Riving knife/splitter retro fit

Rennie Heuer

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Still waiting for the lottery fairy to make the purchase of a Sawstop possible, I thought that I might try retrofitting my old Jet JTS 10 Right Tilt with a splitter/riving knife. I tried the microjig version a while back and was a little less than blown over. There are, of course, home grown solutions as well. I looked at the Shark and although it seems a well made 'bit of kit' their website is WAY short on useful information as to how it is installed and its function on any specific saw. I have an email in to them in hopes to get more info.

Safety being foremost in the shop I am sure that many of you have at least considered doing something to maintain the safety level of your saws while simultaneously ditching the cumbersome and time consuming guards that were so common on saws in the past.

Whatcha got?
 
I have a shark guard and splitters. I love the splitters, there are three sizes and easy to install and remove. I don't use the guard much. It is a good guard as guards go, but I cut a lot of thin/little stuff where I can't use the guard, in fact most the things I have cut since I purchased it, I could not cut using it.. So I rely on the splitters and my "Grippers".
 
I have a shark guard and splitters. I love the splitters,
What brand of saw do you have? I looked for information regarding the mounting and use of the Shark riving knife or splitter for my saw but could not find it. How does it attach? Does it use the factory attachment point? Is installation/removal tool free? Does it rise and fall with the blade?
 
I have a Steel City saw. The splitters attaches where the original guard attached. I have to remove the zero clearance insert and loosen one bolt to install/remove the splitter. It splitters came with a ratcheting handle, but in my saw it was a knuckle buster so I use a ratcheting wrench that I have. The splitters do not move with the blade on my saw.
 
I have the ShopFox cabinet saw (same a Grizzly 1023, and others, like your Jet). I installed a Delta Uniguard about 20 years ago. Use it, and like it. For a splitter, I have the Biesemeyer. It installed right onto existing holes in the saw carriage, and it removes/reinstalls with a simple pull of a spring-loaded knob. The only drawback is that the splitter is for full kerf blades, so if you use thin kerf blades it won't work. They do (did?) make a thin kerf version, but I've never needed it since I only use full kerf blades.
 
The JWTS10-325 is under $15. Is it not the factory splitter for your saw? Maybe you are wanting something alittle more elgant or easier on and off? I used the plastic MJ Splitters for years without issue but, that was on a contractor saw with TK blades. I would definitely want my splitter tightened down just like a guard. If you can push on it from the side and get it to dislodge, keep shopping. That is not something you want to add to the shrapnel if things go pear shaped.
 
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I have the ShopFox cabinet saw (same a Grizzly 1023, and others, like your Jet). I installed a Delta Uniguard about 20 years ago. Use it, and like it. For a splitter, I have the Biesemeyer. It installed right onto existing holes in the saw carriage, and it removes/reinstalls with a simple pull of a spring-loaded knob. The only drawback is that the splitter is for full kerf blades, so if you use thin kerf blades it won't work. They do (did?) make a thin kerf version, but I've never needed it since I only use full kerf blades.
Yep, seems Biesmeyer used to make one specifically for my saw, but it is no longer available. :dunno:

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I need a splitter for my old PM66. Shark Guard looks good. Have you seen this video? Right now I use a home made splitter that attaches to my zero clearance inserts. It's an old 1/8 drill bit stuck in a hole just ahead of, and in line with the blade...it's worked well for many years.
 
Beginning about 2010, I researched riving knives and found basically two categories: 1) inexpensive garbage and 2) expensive and questionable. Table saws that incorporated a riving knife were really pricey, until Grizzly got in the picture. One of the magazines did a review of saws with integrated riving knives that was an eye-opener for me. One of the best designs turned out to be Grizzly. I bought the G0960 in 2013 and sold my Jet 3hp table saw, the net financial result being an outlay of not a lot more than a good conversion kit would have been. During the entire process, I considered SawStop but decided the negatives outweighed the positives.
 
Yep, that’s just the kind of guard that makes people take them off and throw them up in the rafters never to be seen again :) I can only add that when it comes to safety even if it’s a little more than you want to pay, I would pay it.
 
