That would be great if you could send pictures, my email will take a good
size file. I will be out of town after the morning so my PC won't be
downloading for a week. Much of what my father does is very accurate and
smaller parts, the detal in his work is as good as it gets.
"BobS" wrote in message
.. .
Wayne,

One has to wonder. Your father has written several books (published
byTauton Press) and in the introduction of "Making Heirloom Toys" he makes
the following statement:

"The projects represent various levels of difficulty, but all require
strict attention to safety. Cutting and drilling small pieces can present
serious safety hazards, and throughout the book I've stressed the
importance of using jigs, fixtures and safe practices to minimize the risk
of injury....."

Since I've not read the book, perhaps his comments don't include the
tablesaw -or- if he's always just ripping short lengths for toys, there
may no need for a splitter.
In any case, your father is a lucky man and I don't just mean about not
getting any kickbacks but for still being active in a hobby he obviously
loves doing, writing about it and for having a son that isn't nagging him
about his methods of work (although you should...;-)

You've read the collective comments of the Wreck and now it's your
decision to use a splitter or not. The one you have may be a POS and as I
recall, you're a machinist and have the tools to make one. If you like, I
could post some pictures of what the add-on splitter from Beismeyer looks
like for a Jet cabinet saw and you could then design one for your Uni or
spend about $130 to purchase one. Making one is definitely within your
equipment range and skill set from what I recall of the pictures of your
shop.

If you want pics, I can email them to the address you posted. What file
size would you like for each picture?

Bob S.



"wayne mak" wrote in message
...
I understand how and why it works, my father is now 75 years old and still
uses his unisaw daily, I am not saying what is doing is the best.
"BobS" wrote in message
...
The splitter is intended to keep wood from binding directly behind the
blade causing it to be forced up and over the blade - at a pretty
dangerous speed. When cutting wood, stresses can be relieved that force
them to start moving - it doesn't take much to get a kickback and
possible serious injury.

I'll bet if you asked your father how many close calls he's had with
kickback you may reconsider what he's doing as an unsafe practice.
Doesn't mean he can't get away with it but the odds are that it will one
day catch him big time.

You stated he has no reason to use a splitter. Not sure I would care to
read what he has to say for fear of picking up some bad practices that I
haven't already tried on my own. He's either the luckiest guy on earth,
has some of the best wood around or doesn't use his tablesaw very often.

A good splitter is not inconvenient to use and being lazy about using
one is putting yourself at risk unnecessarily.

Bob S.


"wayne mak" wrote in message
...
I agree that is doesn't make a clean cut, but it would seem it might aid
in keeping the stock even with the fence
"David" wrote in message
...
wayne mak wrote:

The Unisaw that I bought has the tongue behind the blade to
split/anti kick back the wood, how many people use this? It would
seem it would help keep the wood against the fence. My dad who has
been wood working for ever and has written books for fine wood
working doesn't use one and see's no reason too. But it seems to me
that it would help make a clean cut any thoughts?
What makes you think a splitter helps make a clean cut, Wayne? Proper
alignment, good techinique and the proper sharp blade is what provides
a clean cut; not the splitter.

Dave