Riving knife upgrade - its time. Advise please.

[Carl Beckett]

Ok... earlier this spring I sucked it up and did a DC upgrade. Its definitely helped in the amount of dust I am exposing my lungs to.

But still no riving knife on my table saw. Its time to just prioritize this and make it happen (if you havent done this yet - why not???) I dont have a good reason.

I have a Grizzly 1023 left tilting cabinet saw.

I do use zero clearance inserts for almost everything.

No overhead guard or dust collection.

What products are out that that you would recommend?

[Prashun Patel]

I'd look first at the Sharkguard. It's not a true riving knife, but the guard is decoupled from the splitters, and it comes with three splitters of various heights depending on the blade height. So, it can accomplish close to the same thing as an rk, just with a little more elbow work.

The guard for ripping operations is wonderful. Easy to put on/take off. Great dust collection.

[Michael W. Clark]

I would also look at the Sharkguard. I'm going to add the 3" port one to my 1023. I think if you upgrade the cabinet DC to 5" and use 3" on top, it will work well to combine into a 6" DC drop for the saw. You may need to add a gate in one of the branches for balancing. The guard looks to be very user friendly. They were developing an overhead mount system, but I haven't check it out lately. There is/was a littel bit of a lead time to get one.

Mike

[David Hawxhurst]

sharkguard would be my first choice as i seldom do non through cuts on a table saw. mj splitter would be something else to consider. the mj maybe easier to retrofit than a shark guard.

[Erik France]

My saw was designed with a riving knife, but I did ditch the OEM guard/knife if favor of a Sharkguard. I think Lee's shark was the best upgrade or tool accessory I've ever purchased. The lastest versions come off and on much easier, are narrower, and the front roller is a nice feature.

I'm not familiar with the Grizzley 1023, or Lee's guard for it. In order to get a true riving knife you might have to go with a B O R K. http://www.the****store.com/product.sc?productId=14

[scott spencer]

AFAIK, the B-O R K is the only aftermarket riving knife that you can retrofit to an existing older saw. I have one on my Shop Fox W1677 and really like it. Not sure why it gets censored, but you can get more info by visiting the B-O R K store dot com (one word).

[Carl Beckett]

There was a thread here a while back about a riving knife that came loose and let fly. Does anyone remember which one it was? (pretty sure it was an after market)

[Floyd Mah]

Build your own. I built (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?112419-Riving-knife-for-Model-10-Delta-Contractor-s-saw&highlight=) a decent riving knife using parts from OSH. Still using it without problems. The blade to knife distance only varies about 3/16" throughout the range of travel. Less than $100 of parts. It worked for the Delta Model 10 Contractor saw because there was an attachment point for the blade guard that tilted with the blade. I implemented a linear bearing that allowed the blade to follow the blade as it is raised, using gravity and a hook following the arbor. There was also a very elegant design (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?133210-Delta-34-350-12-14-quot-riving-knife-retrofit) using a pair of linear bearings and a lot of machining to create a riving knife for a Unisaw posted. Ultimately, unless your saw was designed to have a riving knife and you bought the custom unit ("You didn't build that!!!"), you have to settle for an approximate solution (riving knife-like) or build one. Having a knife and mechanism custom-made is probably prohibitively expensive. I estimated that it would have cost a few hundred dollars for the time and materials to make what I made on my own time.

[Paul Wunder]

+1 for the Sharkguard. Good splitter system;exceptional dust control. Mine has a 4" port which is attached to my cyclone. I also use an under the table collection port. Lee Styron is also working on a ceiling mount for the Sharkguard. He custom makes them for many different table saws and different port diameters and Lee is easy to work with.

[scott spencer]

There was a thread here a while back about a riving knife that came loose and let fly. Does anyone remember which one it was? (pretty sure it was an after market)

I don't think the current B O R K knife could let loose:
http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b202/bacsibob/2012-06-25182716.jpg

[Andrew Kertesz]

The thread was about the original ****. I believe that it under went some design changes after that incident.

[Clint Olver]

I have the B O R K and and Excalibur guard. The B O R K is the only riving knife available as far as I know. All the others are splitters and have to be removed for non-through cuts.

