Riving Knives in different thicknesses

[Chapel Eastland]

I wish there would be two things as far as riving knives go.

1. A standardization on the table saw. Easier to change, remove, and adjust. It should be as easy to change the riving knife as to change the blade.

2. Riving knives in various thicknesses. Using a full kerf 1/8 inch blade you have a 1/8 (or slightly thinner by a few thousandths) riving knife. A thin-kerf blade of .098 would have a compatabile riving knife. I often use a 7 1/4 circular saw blade in my table saw and it needs a .055 riving knife. Since there's not a riving knife available with my zero clearance insert, I use none though there is a slot for a riving knife.

While I rarely use the blade guard, I always use a riving knife except with the 7 1/4 inch blade. Those who are aghast that I would use the 7 1/4 saw blade on my table saw without a riving knife I understand, but this is not the thread to point that out.

Any ideas? Does anyone make riving knives in various thicknesses?

[Jamie Buxton]

Riving knives are often manufacturer and model specific. What are yours?

[Mikail Khan]

https://www.grizzly.com/products/Gri...g-Knife/T30329

I have a 691 grizzly TS. Riving knife changeout is tool free and easier than blade change.

MK

[Mike Henderson]

Removing and replacing the riving knife on the SawStop is dead easy. There's a lever you lift and you can take the riving knife out. Put it back and push the lever down.

I occasionally use a ultra thin blade and made a thin riving knife from some plate steel of the proper thickness. I cut it out with a jig saw and metal blade and used a file to knock off the rough edges. Works fine.

Note that there's a difference between a riving knife and a splitter. A riving knife moves with the blade - a splitter doesn't.

Mike

[David Kumm]

Sharkguard will make knives to order. I have them made for my old saws. The thickness needs to be greater than the plate but less than the tooth. You can cheat a little if the design of the knife is long from front to back. The longer the knife, the farther the stock needs to travel to close up. Knives that are short front to back need for sure to be thicker than the plate of the blade or they are false security. Dave

[Alan Schwabacher]

Some saws have these all. If yours doesn't, a riving knife is relatively easy to make from the plate of a spent blade, using an angle grinder. I would make it the same as the plate thickness, not the kerf, so an old blade is perfect.

When you do change blade thickness, make sure you have a good way to align the new RK properly.

[Chapel Eastland]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try to make a riving knife for my 7 1/4" circular saw blade from an old blade.

[Josh Kocher]

I made my own splitters (riving knives) of various profiles from SS sheet metal.

It was easy and pretty cheap... tried a few paper patterns to get it right, trace on sheet metal, cut with jigsaw, clean up on grinder.

I used 12ga stainless for my full kerf blades, and
I haven't made it yet, but I bought 14ga stainless for my thin kerf blades, which I don't use as much on this saw, but figure I better do so I don't get tempted to make a cut without a splitter/guard in place...

For your 7.25" blade you could use 18ga stainless... 0.050" thickness would be in the ballpark of what you're looking for... perhaps make the profile larger/forward to come nearer the back of the small diameter blade?

Here's the first one I made...

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