If you have an older saw that lacks a modern riving knife, here are a couple of ways to add a low-profile splitter. These won’t tilt or move up and down with the blade, but they can stay on the saw for the most common cuts. You’ll need to make your own throat plate, from solid wood or plywood, in order to make these splitters work.

Store-bought splitters

Microjig’s MJ Splitters come with drilling templates for the holes that hold them in place, aligned with the blade. The splitters are sized to sit below the top of the blade for most cuts.

Make your own splitter

Clamp a board over the top of a fresh throat plate, and bring the blade all the way up through it.

Then turn off the saw, drop the blade, and glue a small tab of wood in the back of the blade slot. When the glue cures, bring the blade back up to working height.

You can have different throat-plate/splitter setups for different blade heights, including a tall splitter for throughcuts (pictured) and a shorter one for slotting cuts.

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