On Mar 19, 6:16*am, Mike wrote:
Let's just say, for the sake of argument, that someone had decided
(all safety concerns duly noted) that they were never, ever going to
use the blade guard/splitter assembly that came with their table saw.
Wouldn't it be possible to take the splitter, and with a little
creative work with an angle grinder, reduce it to something resembling
a riving knife?

Of course this would depend upon the mounting setup of the particular
saw, but so long as the front part of the splitter mounted securely to
the saw, this should work, right?

Hey Mike,
It would work as a splitter only but not as a riving knife. I had a
similar discussion with two woodworkers at a local hardwood dealer and
we concluded that the importance of the riving knife is that it keeps
the same distance from the blade regardless of blade height and it not
protrude above the height of the blade. (The latter is for
convenience and not for anti-kickback reasons.) Like most table saws,
the splitter is only close to the blade when the blade is highest.
I'm not familiar with most riving knife saws but the one's I've seen
mount the knife on the trunion/arbor mount/ height adjustment doo-
hickey (fill in the proper term) so the knife moves with the blade.
Marc