Thin Kerf Blade with a SS?

[Wade Lippman]

I used to have a Grizzly 1023 with a microjig splitter. The splitter held wood against the fence.

Now I have a SS PCS. A standard kerf blade cuts a wider slot than the spreader, so the spreader doesn't hold the wood against the fence. Cutting less than a couple inches doesn't let me get my hand into hold it, and the wood can pull a bit away from the fence, ruining the piece. It seems to me that a narrow kerf would be a much better fit to the spreader and minimize this issue. Does this make sense? Any big downside to to using a narrow kerf sawblade?

[Barry Richardson]

No problem at all, been doing it for years....

[Ben Rivel]

SawStop and I believe in the manual as well recommends against thin kerf blades. Something about they dont stop fast enough in the brake should it go off. They of course will spin and work in the saw, but if they dont stop fast enough that kinda defeats the safety purpose of owning a SawStop.

[Wade Lippman]

SawStop and I believe in the manual as well recommends against thin kerf blades. Something about they dont stop fast enough in the brake should it go off. They of course will spin and work in the saw, but if they dont stop fast enough that kinda defeats the safety purpose of owning a SawStop.


Their FAQ says a blade thinner than 3/32" might not be strong enough to stop properly; so thin kerf should be fine from that POV.

[Randy Viellenave]

A kwik Google search turned up a thread on this forum. I don't know the answer, but I bet somebody here does.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?94671-Riving-Knife-Thickness

[Wade Lippman]

A kwik Google search turned up a thread on this forum. I don't know the answer, but I bet somebody here does.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?94671-Riving-Knife-Thickness


They say that the spreader should be set to the right edge of the kerf, but the manual says to have it centered in the kerf.
Seems to me that if it is centered on the standard kerf, then it would be approximately set tot the right side of the narrow kerf.
If anyone had done this, it that how it works? Did you need to move the spreader when using a narrow kerf?

[Shawn Pixley]

I never adjusted the riving knife from the factory set position. I don't move it when I switch from Thin Kerf to Full Kerf.

[Rod Sheridan]

They say that the spreader should be set to the right edge of the kerf, but the manual says to have it centered in the kerf.
Seems to me that if it is centered on the standard kerf, then it would be approximately set tot the right side of the narrow kerf.
If anyone had done this, it that how it works? Did you need to move the spreader when using a narrow kerf?

Wade, don't you use a thinner splitter with a thin kerf blade?

That's why they are available in different thicknesses............Rod.

[glenn bradley]

Their FAQ says a blade thinner than 3/32" might not be strong enough to stop properly; so thin kerf should be fine from that POV.


Yes, I have a large selection of TK blades left over from previous saws. All but one work with the stock splitter in my Saw Stop PCS 3HP.

I normally run full kerf blades and use a Grr-Ripper or shop made push block to hold things against the fence.

334914 . 334913

[Wade Lippman]

I bought an Infinity Super General TK and love it. It fits the splitter much better than the standard kerf does and cuts better than my Freud Fusion did.

I have a bin of old jointer push blocks and found one worked great for holding thin strips against the fence.

[Erik Loza]

It's not for me to tell anyone what to buy but pretty much any time I get a complaint from a customer about cut quality on their Minimax table saw, they have a TK blade on there. And my own experience backs that up. I helped a local guy set up his CU300 a while back and he had a TK blade from a pretty well known mfr. It was a brand-new blade and sounded terrible. Weird harmonic, blade just did not sound right. It cut OK for setup but if it were my machine, I would have gotten rid of it ASAP. I suppose it's possible that some combination of motor torque (almost 5hp) and arbor size or design does this on Minimax saws but I do seem to hear about disproportionatley. My feeling is that sawblades are like shaper tools: The heavier, the better. Assuming you have the motor power for it. None of this may be the case for jobsite tools. I use Freud TK blades on my portable tools but for the stationary machines, full-kerf is the way to go. Just my 2-cents.

Erik

[David Kumm]

I'm with Erik. 1/8" is as thin as I ever go with my preference being 9/64-11/64. If the saw can handle it, the thick plate is like a built in stabilizer. Dave

[Ben Rivel]

All I use is full kerf Forrest Blades.

[Bill Space]

Why not just use something to hold the piece you are cutting against the fence?

I use a magnetic device (forget the name for it) that can be placed anywhere as needed, and which holds the work piece tightly against the fence as I push it past the blade. So I do not rely on the riving knife to do anything more than it is designed to do...

Bill

Edit: You mention splitter rather than riving knife, but I think my comment still applies...

[Wade Lippman]

Edit: You mention splitter rather than riving knife, but I think my comment still applies...

I miswrote; meant riving knife.

But I just used the new blade to cut a 1/4" piece off a 2" thick piece of maple; looks like it went through a jointer. My Freud Fusion wouldn't have been that good. It is also quieter than the Fusion. (Maybe I had a lousy Fusion...)