Info on aftermarket splitter

[patrick ramsey]

Hello all. Have been reading for a while, and found the sight enjoyable and informative. This is my first post. I have a General international left tilit 650 cabinet saw, with a HTC roller outfeed table. I normally use thin kerf saw blades. When I bought the saw about three years ago. At that time no one made an aftermarket splitter for this saw. Now that I have expierenced kickback, first hand, I'm in the market, again, for an aftermarket splitter/ riving knight. I understand that now there is a Merlin splitter available for this saw. I, also, understand that General is coming out with an after market riving knife. I would appreciate any information on either of these items.

[Dan Bowman]

I'm in the same boat. I just had an email from a General rep regarding the riving knife. He said:

Re the riving knife, we are working on an aftermarket riving knife,
> but since the entire trunion needs to be changed to accept a riving
> knife, it will be very expensive and require at least 4-6 hours of
> mechanical work.

A good splitter may be the only choice.

[Gary Herrmann]

I've got a General 650 with a Merlin splitter. It works very well. I also called General awhile back about the riving knife retro fit. Because of the need to partially replace the trunion, the rep estimated the price in the $800-$900 range. I think I'll stick with Merlin.

[Rod Sheridan]

Second favourable review for the Merlin, I also have it on a 650 saw.

If however you aren't going to remove it, make your own splitter.......Rod.

[Mark Carlson]

I have a 650 with a Shark Guard splitter.

[frank shic]

i love the shark guard. easy to install and remove and the dust collection is awesome - sometimes a little too much as it will lightly suck up on the throat plate and small narrow cutoffs lol!

[patrick ramsey]

shat's a shark guard/splitter?

[Mark Carlson]

After market splitter and blade guard.

This is the site with all the info.
http://www.leestyron.com/

[Bob Hallowell]

I also have and love the shark gaurd on my steel city

[Roy Hill]

I have the Shark Guard/splitter and love it. I only remove the guard when using the dado or non-through cuts. If I have to remove the guard for a narrow cut I install the small splitter furnished with the Shark Guard. Great tool.

Roy

[Paul Demetropoulos]

Grip-Tite makes a splitter that's used with a zero clearance throatplate.
It's amazingly simple, you use a differenent pin size depending on blade kerf. Has the added benefit of being able to be used when making dado cuts. Cheap too, only $9.95.

http://www.grip-tite.com/splitter.html

[patrick ramsey]

thankls all for information on aftermarket splitter. Seriously contemplating the Shark basket to replace the original basket that came with the Beismeyer over arm saw guard. The Beismeyer basket does a very poor job of dust colection. Seems the shark does better. Talked witht egeneral people . They say the riving knife retrofit kit will be out soon for $649 plus shipping. think I'll do a home made splitter till it comes out, andthen I'll see how it preforms.

[Scot Ferraro]

Hi everyone,

I just got an email from General and the retrofit kits are available for both the 350 and 650 TS and the kits are supposed to ship by 3/23/09 at the latest. The price came down from initial estimates to $599 (which $300 less than original estimates). It looks like it is a pretty involved process based on the PDF instructions they sent me -- the entire blade shroud is replaced and this requires the disassembly of the top of the saw and some other internal components. It does not look to be overly complex, but I could see this taking an entire day or so to complete and tune up the machine afterward. I might upgrade at some point and I would certainly be interested in hearing from anyone who takes the plunge sooner. My guess is that with General offering these kits that other manufacturers will not be far behind. I just wanted to pass along the information I received on Friday of last week.

Thanks!

[Scot Ferraro]

Not sure if my post had been read since it was tied to another thread.

Thanks