Great friend=Great gift!

[Tom Pritchard]

Just before Christmas, my friend Scott gave me a custom made splitter for my Craftsman 22124 tablesaw. It is stainless steel (my favorite metal-forget that silver and gold stuff:) ), and fits right in the slot where the factory splitter with the blade guard went. It is a great addition to my saw, and now he and I can both sleep better at night knowing my WW is safer!! Here's some pics:

[Jim Becker]

Looks great, Tom. And that truly was a great gift!

[scott spencer]

Nice looking setup there Tom! I'm gonna have to get one of those for my saw... :)

[Scott Donley]

Great friend ! Can I borrow him ? I need one also.

[Corey Hallagan]

Hey nice work Scott on Tom's splitter, it looks great. Great friend indeed!

Corey

[scott spencer]

Hey nice work Scott on Tom's splitter, it looks great. Great friend indeed! Corey I just made the request Corey...gotta give my brother the credit for making them. :cool:

[Rick Thom]

A very nice gift indeed.
How does it attach, merely bolted like the oem or some quick release method?
In terms of opperation, just preventing a board from inadvertently travelling sideways and back into the blade makes for straighter cuts and lessesns likeihood of kick-back. Would it be worthwhile adding pawls or do you think this gives you most of the benefits?
I haven't seen any after-market splitters in the stores.
Thanks for posting this.

[Tom Pritchard]

A very nice gift indeed.
How does it attach, merely bolted like the oem or some quick release method?
In terms of opperation, just preventing a board from inadvertently travelling sideways and back into the blade makes for straighter cuts and lessesns likeihood of kick-back. Would it be worthwhile adding pawls or do you think this gives you most of the benefits?
I haven't seen any after-market splitters in the stores.
Thanks for posting this.

Rick, thanks for the interest!

The splitter slips into the slot that the manufacturer provided to hold the splitter, pawls, and plastic blade guard that came with the saw. It is a nice press fit, and very stable once in position.

I'm not a big fan of pawls. I've had them catch on pieces that I've been cutting before, and it made my heart skip a beat or two! If they are spring loaded, they can mark up the piece of wood that you are cutting as well. If you take the springs out, they aren't as effective.

The thing that I really like about this splitter is that my Gripper (sp) goes right over it, and the Gripper is a more positive grip for me than the pawls would be. I'm headed out to Woodcraft this morning to use my 25% off coupon, and when I get back I could post a pic of the mounting if you would like to see it. :)

[Rick Thom]

Tom, thanks for the response, and yes, a pic would be great. I think I might make 1 of these too.
I know what you mean about the pawls. I use my saw a fair bit with "glue line" blade and get pretty smooth straight cuts even without a splitter. I don't have a jointer (yet), band saw comes first on my wish list.

[Tom Pritchard]

Tom, thanks for the response, and yes, a pic would be great. I think I might make 1 of these too.
I know what you mean about the pawls. I use my saw a fair bit with "glue line" blade and get pretty smooth straight cuts even without a splitter. I don't have a jointer (yet), band saw comes first on my wish list.


Rick, here's what the mounting looks like. Pretty straight forward for the Craftsman 22124 with the spring loaded mounting bracket, but could be adapted to just about any saw. Send me a PM if you need any additional info. Thanks!

[Vaughn McMillan]

Tom, thanks for the response, and yes, a pic would be great. I think I might make 1 of these too.
I know what you mean about the pawls. I use my saw a fair bit with "glue line" blade and get pretty smooth straight cuts even without a splitter. I don't have a jointer (yet), band saw comes first on my wish list.
Rick, keep in mind the splitter does a lot more than help keep the cuts smooth and straight. It also keeps "reactive" wood from pinching the blade, which in turn prevents a whole other list of problems. I went quite a while without a splitter, and was making good, gluable joints, but I was pleasantly surprised when I finally started using one.

- Vaughn

[Rick Thom]

Vaughn, I hear you.
Saw a friend's RAS unexpectedly project a thin off-cut right through an empty coffee tin across a room.
I like Tom's solution and the apparant ease to change/remove. My Delta setup is different so I'll have a little challenge.