I have a Delta Pop-Up Splitter on my mid 80's Unisaw. I usually only use it when ripping solid wood, because that is the only time I've ever had the kerf close up during a cut. Cross cuts on solid wood, and cuts in any direction on plywood, and composites don't have this problem. It took me a couple of years to find one of these splitters, since it was a long since discontinued accessory at the time, but one finally showed up on my local club's swap board, and I bought it.

This Delta splitter is now available again on Amazon for purchase new, but at a crazy high price for what it is. https://www.amazon.com/DELTA-34-868-Bracket-Splitter-Assembly/dp/B0007SXGQ0 . The Amazon photo shows it rotated 90 deg to the right from the way it would be positioned when installed in the saw. The Unisaws have a 2 bolt mount under the table and behind the blade that these easily attach to. A ball detent in the design holds the splitter in in the up or down position. Once adjusted for the blade position during installation, my pop-up splitter has held it's adjustment well. To use it, I remove the table insert and lift the splitter into position where it snaps into place. I then replace the table insert. It's necessary to have a slot cut in the table insert behind the blade for the splitter, but it's easy to add this, even in shop made zero clearance inserts. the anti kick-back pawls on my pop-up splitter weren't sharp enough when first installed, but this was an easy fix at the grinder. They not only limit kick-back, but their added width above the blade kerf prevents the board from lifting, should it ever begin binding at the rear of the blade.

For a blade guard, I use a ceiling mounted Brett Guard, when I feel that a blade guard is needed for what I'm doing, but I don't use it very often. It's one of the very few blade guards that work well when in combination with the Delta Pop-up Splitter. Many other blade guards either have the anti kick-back pawls already included in their design, or their mounting interferes with the pop-up splitter installation and use. My Unisaw almost never moves from it's position in the shop, but the saw is on an HTC wheeled base frame, so I can move it when necessary. Re-positioning it under the ceiling mounted Brett Guard isn't a high precision requirement, so it is quite easy to do.

I also have a ceiling mounted laser line generator with a 1 button wireless remote attached with Velcro to the top of my Unifence main casting, so I can turn the ceiling mounted laser on and off easily. When On, it projects the cut line on the top of my Unisaw as well as any work being cut. This laser line extends far out in front of, as well as behind the saw. The laser is not very easy to re-calibrate if I move my saw, but it's a great safety feature to have, and it is much easier to keep long cuts feeding tight against the fence by matching this red line to the marked cut line on the work well out in front of the saw. For safety, if my fingers ever have a red line on them, they are in the wrong place. This is especially handy when doing blind cuts, since I always worry about the blade coming through the top surface of a piece of wood as it's being cut this way. The blade adjustment could change, or the wood might not be truly the same thickness at the cut point as it is elsewhere, and the blade could break out through the top surface. This isn't very likely to happen, but my fingers should never be there anyway.

Charley
 
That SharkGuard looks pretty sweet. From all the good reviews they have had, if one fit my saw I would sure lean that way if I were after a splitter and a guard.
 
That SharkGuard looks pretty sweet. From all the good reviews they have had, if one fit my saw I would sure lean that way if I were after a splitter and a guard.
You might call and ask, they may have one or them may be able to make you one... They are very good about working with you. I have a Steel City saw,,,, not common, but we came up with on that works fine on it. Sad Steel City is not still in business,,,, I love my saw, would take a lot to get it away from me...
 
When I had my Unisaw, I bought one of the Bies snap in splitters and it was sweet. Later I added a Shark Guard (this was the one that use the Bies snap in clamp) and it wound up being my all-time favorite set up. Sadly, when I sold the Uni I let the Bies/shark gurrd go with it. I looked back at my notes and i think the part number was 78-963. I searched that and found a replacement that was #1359024S, and some on line parts vendors list it as special order. They must be custom made since the 9rice is $172. Here's what the clamp look like in the saw, in the photo that's the shark splitter mounted in it:
 

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