Replies

1. 
   tcbaldmtn | Jan 27, 2003 10:55pm | #1

   Their phone # 1-800-357-4118.  They have versions available for many tablesaws, except the General 650.  You can order direct but they perfer that you order from one of their suppliers like Woodcraft.

2. 
   BG | Jan 27, 2003 11:39pm | #2

   WoodChuc,

   At Woodcraft in Woburn, MA. they have a table full of them in the front window. 

3. 
   PatrickS | Jan 28, 2003 09:22am | #3

   WoodChuc1,

   Why use a splitter / Blade Guard?

   I think using a table saw is much safer without the guard. It distracts your attention away from the job at hand, causes extra resistance when sawing and is a general nuisance.

   You could buy a couple nice boards with $110.00!!

   Patrick

1. 
   GregB126 | Jan 28, 2003 09:39am | #4

   Patrick,

   Are you serious?  Do a search using the words "splitter" and, maybe more important, "riving knife".  There have been many long and informative discussions of the subject.

   Sorry to have butted in.  It is pretty important.

   Cheers,

   Greg

1. 
   musick | Jan 28, 2003 10:54pm | #5

   2nd, they are important, but often a pain as well. There is much confusion on this subject as well as many folks assume blade guards, splitters, spreaders and riving knives are all the same, THEY'RE NOT. This was even the case at my local woodcraft when I was asking if they could get me a Biesemeyer snap in spreader. The salesman said they had an excaliber and said it was very much like what comes stock on most American saws. I tried to explain to him that I wanted an Ero style riving knife type design and he informed that all table saw guards are all the same and I must be confused.

   Anyway a blade guard covers the saw blade and aften has hookups for dust collection. Most stock guards must be removed for dado's or any other sawing that doesn't cut through the full thickness of the wood. In the most basic form they don't do anything to hold the saw kerf open (ie prevent blade pinching, the most common reason for kick back) and often don't have kick back pawls as well.

   Kick back pawls don't prevent kickback, they just minimize the effect of it when it does happen. So to "prevent" kick-back in most cases you need a spreader. Most stock saw quards incorporate a spreader but often they're so poorly designed that they aren't very effective. Also due to the design, when you remove the saw guard you're also removing the spreader further reducing it's effectiveness.

   A good spreader will move up and down with the saw blade and therefore can be left on when making cuts that don't cut clear through thickness of the wood (there are some eceptions to this)and are nearly as thick as the saw kerf. TTBOMK "riving knives" are specialized spreaders that move up and down with the blade, but they aren't available for most american saws.

   Ideally you'll want a stand alone spreader and blade guard. That way you can still use the blade guard when doing dados and other similar cuts when you will most likely have to remove the spreader unless you have the more specialized riving knife spreader.

2. 
   PatrickS | Jan 29, 2003 07:50am | #8

   Greg,

   It's an open forum - no need to worry about butting in!  I'm always open to opinions and sharing perspectives.

   I took your advice and did a search on Riving Knives.  I found and read the following links.

   http://www.millard.demon.co.uk/circularsawbenches/buying.htm

   http://www.safetyline.wa.gov.au/pagebin/guidothr0007.htm

   I'm an advocate of shop safety and hope everyone (else) uses their riving knives & blade guards.   

   For me, I'll spend the money on more wood!  Push Sticks - yes, Feather Boards - yes, Goggles - yes, Hearing protection - yes, Dust Masks - yes, Riving knives & blade guards - nope.  The first link I included above contains a story of a riving knife coming loose and being flung into the face of the operator.  From my perspective the only thing that should be moving on top of a table saw, other than the blade, is the wood, any other moving parts present a potential hazard.  

   p.s. -

   I have all my fingers, both eyes & no nicks, scratches or scars from my table saw ~ I'm exceptionally carefull.  I've been woodworking since I was an adolescent starting in my father's shop about 26 years ago. 

2. 
   NOTRIX1 | Jan 29, 2003 07:42am | #7

   I agree some what. I was trained on table saws without any guards or splitters. Every guard I've used since has been a distraction. I understand it's something one would get used to but as is also said an accident can occur in a split second and I have a lot more split seconds of aprehension with a guard in place. But all investigations claim that guards pretty much eliminate accidents and I think I also read there are over 6,000 TS related amputaions each year.

