infinitytools.com/saw-bl...-saw-blade-50t

Kerf is 0.097", vs. 0.125" standard kerf. This is a MUCH better choice for moderately powered tablesaws like my JET ProShop. Tried a standard kerf Freud combo blade before the Infinity, and the saw really struggled on some cuts. Haven't used the Freud blade at all since buying the Infinity combo......in fact, I'm not even sure I can still find it

I should add that the JET saw originally came with a very high splitter, complete with anti-kickback pawls, and a huge clear plastic shroud doodad which rides up over the material being cut.....

A complete pain in the bum for my use of the saw, and in fact makes it difficult to see what is going on. Had to be laboriously removed and replaced (and lined up) every time a trenching cut was performed. Oh, incidentally, the Infinity combo blade mentioned in my earlier post produces a perfectly flat-bottomed kerf....

JET gubbins has been removed and replaced with the zero clearance insert mentioned above, but I have kept all the JET hardware to be reattached to the saw should I ever sell it.

B Hill the insert on your saw has a wide slot so with the standard blade you can flop the saw over to 45° with out having to change the insert. If you don't want to buy a riving knife from Carb-Tec and rather make one of your own make sure the material you use is a poofteenth thinner than your blade. If its a smidgen thicker you will have hells own job trying to push timber through the saw. My Jet Contrctors saw has a riving knife that carries a guard that covers the blade (as Mr Brush has described). You really should get used to using your saw with these safety features. When rebating though, you will have to remove the riving knife and blade guard. My Panel Saw (Industrial Saw)has a riving knife that is supported by a fixture behind the saw blade and attached to the hieght adjusting blade mechinism which can be adjusted to drop the riving knife just below the top of the blade. With it set like that you can do any amount of normal cuts then rebate cuts with out having to change the height of the riving knife. For an overhead blade guard I made up a frame that bolts to the concrete floor of the shed then carries the guard over the surface of the saw bench independent of the saw's bench. I have also connected dust extraction to the overhead guard as well.

Now.....what is the day time temperature in your shed? I live north of Tamworth and it is around 40° most of the day. Also where do you buy your timber supplies? Broken Hill would be your closest but its still many hours away. (I hope I don't offend asking these questions)