Table Saw Blade Guard

[Darrin Davis]

I have a Rockwell Cabinet saw that has the snap-in biesmeyer splitter with anti-kickback pawls but do not have a blade guard. I also have a sawstop with the factory blade guard and splitter combination. I would like to have something similar to the sawstop guard and splitter for my Rockwell. Are there any products on the market that are comparible?

[Mike Spanbauer]

Well, the saw stop possesses a riving knife which you won't achieve with the snap-in spreader mount.

The best you can do (and it's pretty good) is the snap-in replacement that Lee Styron offers and it snaps right into the Bies mount.

Comes with prawls, splitter, and a good DC hook up :)

I'm considering it as an addition tool in the arsenal for my own PM66 which I have a bies snap in installed on.

mike

[John Thompson]

Evening David...

Ditto Mike that you can't retro-fit a riving knife as on your SawStop on your Rockwell as the trunnions and under-carriage won't allow for that design.

I built my own over-head by adding a Euro style "crown guard" (came from the hard-wood left-over box) and added a Penn State dust shied ($25) that has a 2 1/2" port for vac hose. The crown is the check point for stock riding up as I won't use pawls as of about 25 years ago when one almost took my finger off with the saw un-plugged.

Ditto Mike also on picking up a Shark Guard from Lee as he's the go-to man if ya don't want to build your own!

Regards...

Sarge.. john thompson

[Ed Beers]

I was looking at my grizzly g1023 cabinet saw an thinking I could fit a riving kinfe. What I don't think can be done is to attach a guard to the top of the riving knife. The difficulty is that the spindle holder swings over a 40 degree range as the blade is raised/lowered which would tilt the guard. If the back of the blade was level at max height it would tilt down, but not interfere when the blade it lowered.

I assume that european saws must lift/lower their spindle holders without tilting them.

I'm thinking that a riving knife with no guard is an improvement over the guard I never use now.

Does anyone know how thick riving knives are?

Ed

[John Thompson]

I was looking at my grizzly g1023 cabinet saw an thinking I could fit a riving kinfe. What I don't think can be done is to attach a guard to the top of the riving knife. The difficulty is that the spindle holder swings over a 40 degree range as the blade is raised/lowered which would tilt the guard. If the back of the blade was level at max height it would tilt down, but not interfere when the blade it lowered.

I assume that european saws must lift/lower their spindle holders without tilting them.

I'm thinking that a riving knife with no guard is an improvement over the guard I never use now.

Does anyone know how thick riving knives are?

Ed

Morning Ed...

A true riving knife can't be fitted to your Griz as a RK is attached to travel vertical with the blade and also tilt with the blade. A RK is made to sit approximately 1/16" away from the rear rising teeth at all times (raised.. lowered.. tilted..) Take a look at a SawStop.. PM 2000 or Euro gut if you get a chance and compare it to the way your Griz (and other U.S. saws are set up) and you will get a full understanding why you cannot make the retro-fit as many of us have already been there.

BTW.. a riving knife can come in many configurations. Some on arc and stop at blade height.. some actually curve over the top of the blade for a few inches which allows room to mount a "crown guard" that extends farther forward on top.

How thick is a riving knife??.. By Euro safety standards, the thickness of the blade with a possible tad or tad and a half under. This pretty much insures that tension wood cannot close back into the rear rising teeth on a TS which are the very dangerous part of a moving blade. The front down teeth do the cutting and the rear rising are the ones that contribute to most kick-backs.

And.. very important! If you run both Thin Kerf blades and standard kerf.. you need one for each thickness. If you have one that is the standard thickness .. change to thin kerf blade and don't change to thing kerf RV.. you have a potential accident waiting to happen!

You can attach a crown guard to your current splitter.. but it will have a very wide gap between the splitter and the blade when the blade is lowered to accomodate standard stock. This is the main difference between a RK set-up and a standard splitter.

I eliminated the top gap by cutting my own splitter and addind vertical slots on it. It won't ride up and down with the blade at the same distance as a RK.. but with the turn of the two T nuts on the side I can adjust the crown guard up and down after I have set blade level narrowing the gap as a RV is designed to do.

Hope this helps you understand the differences of RK and splitter!

Regards...

Sarge.. john thompson

[Phil Pritchard]

How thick is a riving knife??.. By Euro safety standards, the thickness of the blade with a possible tad or tad and a half under.
Hi Sarge, we meet again! ;)

In fact the riving knife is supposed to be about the same thickness as the blade bodty. For a European 300/315mm (12in) blade that means 2.8 or 2.9mm (the width over the tips is generally 3.2mm on that size of saw).

Phil

[John Thompson]

Hi Sarge, we meet again! ;)

In fact the riving knife is supposed to be about the same thickness as the blade bodty. For a European 300/315mm (12in) blade that means 2.8 or 2.9mm (the width over the tips is generally 3.2mm on that size of saw).

