TS Qusestions

[BOB OLINGER]

I have been doing woodworking as a hobbiest/home improvement for over 35 yrs. My table saw is a 9" Delta my Dad purchased for me in the "70's. It's a work horse, now a bit outdated, but still runs good. Sorry, but I'm not familar with the terms "riving knife" or "splitter." Could someone bring be up to date? Thanks.

[Prashun Patel]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=70761

They attempt to do the same thing; riving knife is supposed to be more effective.

Does anyone know of a hybrid saw with a rk?

[Wayne Cannon]

Most "kickback" is caused when wood is lifted by the back teeth of the blade (because the kerf closes and pinches the blade, because the fence is mis-aligned, or because the operator fails to keep the wood firmly against the table), the work rotates across the top of the blade, and flies spinning back at the operator.

The splitter and riving knife prevent the kerf from closing on the blade (so it has to be the same width as the blade, in case you switch between regular and thin-kerf blades, you have to change the splitter), and prevents kickback cause by the work being allowed to rotate across the top of the blade (work can also kick straight back, but that it is far less common).

A riving knife is the same height as the blade, raises and lowers with the blade, and is usually even curved to follow the curvature of the blade. It can, therefore, be left in place for cuts that go only partially through the work (e.g., two right-angle cuts for a rabbet), while a splitter height is fixed and must be removed for any partial-depth cuts.

[Wayne Cannon]

Some call the SawStop (http://sawstop.com/products-cabinet-saw.htm) a hybrid, but it looks like a standard cabinet saw to me.

In Oct 2007, Steel City announced four new saws, including a hybrid saw, with granite tops and riving knives (http://www.ebuild.com/articles/587220.hwx). I still don't see it in their online catalog. There is a discussion about it at http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=765166#poststop. It sounds like the standard saws will get these features in early 2008 and that the hybrid will get them later.

[BOB OLINGER]

Thanks for answers. The Sawstop website showed the riving knife nicely. I guess when I've had problems witht the kerf closing when ripping certain woods, I just stuck a shim in the kerf to hold it open.