Riving knives for splitters on saw tables

[Boyd Gathwright]

Does anyone have any experience with riving knives for splitters on table saws? I am interested in what you have to say along with your experiences, especially where safety is concerned.

Boyd :)

[Jim Becker]

I've only seen these on Euro-design saws, but consider the design about the best you can have...you always have a splitter, even in non-through cuts. I've never seen a retrofit for US/Asian saws, however. This kinda needs to be built as part of the arbor setup since they go up and down with the blade. (They may exist...I just haven't seen them or remember anyone mentioning them in the 'boards)

Now that some of the Euro-design saws are allowing for dado blades, I'm wondering if/how that will affect using the riving knife setup...

[Michael Campbell]

Does anyone have any experience with riving knives for splitters on table saws? I am interested in what you have to say along with your experiences, especially where safety is concerned.

Boyd :)

They're more a euro feature, but oddly the Ryobi BT3x00 has them (and I have one of those). And that's just a $300 saw.

Personally, I love it. I don't think they do anything more or less than a splitter does for safety with the following exeception; since the knife is 1/8" behind the blade, there's no chance that any stock is going to be fully cut before it makes contact with the device. When crosscutting or ripping smaller pieces, those splitters on the back edge of the table may not even come into play by the time the cut is complete.

A lot of guys make splitters into their zero clearance plates, and those are much better just due to the proximity to the blade.

Riving knives are also HELLA more convenient since they bevel and raise/lower with the blade, which splitters typically don't do, though that feature isn't any more or less safe, it's just more convenient. (Of course, it's more safe when you have to remove a splitter to CUT a bevel, but the fact that the knife moves with the blade is not the relevant bit; if a splitter could be adjusted to match the blade bevel, the same effect would be there.)

I think anyone who uses a TS w/o a splitter of some sort is foolish, but that's me.

[Jim Becker]

... if a splitter could be adjusted to match the blade bevel, the same effect would be there.)

Both stock and aftermarket splitters, like the Biesemeyer that I use, do follow the bevel settings as they are attached to the arbor at the same points. The difference is that when the blade is low, there is a large gap between the effective "rear" of the blade and the splitter. Only when the blade is raised fully (not necessary something one needs to do or wants to do if the height isn't needed for the cut...) is the gap minimized. Splitters incorporated into the zero-clearance inserts offer the same issue...there is a large gap between the splitter and the back of the blade most of the time.

In a perfect world, the riving knives, like on the Euro machines would be a standard feature and provide automatic "protection". Of course, there is no such thing as perfect protection from all risks and the bottom line responsibility lies with the tool operator!

[Richard Pothier]

Years ago I bought a 14" Oliver table saw for the college maintenance shop I was running at the time. A riving knife was standard equipment on this machine. I felt it was an excellent part to have. When we used the dado head, we took the riving knife off, it was only two capscrews to remove.

Richard