Phil

Top of the morning to ya Phil...

Thanks for the confirmation... you might say I was en-lightened under the guidance of Sgain Dubh (the notorious Richard Jones) that publishes and teachs in England after returning home from Houston. Good to know he wasn't pulling my leg as he does like to have his laughs and usually through mischief.

That was my introduction to the riving knife.. crown guard and short fence which I won't turn the saw on without! Quite a wood mechanic and teacher Richard is, well.... when he's not boozing and carousing on the rugby field. He says he used to line up on the field with a Marlboro hanging from his lips as he claimed it was to help him keep balance before contact began. Quite a character.. quite a character indeed! ha.. ha... ha..ha..ha..

Slan Leat...

Sarge..

[Nissim Avrahami]

Hi Sarge

Just to make it pictorial, this is from the UK HSE (OSHA)

70234

Regards
niki

[Jeff Raymond]

Huh. I wondered what all that stuff was that I threw away when setting up my UniSaw.

Too dangerous for my tastes. Just keep your hand away from the blades and you're good.

[John Thompson]

Huh. I wondered what all that stuff was that I threw away when setting up my UniSaw.

Too dangerous for my tastes. Just keep your hand away from the blades and you're good.

Morning Jeff...

The splitter that came with your Uni-saw is not close the being the blade width. All it really does it hold the over-head plactic shield and pawls. And I agree that those stock pawls are definitely dangerous. I sliced a finger pretty deep years ago with one of the gr#### pawls and won't use them period as I find a crown guard to be a better option if kick-back occured and the stock gets launched UP. The saw was off and the guard raised to change blades when it decided to do a command "guillotine" performance.

I threw away the stock splitter on my Uni-saw pictured above and built my own. And I do agree that keeping your hands a distance away from the blade regardless of other features is common sense. But.. some of us have decided that there are alternatives to the manufacturers stock approach.

But.. keeping your hands a distance from the blade.. balance and Keeping the Lane Clear are basics that can't be ignored regardless of just how many additional safety aids you have!

Regards from another Vietnam Vet.. "P" Co. 75th Ranger Regiment

Sarge..

[John Thompson]

Hi Sarge

Just to make it pictorial, this is from the UK HSE (OSHA)

70234

Regards
niki

Dziekuje Niki..

As Phil has already said to me.. we meet again. Maybe there is the beginnings of a re-union here. Phil can bring a large collection of "old iron" and you can photo it with exquisite detail as you are known to do. :)

Thanks for the pictorial clarification as I have a feeling that there are many that are not familar with riving knife details at this point. But.. I also have a feeling that will change in years to come with the future guidelines that have been set here for the manufacturers. The deadline is just not soon enough IMO, and the "grand-father" clause was quite a leneint loop-hole from the beginning. Reality is reality and that's the way it is!

Milego dnia...

Sarge..

[Jeff Raymond]

But.. keeping your hands a distance from the blade.. balance and Keeping the Lane Clear are basics that can't be ignored regardless of just how many additional safety aids you have!

Regards from another Vietnam Vet.. "P" Co. 75th Ranger Regiment

Sarge..


There are countless ways of hurting oneself with both power and hand tools in a shop. I guess my thought is that developing the discipline of respecting anything that is sharp is more important than thinking some gizmo is going to save a finger or two. That respect will take you a long way down the road.

Welcome home Sarge!

[John Thompson]

There are countless ways of hurting oneself with both power and hand tools in a shop. I guess my thought is that developing the discipline of respecting anything that is sharp is more important than thinking some gizmo is going to save a finger or two. That respect will take you a long way down the road.

Welcome home Sarge!

Morning Jeff..

And I totally agree that 90% of safety begins in the mind and hands of the operator. Basics can't be ignored or someone will pay the price sooner or later and that usually turns out to be sooner. ;)

Likewise on the Welcome Home.. brother in arms..........

Funny that you mention that as my experience was "they didn't" when we actually did return as in WWII and WWI. I remember arriving at Atlanta International Airport with about $37.00 in my pocket. I decided to hitch-hike the last 30 miles home to save that for a start which was common in the days before I went in the military. I found a nice entrance ramp and stuck out my thumb dressed in Class A's. After two hours of cars not even slowing down.. I got the big picture as I had heard before my return.

I took off the Class A's right on that ramp (I'm not modest) and changed to a pair of combat fatiques. Slung the 60 lb. duffel bag over my shoulder and force marched the remaining 30 miles. Got home 6 hours latter!

That experience didn't leave me bitter.. but it did leave me "en-lightened". At 22 years old I woke up to the reality that there are no "free" cups of coffee or "free" rides. Just as well.. as that awakening to reality has served me extremely well in the 38 years since that day! :)

Highest regards for All veterans regardless of when or where they served!

Sarge..