cutting down the stock riving knife.

[Sawatzky]

I want to cut down the stock riving knife on by BT3100 so I can leave it on for non-through cuts. I know a lot of you have done that but how do you cut the metal? Do I just use a hacksaw or is there an easier way to get a clean straight cut?

[Tom Miller]

I used a metal cutting blade on a jig saw.

And ear protection.

Then, I used a file. Without ear protection.

Regards,
Tom

[LCHIEN]

Agree with Tom, probably the best way for most people.

[pecker]

I used a jigsaw/metal cutting blade also. Additionally I cut 1/4" off the back end (vertically) to prevent it from possibly rubbing the table as it goes up and down.

And future ZCTP's will not need as much material removed back there, so they should be a little sturdier.

[crokett]

I used a hacksaw and a scrap block to keep a straight cut.

[niki]

Have a look at this site to see how he did it
http://www.garymkatz.com/Tool%20Reviews/RivingKnife.htm

niki

[scorrpio]

I decided not to mangle the stock part. I took a sheet of 16ga aluminum (was about same thickness as stock part), used the stock knife as template, and then cut it a bit oversize with a jigsaw. Then, finished it on a sander. I used highest-grade aluminum I could find for this, and it is very rigid. The knife hugs the blade real close (about 1/16" from teeth) and its top edge is about 1/16-3/32" lower than tooth tips. Been using it almost exclusively in stead of the stock guard, works great.

[crokett]

Have a look at this site to see how he did it
http://www.garymkatz.com/Tool%20Reviews/RivingKnife.htm

niki

Couldn't tell from the pics if he was missing fingers, but if he does this often enough he will be sooner rather than later. His fingers are way too close to the blade.

http://www.garymkatz.com/Tool%20Revi...-Riv.Knife.jpg

[niki]

Scorrpio
In general, Riving knife should be thicker than the blade body and narrower that the blade kerf (something between those two thicknesses).

My Instruction manual calls to position the riving knife "approximately 5mm from the blade" (or in English, approx. 3/16").

David
You are correct, I never did such a thing and I don't intend to .
Looks like some guys must have the thrill of "lets see if it can cut my fingers".

niki

[Stytooner]

Niki, that might be optimal, but the stock riving knife on the BT's are thinner than the blade plate.
I also not sure that you can even move the stock riving knife back that far on a BT without getting some interference from the back of the throat. 1/16" to just over 1/8" is about all the rage you have, unless you make your own.

Riving knives are very easy to make and you should consider building one from scratch rather than canibalizing the OEM guard.
Decent steel and aluminum can be found at HD and Lowe's. A little costly, but not for a piece that will do this job.

For thin kerf blades, .090" works very well and conforms to Niki's formula. .1" or thicker will only work with standard kerf blades. .12" is really too thick for either. It will pinch very quick even with good lumber.

[JimD]

I agree with Lee although I also cut down the stock splitter. I also came up with a way to reattach the stock guard to the cut down splitter. Does not work nearly as well as a shark guard I suspect, however. The cut down splitter came in handy when I bought some 0.090 6066 T6 aluminum sheet - a 12 x 12 inch piece from McMaster Carr. It is enough to make 4 splitters although I have only made one so far. You have to carefully position it but it works nicely with both a thin kerf and a standard kerf blade. I cut it with my Bosch jig saw using a metal cutting blade.

Jim

[vaking]

I don't think it is worth the effort. If you want a splitter only without a guard - buy a shark splitter from Lee. For $20 you save the hassle of cutting, you leave original intact and shark splitter is the foundation for the shark guard in the future. I bought a splitter first, then got the rest of the shark from another forum member here. Somebody was selling the guard without a splitter - exactly what I needed.

[paulstenlund]

Jim
How did you re-attach the stock guard - that would be my route since I don't have the budget for the Shark - do you have pics
Thanks
Paul

[JimD]

Paul,

Sorry but I do not have pictures or the ability to take any at the moment. The attachment method is pretty simple. I extended the steel pivot arrangement of the stock guard using short pieces of flat stock and put a U shaped piece in the middle which pivots off the bars that are on the stock guard extensions. That will be hard to picture, probably. What I am doing is allow the stock guard to be held by this U-shaped piece. The U-shape is about the length of the top of the cut-down guard. It slips over the top of the guard and then there is a small pin at each end made from a piece of a nail with a small hole in one end for a lock wire to go through. This arrangement works but it doesn't look like much and it takes a little while to pull the wire and pins to pull the guard off and then a little longer to put it back. I hardly ever use the guard. Not recommending this approach, just saying what I do.

Jim

[Tom Miller]

How did you re-attach the stock guard - that would be my route since I don't have the budget for the Shark...

Check out this thread (scroll down to message #8) for a picture of a guard that I made for my cut-down riving knife. It's based on something I saw in a Tage Frid WW book. You may get some ideas of how to reattach your stock guard based on this.

Regards,
Tom