Leon wrote:
On 12/11/2012 1:21 PM, Bill wrote:

I definitely agree with you. When did "splitters" start being required
on new saws?

Long before the 70's They were fundamentally a part of the guard.


My dads Craftsman TS was half-homemade. It sat resting waist high on a
metal bench with a piece of plywood supporting the saw (with a hole
underneath for the sawdust to fall through) and the motor behind it.
Cutting, fitting and varnishing the plywood top was my dad's early
woodworking projects (he was more of a gardener). Being a very young
kid, I watched. I think the saw was a hand-me-down in the late 60s, so
it was probably pretty old.

Cutting big pieces of plywood on it routinely pinched the blade and it
could kick a little--but it wasn't powerful like today's monsters. It
had no splitter and no guard and we weren't sophisticated enough for a
roller stand or outfeed table--we just used more hands.

It still sits right where it did, but my dad told me a few years before
he passed that he "didn't trust it" anymore. So I'll discard it someday
without turning it on again. Of course, cutting plywood gave me
shortness of breath even back then before dust masks were invented, so I
didn't use it much. And to be frank, I learned to stay plenty far away
when my dad ran it.

If it sounds interesting to you, and you're in SE Michigan, I can direct
you to where you can pick it up for free. It may be a valuable antique!
: ) Sorry for the long post.

Bill