Adding A Riving Knife To Table Saw

The bolt on ripping knife bork from bob ross of walnutacre woodworking is a retrofit riving knife that fits several traditional saws that were not originally designed for a riving knife.

Adding a riving knife to table saw.

But if your table saw doesn t come with one fret not with a little wherewithal you can add a riving knife to almost any. Just the one thing that might save you from a very bad day in the shop. Came here to say this. If you cannot retrofit a riving knife on your older saw there is a less convenient but somewhat viable workaround.

A splitter rides above the cut plane and is thicker than the kerf width. Additionally a riving knife is typically set below the top of the blade allowing to make kerfs and prevent the wood warping. I have the 1023sl which was just retired a few months before the new model came out with a riving knife. I will never kerf a board without a riving knife because i cannot see the blade.

Tools ans materials old riving knife or a template metal file drill bit calipers oil for lubrication steel punch and a hammer jigsaw with metal cutting blade marker clamp for holding your workpiece. On most table saws the riving knife mounts to the saw s trunnion the sturdy mechanism beneath the saw table that raises and lowers the saw blade. This involves making several zero clearance throat plates each with an integrated splitter at a different location based on the hight of the saw blade. In most cases i believe the answer is no.

An aftermarket retrofit riving knife does exist. Many of us in the woodworking world have been asking the major tool makers to put riving knives on their saws for years. Not only did they avoid producing new saws with riving knives but no aftermarket riving knives were produced as accessories.