   That's AMPUTAIONS. Not scratches or cuts.

   I think there's a Nobel Prize out there for someone inventing an easy to use less obtrusive blade guard. I mean c'mon, a blade is 1/8" think and there's these huge plastic boxes where you can't even see exactly where the blade is. I was trained in production shops where I cut hundreds of linear feet per day. Much of it in ill advised ways. For most of it the guard would be impossible to have installed and having to adjust for each cut would cost more that my boss was willing to spend. Imagine this: Having to saw an arch of butcher blocked wood, 48" dia., length wise so it's curling up and rocking past the blade. I can't beleive I have all my fingers!!

   I have gotten used to the idea of a splitter and feel much safer with one installed. It doesn't take much and gives me a clear view of where I shouldn't put my hand.

   My .02

   N

3. 
   foghorn | Jan 30, 2003 05:20am | #14

   I'm a novice at this but........

   I attended a presentation by Kelly Mehler at an exhibition up here in NJ earlier this month. He said something that stopped me in my tracks. The gist was that when you work without the splitter and the guard  (as I had begun to get used to for much the same reason as most) you are betting that you will NEVER make a mistake. I have made too many to delude myself.

   I just received a Delta Deluxe Guard that comes with a stand alone splitter. I must confess it seems a bit extreme to say nothing of being about 20 times heavier that I think it needs to be to support a plastic cover but I guess they have to defend the price somehow. In any event, if it saves me an accident WHEN I make that mistake, it will have been worth it.

   Kelly wrote a very good article in Fine Woodworking #152 on splitters and guards including evaluations  of the 3 or 4 he felt were best. Plenty of good info

1. 
   bleubassplyr | Jan 31, 2003 05:55am | #16

   Someone sent me these links to home-made blade guards that also work for dust collection.  Good luck.  I have a Grizzly 10", 3 HP Table saw.  I've pared down the blade guard to the splitter and the metal piece that goes over the blade.  I think a splitter is a bare essential for safety. 

   http://www.wwforum.com/faqs_articles/overarm_guard.html

   http://www.netexperts.cc/~lambertm/Wood/guard.html

4. 
   johnhardy | Jan 29, 2003 01:56am | #6

   Can't address this splitter specifically, but you might want to check out http://www.jdwoodworking.com. There is a splitter there for $80 which I purchased and which is very nice. It doesn't need to be removed (it goes up and down with the blade) and also has a function which acts like a feather board so that it tries to keep the board up against the fence.

   I purchased this as a safety device, and if I'd have had one two years ago I wouldn't have spent 3 months with my left thumb in bandages ... yep, it got caught in the blade. A very stupid mistake, but one that was caused by a board starting to bind and my first reaction was to reach around and push it back to the fence. I'm not a newbie and knew better, but in a split second you can do some very stupid things.

   Get a good splitter and you'll be safer.

   John

5. 
   byjiminy | Jan 29, 2003 08:15am | #9

   I also feel strongly about this subject. But there is a lot of room for confusion and discussion.

   I think as a minimum one should use a plate with a splitter as shown on this site by Kelly Mehler at: http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00066_sb1.asp

   I've used one like this for years and have not had a kickback since I started using it. I'm not talking about the straight back kind as you get when you saw a rabbit in the wrong sequence, but one where the wood climbs on top of the back of the blade and goes flying across the room at about a 30 degree angle from the blade, off to the operators left or into his/her gut. Just a piece of hardwood glued into a zero clearance plate. Sure I have to pull the plate and replace with a "plain" one for doing dadoes or partial cuts but that is simple enough. My crosscut sled goes right over top of it with no trouble so don't have to replace it for that.

   Try it, you'll like it.

   jiminGA

1. 
   JoeCoty | Jan 29, 2003 10:01am | #10

   This concern may be unfounded, but with a shop made splitter it would seem that hardwood or plastic would be susceptible to breakage as the stock begins to bind or twist.

   I just purchased a Biesemeyer overhead blade cover and have been considering their quick release splitter as well.

