[Shop-talk] I ’m jealous!

[David Scheidt]

On Wed, Oct 28, 2009 at 11:42 AM, Ron Schmittou <rs1121 at earthlink.net>wrote:

> Ok - I know I am showing my age here - but remember back when I was using
> woodworking tools people were taught to be careful around the equipment,
> now
> equipment is built  to be careful around the people!
>
> What the heck is a riving knife?
>

Being careful around the machine doesn't protect you when the machine
attacks.  A riving knife is a metal blade, directly behind the blade (and
attached to the mechanism that raises, lowers, and tilts the blade, so it's
always in the right place) and slightly lower than the top of the blade,
that's designed to keep the board you're cutting from kicking back.  It's a
splitter, but better.  For one thing, since it's attached to the blade
adustment mechanism, and is lower than the blade, it doesn't get in way as
much (never, in my experience) as a splitter does, even on blind cuts,
dadoes, and the like, where a standard splitter has to be removed.  And
since you don't have to take it off, you don't have to remember to put it
back on.  (It's also a lot cheaper than a splitter, at least on saws
designed to have one.)

-- 
David Scheidt
dmscheidt at gmail.com