Riving knife\/Splitter<\/h3>\n
The only difference between these tools is that a riving knife moves and tilts with the blade, while the splitter stays fixed. With a riving knife, the wood will pinch the riving knife<\/strong> and not the blade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n However, some older models of table saws come without a riving knife. What are your options in that situation?<\/span><\/p>\n First of all, you will need to align the fence.<\/p>\n The first thing is right fence alignment. The rip fence must be placed parallel to the blade<\/strong>, not towards it. If you decide to place it towards,\u00a0since the distance between the\u00a0rear of the blade and the front may be different\u00a0that will make a funnel effect, as the wood will be pressed against the teeth of the blade.<\/p>\n How to align the rip fence?<\/em><\/p>\n Use a single tooth from the blade, move it to the fore and check the distance to the fence. The next step is rotating the tooth aft and again measuring the distance to the fence. To reduce the risk of a kickback, make sure that both distances are equal.<\/p>\n Hold the board firmly at the edge and against the fence, and push the board until completely passes the blade. After it passes, you can release the board, without a kickback.<\/p>\n Is it that easy?<\/em><\/p>\n Well, you should keep an eye on several things. Firstly, keep the board straight against the fence<\/strong>. Next, use the right amount of pressure<\/strong> on the boards and finally, make sure that you don’t release the board until you have made the cut<\/strong>.<\/p>\n For additional safety, you should use a stick to push the board, rather than your thumb, ONLY when the board is less than 6” wide. Otherwise, you won’t have enough touching point which can be dangerous.<\/p>\n Related<\/strong> – Best table saws for the money<\/a><\/p>\n What about crosscuts?<\/strong><\/p>\n Making a crosscut with a board that is longer than it is wider, will result in a kickback in most cases. The issue here is that the board can’t be held on the fence to get enough support for the cut. Because of this, you will need a crosscut sled.<\/p>\n You should not even attempt to make a crosscut without a sled as that could be very dangerous.<\/p>\n Related<\/strong> – Crosscut sled for portable\/job site table saw<\/a><\/p>\n For additional info on how to avoid a kickback, take a look at the video below.Rip fence<\/h3>\n
Avoiding kickback<\/h2>\n
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