Riving knife alignment

[Woodchopper]

While I have been doing woodworking for some years, I did not have a table saw. I had been thinking about getting one and, based on my research particularly on this excellent web site, it appeared that the Ryobi BT3000 would be just right. So, when Home Depot had the sale last year, I bought a BT3100-l. Unfortunately, I had to wait till about a month ago to start working with it. Being new to the table saw, I am particularly careful in learning how it works, and aligning it.

Last weekend I was all ready to try it out, using dry and straight lumber. But in the aligning process I had been concerned about the riving knife and the pawls. Sure enough, the knife and the pawls stopped my trials pretty quickly.

Despite having moved the shims to the left, so that the riving knife was butted against the aluminum casting on the right, it was not sufficient to get the riving knife in line with the blade on the right side of the saw. The riving knife still needed to move, about a 1/32", more to the right.

However, without changing the position of the riving knife, it lined up properly on the left side of the blade. So I decided to try ripping from that side. Moved the accessory table over to the left side of the table only to find that there was then a gap of about 4" between the main table and the accessary table. Changed to a narrow piece of pine so that it would be supported on the narrow part of the main table to the left of the blade.

Started the saw but I did not get far before the lumber jammed. The cut off piece to the right of the blade had jammed in the pawl on that side. Because of the too wide opening in the back of the throat plate the pawl had dropped down and jammed against the back of the opening. Probably a zero clearance plate would solve that problem by having a smaller opening close to the riving knife, as it is on the left.

It was not a very good start to using the Ryobi. I hope I can call on some forum members to help me figure out solutions to these problems. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

[LCHIEN]

bear in mind that the riving knife is somewhat flexible so you not only need to eyeball front to bak but also top down to make sure ist int he same vertical plane as the blade. The RK is slightly tunable meaning you can bend it right or left slightly to line it up. Its most important as you can imagine with a little thought that it be directly behind the bladebelow the table as well as on top. Just apply gentle persuasion till its vertical. That should solve the problem of being spaced all the way to the right.

As you feed, nothing should jam, the wood should pass moothly to both sides of the blade and RK.

[Stytooner]

Loring's suggestion to bend the knife is probably the easiest and quickest way to deal with that. You can use dado blade shims to nudge the blade out farther as well. This has happened with many of the 3100 models.
Other places like HF sell blade shims. I sell a set of 5 myself. 5 for $5.
Here is an flash file that shows how the shims should go.

http://leestyron.com/images/brashim1.swf

The OEM throat plate is meant to be used for ripping with the fence on the right. The gap is there so that you can tilt the blade to any angle. A zero clearance throat plate would certainly help with any stock getting caught.
It is not uncommon at all for those pawls to get hung up at any time. It is their nature and goal in life to be the hindrance they are. Others may suggest some different solutions for overcoming some of the shortcomings with the pawls.

[Garasaki]

I have the pawls jam on the cutoff side on occasion. It's very annoying, not to mention dangerous, and can be quite frustrating since you can't really SEE the problem, and you've got the saw running with wood on it, etc etc.

I personally believe the pawls are an excellent idea but perhaps weren't carried out "optimally" on the bt3k.

As you get more experience with the saw, checking the pawls will become habit. Check em when you install the guard assembly to make sure they move freely. You'll recognize stock that is the right size to potentially jam them...and when making those cuts you can jerry rig a way to prop the cutoff side pawl open.

Plus, your question after your first few cuts will be "what are these black streaks on my wood?!?!" which is from the pawls. Put some tape (masking, painters, or duct would probably work) on the teeth before you even get rolling.

The BT3k is not the simpliest saw out there...it has a learning curve to it, and the pawls and RK are definately part of that. Rest assured, once you get them "mastered", it's second nature and is no longer an annoyance (or at least as much of an annoyance).

And don't second guess your choice...I spent some time last weekend ripping 2 1/2" hardddddddd maple, 50" long pieces. My BT3k, circa 96 (I have only owned it for a year and a half though), was more then up to the task...no burn marks or anything. Very safe as well!

[rja]

Get the Shark Guard. You won't regret it. Search this forum for Shark Guard and you will get plenty of information.

[eezlock]

riving knife alignment

Woodchopper, the main thing to think about the riving knife is alignment with the blade....center it with the blade by eyeballing as close as possible.
You might have to move a shim from it's mount from left to right or vice versa
to get it centered. Once that is accomplished...the centering part is/ should be done. Be sure an check the distance from riving knife to blade and make sure the the space between them is even all the way around the outer edge of the blade probably at least a good 1/4" clearance would be good here. As to the anti-kick back pawls....I personally did not like them, removed them from the stock blade guard and made my ripping cuts a lot smoother and easier for me. You do what you feel is right for you, concening
the anti-kick back pawls. I hated the marks they left on the wood and like
some one else said they can and do sometimes trap the wood on the back side of the cut which I did not like!
After a while of using the stock blade guard....you will tire of it pretty quickly....if that happens...get in touch with
Lee Styron (skytooner) thru this site and order his sharkguard/ riving knife set up....a lot easier to use
and makes life a lot simpler when using it on the saw! eezlock

[HarmsWay]

That 1/32" sounds like quite a bit. I remember mine being a couple of shims off centre but that's huge. Once the bottom is aligned (blade fully raised), the bending part takes but a moment but is equally important.

The pawls are appalling. They serve a useful safety function but I found they usually marked up the wood and actually made it more difficult to use a push stick when cutting close to the fence. I think top and side feather boards are a much safer and more effective way of preventing kickbacks. I use a Shark and shop-made feather boards.

Bob

[Woodchopper]

Progress

Thank you all for your suggestions and encouragement. I was getting a bit disappointed at not being able to get to work with the Ryobi more quickly. Following your suggestions, I got the riving knife into shape with the result that the gap has been halved, though it did take more persuasion than I had expeced. But now that I have gotten that gap reduced to .015". And, I am ordering the blade shims from Lee, which should take care of that problem.

Also, I looked at the SharkGuard web site and found it most interesting. I have decided to order the SharkGuard/Riving Knife as it does seem to be an excellent addition to the saw. Coincidentally, it will also solve the pawl problem too. In the meantime I will just manage with the existing pawls.

Very much appreciated your suggestions. But, I'm sure, I will have many more questions for Forum members as I get back to work in the basement, at least its cool in summer.

Mal