C

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi, a riving knife and an overhead guard are in my opinion, essential for safe operation of the saw, not to mention dust collection for your health.

The Shark Guard has the same failing as all splitter mounted guards, it can't be used for non through cuts.

The combination that Clint has illustrated above is excellent, I also had an Excalibur on a general cabinet saw and was very pleased with it..............Rod.

[Keith Hankins]

I have the 1023slx and use the mj splitter and a pair of gripp'r's (also from microjig) works great. The new microjig is metal which is better. I think with those two together its a great safe combo. When using the grr-ripper, you have constand downward contact on both sides of the blade so kickback should not occur and hands are well above the blade.

http://www.microjig.com/products/grr-ripper/index.shtml

http://www.microjig.com/products/mj-splitter/design-concept.shtml

[Michael W. Clark]

The Shark Guard has the same failing as all splitter mounted guards, it can't be used for non through cuts.

Hi Rod, does a splitter help you on non-through cuts? Wouldn't the wood that's remaining tend to hold the two pieces separated and not allow them to bind on blade? Also, how beneficial is the overhead DC when the blade is covered by the work? On my 1023, most of the dust is directed back into the cabinet during a non-through cut because it has no where else to go. Some of the dust fills in the groove as it leaves the back of the blade, but this wouldn't be caught by the guard anyway. A small amount of dust exits at the end of the cut when the work clears the front of the blade. I don't have an overhead guard, but from what I understand from other posts the dust at the front of the blade is hard to catch with most OH guards.

I very well may be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time, but I considered the benefit of the riving knife to be that it did not have to be removed for non-through cuts (sits just below the top of the blade) so, once aligned, you were more likely to keep it on the saw. Whereas a traditional OEM splitter required setup and tuning everytime you take it off and on (at least mine did). I agree that the riving knife and separate OH guard is the best, but since my saw did not come with a riving knife, I am a little skeptical of retrofitting something aftermarket so close to the blade.

Mike

[Prashun Patel]

i am with you, michael: convenience means never having excuse to not use it.

The key for me with a good aftermarket splitter is one that's easy to put on/take off/keep aligned.

[Erik France]

That's another thing I like about the guard attachment block for Shark riving knife, it also helps keep thin materials down. I'll crank the blade down low and leave just a small amount of clearance between it and the material.

[Jeff Miller]

Watch this video and then order one!!!!! Bob is a great guy:D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW61nT5x1so


JEFF:)

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Rod, does a splitter help you on non-through cuts? Wouldn't the wood that's remaining tend to hold the two pieces separated and not allow them to bind on blade? Also, how beneficial is the overhead DC when the blade is covered by the work? On my 1023, most of the dust is directed back into the cabinet during a non-through cut because it has no where else to go. Some of the dust fills in the groove as it leaves the back of the blade, but this wouldn't be caught by the guard anyway. A small amount of dust exits at the end of the cut when the work clears the front of the blade. I don't have an overhead guard, but from what I understand from other posts the dust at the front of the blade is hard to catch with most OH guards.

I very well may be wrong, and it wouldn't be the first time, but I considered the benefit of the riving knife to be that it did not have to be removed for non-through cuts (sits just below the top of the blade) so, once aligned, you were more likely to keep it on the saw. Whereas a traditional OEM splitter required setup and tuning everytime you take it off and on (at least mine did). I agree that the riving knife and separate OH guard is the best, but since my saw did not come with a riving knife, I am a little skeptical of retrofitting something aftermarket so close to the blade.

Mike

Hi, the function of the riving knife that's important with non through cuts is the prevention of the work piece from rotating into the rear of the blade. That function works for through and non through cuts.

You're absolutely correct that the overarm guard doesn't provide any dust collection on a non through cut, however that's not why you need it. You need it to guard the blade from accidental contact with your fingers. That function is required for non through and through cuts.

You could use a box or bridge guard for protection instead of an overarm guard, however you can't use a splitter or riving knife type guard..........Regards, Rod.

[Michael W. Clark]

Rod, thanks for the explanation. I could see where that may be desirable on some cuts.

Mike