Replies

1. 
   WillGeorge | Oct 25, 2009 02:05am | #1

   it is downright dangerous when it comes crashing down on one's arm, or head....

   Sure beats several fingers removed by the saw blade.  No hate here. I DO understand your dilemma.

   I took off those anti-kickback spikes. BIG mistake. I really thought I was dying! I could not breath for a very long time. In the hospital for several days. Broke the breast bone and had to have it wired together. THAT HURT! I would be dead except my neighbor was outside and I had the shop doors open. He came to see what happened. I could have bought the best European slider saw for my part of the hospital bill!

   I was doing what I always do and the stick turned out to be reaction wood. Grabbed the blade and WAM! The doctor told me from the bruise I was hit with a wide board. If the board was skinny I would not be talking to you!

   All this from a 2 hp BIG BOX SAW.. What IF A 5 hp ONE? I wonder.

   I had the plastic guard guard on. It was NOT damaged. The wood just shot back under it I would think. I really do not know what happened.

   EDIT: I for one love the thought of a riving knife but my saw had the splitter/top guard on and it still happened? Maybe them spikes would have saved me?

   By the way.. I like my Ridgid saw. Does what I need and then some.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 10/24/2009 7:11 pm by WillGeorge

1. 
   SlottyBartfast | Oct 25, 2009 05:46pm | #3

   I would not want to experience what you did. Maybe I better leave well enough alone.

2. 
   Rich14 | Oct 25, 2009 08:04pm | #7

   Oh my gosh Will,Glad to hear you're ok. As a member of that not so elite club of people who have had their sternum cut open under controlled surgical conditions to do some plumbing work inside, I know what you went through after yours was repaired.To think of you lying on your shop floor with that injury just gives me chills and memories of the surgical recovery ICU.I DO have one o' them expensive European sliders. Believe me, the peace of mind, standing off to the side of the machine while the wood is carried through the blade, securely locked to that magnificent sliding metal table is worth the price, each and every cut!Stay healthy, man.Rich

1. 
   WillGeorge | Oct 26, 2009 08:36pm | #11

   One of the dumb things (OF MANY) in my life I did some time ago. I do not blame the saw, me or the wood. Not sure the spikes would have helped but maybe!

   I heal quick so not that bad. No damage to my heart that the doctor could find.

   As I exited the hospital the Dr. was walking in and he told be to give up woodworking.. I yelled back would you give up being a Doctor! He did not reply.

   EDIT:

   I think things just happen sometimes no matter how hard we try to do thing right.

   Edited 10/26/2009 1:47 pm by WillGeorge

2. 
   forestgirl | Oct 25, 2009 07:14am | #2

   Seems like Knots is slow on the responses today.  Just wanted to clarify that a riving knife does not replace your hand-crunching blade guard, it replaces the splitter.  You can get an overhead blade guard (Excalibur, PennState Industries, Brett Guard) or you can make your own.  Then you deal with the splitter. 

   You could check this web site for a B.O.R.K. that would fit your saw (bolt-on riving knife).  Quite a few people have good things to say about that device.  There's also the Shark Guard and related devices from Leeway Workshop.

   When I had my old Jet contractor saw, I used a snap-in Biesemeyer splitter with the PennState overhead guard.  The splitter went with the saw when I sold it, and the PSI guard has to be mounted differently to fit my Unisaw.  Oh well.  I don't think Biesemeyer makes a splitter for your saw, but I'm not positive.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-) 
   
1. 
   SlottyBartfast | Oct 25, 2009 05:48pm | #4

   Thanks forestgirl, I checked with Biesemeyer and no luck.  After reading WillGeorge's reply to my message, maybe I should leave well enough alone.

2. 
   SlottyBartfast | Oct 25, 2009 05:54pm | #5

   I checked out the BORK and the Leeway Shark.  It looks like the Shark can be used on my saw and it has good safety features.  Thanks for the links - I owe you one!

1. 
   syenefarmer | Oct 25, 2009 06:10pm | #6

   I remember seeing a thread somewhere from the guy that makes the BORK's where he stated that the design of the Ridgid contractor saws is not compatible with the BORK.

1. 
   SlottyBartfast | Oct 25, 2009 10:48pm | #8

   I agree, the BORK will not work, however, FYI, LeeWay makes a Shark that works for the Ridgid, even the old ones. The link is http://www.leestyron.com/installridgid.php

1. 
   syenefarmer | Oct 25, 2009 11:28pm | #9

   Am I missing something here? Other than the above table dust collection I can't see where the SharkGuard is much different than the blade guard/splitter that came standard with your saw. Other than the dust collection I can't see where you would be gaining much over the OEM unit. But again, maybe I'm just not seeing it.

3. 
   old saw | Oct 26, 2009 12:17am | #10

   My Unisaw came with an inexpensive splitter-mounted guard years ago.  I hated the thing; it didn't lift correctly much of the time and it had a tendency to get small cutoffs jammed between itself and the blade.  It also got in the way of my push stick on narrow rip cuts.   And it would fall and hit me when changing a blade.  Like many people I wanted to remove it - but I also valued having the splitter and anti-kickback pawls incorprorated in it.   So...I removed the plastic guard from the assembly and just used the splitter and anti-kickback pawls by themselves.  The splitter was bolted onto the saw and to make its occasional removal a bit easier, I turned the bolt holes into slots so that I could slide the thing off without completely removing the bolts.

   There are some who abhor not using a guard on a table saw, I suppose, but I think it's more dangerous to use one that doesn't work as it should.  Some kind of over-arm or ceiling mounted blade guard is the way to go, if one can manage it.  But do retain the splitter - or use a riving knife.

4. 
   weekend warrior | Jan 19, 2015 12:48am | #12

   Riving knife

   sorry not to address your question, but I have a Rigid table saw just bot. When the riving knife (factory installed) is in the non through cut positon, it hits the saw table insert as I am raising the saw blade,  thus stopping the blade from being raised to its hightest possible position. Is this correct? I phoned Ridgid, and the fellow answering the telephone did not sound too well informed but said that this should not happen, that maybe I installed it incorrectly... Well it was factory installed... is there some adjustment that I am missing?

   Help !!!

   RGB