   However I certainly could use that money for something else if the shopmade version is just as effective. I also like the inherent parallelism by inserting the splitter in the saw kerf of the insert.

   My unisaw has never produced perfect rips despite precise fence, blade and table adjustments using a TS-Aligner Jr. with the stock splitter/ cover. I admit I have neglected precise alignment of the stock splitter electing to eye ball it since it seems flimsy and comes on and off all the time anyway. I've never tried ripping without the splitter because I am still on the learning curve and try to stay safe in the absence of experience.

   So my question is: Are stock splitters prone to poor rips due to their flimsy design and can I have complete comfort and confidence that a shop made splitter isn't going to break during a cut and initiate an accident?

   Thanks in advance,

   Joe Coty

1. 
   Elcoholic | Jan 29, 2003 07:27pm | #11

   I have the Excaliber overarm blade guard and the Biesmeyer spliiter on my Jet cabinet saw. I run the fence parallel to the blade with no toe-out. I also run an FS Tools rip blade and a zero clearance throat plate. In my experience I don't see much improvement in the quality of the sawn edge from the splitter. I've adjusted it tight to the cut which has only served to increase feed pressure which I find unsafe. I leave it a few thousandths loose. If I'm going for a glue joint right off the saw I use a big feather board otherwise I'm going to run it over the jointer and/or hit it with a hand plane anyway. It didn't take me long to remove the anti-kickback pawls from the splitter as they were a complete nuisance especially when ripping narrow strips because they interfered with using a push stick. No kickbacks what-so-ever with this setup. The blade guard works great until I get down to under 2" rips, then it interferes with using a push stick. The dust collection efficiency of the guard is well worth the trouble and it's easy to get the guard out of the way when using it feels wrong.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

1. 
   Robbie | Jan 30, 2003 02:07am | #12

   I concur with John.  I have the Biesmeyer splitter and it works just fine.  It wasn't cheap ($90).  Then again, it is less money than my emergency room deductible and not nearly as inconvenient.

   John:  Though about removing the pawls, but it did not look very easy.  How'd you do it?

1. 
   Elcoholic | Jan 30, 2003 07:32pm | #15

   I cut the whole tip off with a sawzall just below the threaded bosses.  If I had been more patient at the time I would have drilled them out.  $90 was a great price, I paid $120.

   John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

   Edited 1/30/2003 11:34:44 AM ET by ELCOHOLIC

2. 
   byjiminy | Jan 31, 2003 08:14am | #17

   I don't view this "splitter" as a splitter. It's there to keep the wood from drifting into the rising portion of the blade (the back portion) and causing kick back. I rarely have a piece of wood with enough compression in it to cause it to actually hit the "splitter" and if it does, I stop the wood in its tracks and shut off the saw. I then saw again in the same kerf. I suppose it you hit it hard enough with a twisting piece of wood that it could break but it would seem to me unlikely that it would break doing its intended function - keep the wood off the rising part of the blade.

   Now this is not to say that the Biesmeyer splitter isn't worth it. It doesn't seem so to me - never had a case of kickback since i've been using the "splitter" described by Mehler but go for the commercial one(s) if you feel better.

   Here is a picture of the one I use the most on my cabinet saw.

   Jim in GA

   
6. 
   RANGERP75R | Jan 30, 2003 02:47am | #13

   WC 1

      I made a rivving knife for my modified cheap saw from and old saw blade. I have one for Thin Kerfs and one for standard 1/8" blades. The steel from the blade had to be cut by my BIL at the Delta Airlines machine shop. It's super tough. I ruined 2 new hack saw blades in about 45 minutes aand only got about an inch cut. ha..ha..

      The current crown gaurd I made is from ligum-vitae. The whole operation moves up and down with the blade and from side to side on angle cuts. I never remove it unless for a non-through cut. I do steep angles on my SCMS. I can cut with the gaurd on as narrow as 5/8" with the aid of a Lexan hand sheild I made from a thin shoe and a 4 x 4 piece of Lexan.

      Not sure if you can tell from this pic, but will post it anyway to give you an idea..

   Much luck and practice safety...

   sarge..jt