Table saw riving knife

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@woodtechs
@Ryanf piointed out today that the riving knife doesnt sit flush at the base so is almost impossible to get flush at the top. it looks like the metal block that holds the knife is sitting slightly too proud.

@VintageSteel has agreed the block can be milled and we disscussed how this could be done.

Am I ok to do this on Monday? There is a really slim chance I blow up a piece of metal I have very limited milling experience but I think the risk is minimal

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Can you put som pictures up , not sure what you mean, I am a bit concerned about someone milling one of the most crucial safety parts of the the table saw. I would rather look at it first or @joeatkin2 before anyone starts taking parts of it to the mill

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Agreed!

“bend it” is an advice I once got by a woodtech on my personal riving knife alignment and it was actually enough- as in it needs to be in a straight line with the blade and the height exactly same as the blade too - 2022 slms rule on riving knive was: it has to be higher than the blade…

… so you cannot make grooves and have to use spindle molder instead, others think it should be lower so you can make grooves on tablesaw.

All valid H&S points as the lack of height on riving knive can allow people experiment with making bowls on table saw which is wild , but if youre not an adrenaline junkie you can easily use riving knife lower if conventional woodwork is all you are doing (as in a couple of passes to get though a piece of wood or just grooving). It is all matter of culture and general level of skill, which is being assessed by woodtechs seeing who they are inducting.

Personally I always opt in for higher safety option whilst being able to use the tool for the job.

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making bowls on table saw

As impressive as I’d find this, we don’t have the controls in place to ensure safety. :upside_down_face:

i used it as an example of a bad idea and honestly i dont think anyone has controls to ensure safety for doing that

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Will get pictures next time I’m in or talk to you if you are there at the same time as me on monday

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:joy:

Just updating this to keep everyone on the same page.

talked to @joeatkin2 he says he had the saw straight a few months ago @Ryanf feel free to argue with him :stuck_out_tongue:
As a result this looks like someone over tightened the blade on the tablesaw pushing the guard back.

I am going to read the instructions (sadly) see if I can see a way of adjusting this. If I can and isn’t a risk of blowing up the machine I will if not I will share my findings and tell the woodtechs to fix it.

other things we noticed about the table saw yesterday duing the induction that @woodtechs should be aware of

  1. extraction was only working at about half strength (we checked the other gates to make sure
  2. the height adjust is very stiff
  3. the angle didn’t seem to reach 90* (blade to table, I didn’t verify this so I blame the inductees if it can)

Thanks Steve. Machine is probably due for a good clean and oiling.

Were the caps properly on the drum sander? And try giving a twist to the handles on top of the filters every once in a while, that can dislodge dust. Both of those can kill line pressure.

For the raising and angling of the blade, were the smaller knobs loosened first? I’ve noticed some people when first using the machine don’t loosen those and try to angle/raise the blade against the locking mechanism fully tightened. Could also just be due for a clean.

Thanks again for running some members through the assessment.

Cool. Last time we made micro adjustments to the machine, we contacted @ClemJ’s father as he has/knows this specific machine. Might be worth trying that again if the notes don’t have any info.

On the extraction, check for a blockage at the 90degree bend of the 150mm down-pipe against the CNC wall. It’s not taped and should easily slips apart to clear.

But as Max has said, because the saw is right on the end of the line, all other vents need to be blocked to allow sufficient extraction, including those on the drum sander.

Also, the blade does reach 90 degree. I checked it on Saturday, but noticed that over tightening the locking screw changes the angle, so leave the digital gauge on while setting and tightening the angle adjustment.