cowchaser Posted September 7, 2010 Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 I have a question about blade kerf vs. the thickness of a splitter. I use a Ridgid 3650 tablesaw and a narrow kerf blade due to lack of power from the motor size and limited to 110 volt electric. I worry when I use it about kickback amongst other things. I know the blade is thinner than the stock splitter on the stock blade guard, which is obvious when pusing through by how hard it becomes to push. Should I go up to a full kerf blade to make sure the cut is larger than the splitter? I hate to give up performance, but honestly my digits are worth more to me than machine performance. Is there anything else I could do to make sure I am not putting the cut into a pinch point? I really don't know what to ask here just looking for some insight on tablesaw safety as a whole. When I was taught to use one it was without guards or anything (high school woodshop 20 years ago). Just trying to get the most from the equipment I have as well as stay safe in the process. If a full kerf blade is what I need to be using please say so. I could care less if I use 1/8 inch more wood on my cuts or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted September 7, 2010 Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 If the splitter is that tight, definitely it is a safety issue. It's acting like a wedge in the kerf and due to binding you are pushing harder; if it splits along the grain, it will be over the blade and possibly send your hands into the blade. Coincidentally, the day I picked up my table saw, I ate at a fast food place and the guy serving me had 2.5 digits missing on his right hand because a split went where the blade was and like parting the Red Sea, there was the blade. 'nuff said. I still remember that hand =:-O Okay back to your question. I'd get a full-kerf for sure. You also asked about verifying no other pinch point. The pinch on a rip with the fence is the fence-to-blade relation. I posted this elsewhere, but an easy way to see and align that relationship is as follows: Set the fence say 10" out. Raise the blade pretty high Push a piece of ply through the front of the blade until the board will engage the rear teeth if pushed further. Stop the saw. Now lower the blade and watch the rear teeth as they enter/leave the kerf. They should not rub the plywood hard; in fact, you usually want a slight toe-out meaning it just rubs in the kerf on the side furthest from the fence. This is a toe-out and will result in the offcut having more blade marks than the keeper piece. I do mean slight; if the toe-out pushed hard, you'd have a kickback situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowchaser Posted September 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 Thank you Paul. Some how I knew you would be one of the first to answer me. Only because it seems like you sleep less than I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted September 7, 2010 Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 Yea, Paul's a night owl. Thank god, someone's gotta take that watch. Btw, I ground down my splitter a bit to be able to use different thicknesses of blades and I shoot for the splitter to be flush with the fence side of the blade. This keeps the wood from being able to bind against the fence and the back of the blade, which is what generally causes kick back. I didn't grind so thin that wood can pinch the blade, either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulMarcel Posted September 7, 2010 Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 Thank you Paul. Some how I knew you would be one of the first to answer me. Only because it seems like you sleep less than I do. And here I though all I did during summer was sleep. Summer lethargy sucks. Winter's when I wake up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Brown Posted September 7, 2010 Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 Yeah, what Vic said... You could see if you can grind the splitter a bit thinner. Another option would be to stick a piece of 60-grit sandpaper to a flat surface and rub the splitter on it to make it thinner. That might be easier and give you a smoother/flatter surface than grinding. After it's thin enough, then you can polish it with finer grits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted September 7, 2010 Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 There are a couple of ways of approaching this, but I've gotta ask what blade you're using? I remember reading that at one time Ridgid supplied an ultra thin kerf blade with the 3650 that was thinner than the splitter (which IIRC being ~ 0.09") ...a huge no-no on their part that could justifiably bring litigation in the event of an accident caused by it (unlike that ridiculous Ryobi case we've all been reading about). With that said, there are tons of people successfully using 3/32" (~ 0.090" - .100") thin kerf blades with the 3650, which tells me that most decent quality standard width TKs should work with the stock splitter. If you're still using the stock blade, hang it on the wall for junk cuts, and upgrade to a better blade...heck, for $30, the Freud Diablo D1040 is a nice upgrade from the stock blade, and there are loads of even more prestigious choices from there. If you've got a 3/32" aftermarket TK that's binding, I'm puzzled why. You could switch to full kerf blades, but they're 25% wider and will add more strain to your motor, especially in thicker stock. Regardless of the additional strain argument, there are also tons of people successfully using full kerf 1/8" blades on that machine, so it's obviously a viable choice too. Whichever you choose, get a good blade...the blade and alignment pretty much dictate how your saw will perform. It doesn't have to cost $100 to be a good blade if you choose carefully, but it can make improve your odds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowchaser Posted September 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 This is the blade I have been using. http://www.amazon.com/Freud-TK906-Avanti-10-Inch-Combination/dp/B0000223O1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knotscott Posted September 7, 2010 Report Share Posted September 7, 2010 This is the blade I have been using. http://www.amazon.com/Freud-TK906-Avanti-10-Inch-Combination/dp/B0000223O1 That's a pretty decent blade, and is definitely a 3/32" thin kerf. I'm still wondering why the stock splitter is too thick....have you miked it by any chance? You could always add a Microjig aftermarket splitter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric_Sweeney Posted September 9, 2010 Report Share Posted September 9, 2010 That's a pretty decent blade, and is definitely a 3/32" thin kerf. I'm still wondering why the stock splitter is too thick....have you miked it by any chance? You could always add a Microjig aftermarket splitter... I recently made some zero clearance inserts out of MDF and installed an MJ splitter that I had lying around and I really like it. The nice part about it is that you can make an insert for each of your blades, install the appropriate MJ splitter and not have to worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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