Another *&^% kickback! Need recommendations for a REAL splitter!!

[Dave Jackson]

As the title suggests, I need to buy a real splitter or splitter/pawl combo for a Jet cabinet saw. The one I WAS using (Micro Jig POS) just ain't cutting it. It constantly comes out of the ZCI when pushing wood through the saw and today it was banished from the shop forever. After about the tenth time of putting it back on the saw, it came out again while ripping 7" off a 10" wide by 32" long board. The board was in the rough and must have had some tension. Times like that I miss the old 1 1/2hp contractor saw. At the start of a kickback, I could just hold the board tight and stall the saw while turning it off. Ain't gonna happen with the new 3 hp. I had to bail and let it go. And boy did it go! Right through the back window of the shop and about 30ft. into the back yard. It took a #4 smoother that was sitting on the window sill with it. Damn good thing I knew what was about to happen. I posted a pic of the window on APBW. Anyway, any suggestions for a REAL splitter are needed. And I don't mind spending some money on it. Gotta be cheaper that a new windows (or worse.) Thanks all! --dave

[brian_j_roth]

sure of the Jet saw referenced is the contractor or 3 horse

[marc rosen]

I will add my recommendations for the Biesemeyer anlong with Brian and Swingman. If your saw is on their list I think you'd be making a good choice in buying it. Marc

[Swingman]

Ditto ... I have the same splitter for the left tilt Unisaw. Easy to install and removes and can be put back in seconds for non-through cuts.

I took the pawls off after a couple of years of use because they can cause problems with thinner rips, but the splitter works just as effectively without them.

Definitely recommended as at least one excellent solution, IME.

[Leon]

Well, there is your problem. You SHOULD NOT be ripping boards that are in the rough on the TS.

Times like that I miss the old 1 1/2hp contractor saw.

Dave, I came from a 1 hp Craftsman and have been using the same Jet 3hp and find just the opposite that you are witnessing. I have on numerous occasions felt a kick back starting but with the extra power and a sharp blade the blade simply cuts the wood instead to simply grabing and throwing if you have a firm grip on the board to start with.

Right through the back window of

I have the Micro Jig also had have at times had the splitter come out. FYI Micro Jig now has a plastic covered stainless steel splitter that should work better as its posts are wider than the splitter. If you are using flat wood, as you should be, the board should not allow the splitter to raise up and let the splitter out. Keep in mind also, with taller steel splitter you cannot use a jig like the Grabber. The tall splitter will get in the way on some cutting operations.

[Tanus]

I've got a couple of things to say here. First of all, thanks to Dave for posting this. Sometimes people post and get jumped all over, and I appreciate hearing from someone who seems very knowledgeable but still has bad things happen to him.

Second, although I'm an infrequent poster to the Rec, I'm an avid reader. Call it an addiction if you like. And there are days when I read stuff here, and don't get much out of the entire session. Then there are days when a post like this stops me in my tracks and reminds me that I'm dealing with machinery that can maim, dismember, or kill me.

This kind of post makes it all worth it. Thanks again, Dave

Tanus

[Larry W]

For first rip on rough lumber, why not use the stick Jet splitter & guard? It will do the job, no need for zero clearance insert to rip a rough cut board.

[Toller]

I had a problem with Microjig because I had a standard width splitter, but used both standard and thin blades with it. It kept pulling out and was a real pain.

I went completely to thin blades and bought a thin splitter. It hasn't pulled out in the thousand or so cuts I have used with it. Now that I am doing things properly it is great. I have removed and reinserted it maybe

50 times without bothering it.

[B A R R Y]

What he said!

I joint and surface my stock first, and then rip with no splitter at all. The rip simply finishes the width of the board.

I rip rough lumber with a band, hand or jig saw.

[J T]

Thu, Apr 5, 2007, 10:47pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (Leon) doth sayeth: I have on numerous occasions felt a kick back starting but with the extra power and a sharp blade the blade simply cuts the wood instead to simply grabing and throwing if you have a firm grip on the board to start with.

I think my little saw has a 3/4 HP motor. Never had a kickback. Sharp saw blade (I love carbide tipped blades), a firm grip, and pushsticks, use pushsticks. I still stand out of line of the blade - just in case.

JOAT Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. (I have a catapult. Give me all your money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.)

[Leon]

FIY, for years I have been aware that the common push stick that is simply a stick that pushes form a single point on the trailing edge of a board can be dangerous. My home made push sticks actually has a hook on the end that hooks on to the trailing edge of the board AND allows me to push down on top of the back 8" of the board. The common push stick simply pushes the work through and does nothing to prevent the wood from raising up. More and more you see the Grrriper being used at the shows by different vendors and not just the ones selling the Grrripper. It uses the same principal that my push stick uses. It allows you push and hold the wood down while pushing the board through.

[J T]

Fri, Apr 6, 2007, 8:13pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (Leon) doth sayeth: FIY, for years I have been aware that the common push stick that is simply a stick that pushes form a single point on the trailing edge of a board can be dangerous. My home made push sticks actually has a hook on the end that hooks on to the trailing edge of the board AND allows me to push down on top of the back 8" of the board.

I'm so used to calling them pushsticks I usually don't think to describe what I use. I suspect mine are a fair match for what you make. I usually cut them out of plywood, with hook, and a handle tall enough that my fingers aee out of they way even if the blade is set a bit high and to apply down pressre with. I bandsaw frequent replacements, because they tend to get chewed up, especially on the narrower cuts. For side pressure on the cut piece I usually use a long piece, with a notch cut in the end. Every once in awhile I get creative and use smaller pieces to glue together a fancy pushstick, complete with hook and handle - they get chewed up and tossed as often as the simpler ones

- just like to make one once in awhile.

I can't see buying a pushstick, when I can make one that works as well, costs zip, and only takes a minute or so to make.

JOAT Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. (I have a catapult. Give me all your money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.)

[J T]

Fri, Apr 6, 2007, 8:13pm (EDT+4) [e-mail] (Leon) doth sayeth: More and more you see the Grrriper being used at the shows by different vendors and not just the ones selling the Grrripper. It uses the same principal that my push stick uses. It allows you push and hold the wood down while pushing the board through.

After I'd already responded, it occurred to me I'd never even seen a GRR-Ripper. So I googled.

I consider it a gadget, and with a basic price of $50, I won't be buying one to play with. If I ever develop a need for something along those lines, it'll be simple enough to custom make one, or more, to suit my need(s).

JOAT Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam. (I have a catapult. Give me all your money, or I will fling an enormous rock at your head.)

[Leon]

Don't write it off just yet, I had the exact same thoughts as you did, the wheel reinvented with a higher price tag. I used Swingman's set about a year ago and was impressed but not enough to buy a pair. I went to the show to check up on the Microjig Mjsplitter, the new style, and they were doing a demo of the Gripper. I was unaware that the Gripper could be used in so many ways other than the obvious. One feature that my push stick cannot accomplish and that sold me on the Grriper was the ability to hold a dowel and cut a flute down it length on the TS. One other is the ability to eleminate snipe when routing on a router table and when the bit has no pilot bearing. If the bit is cutting past the face of the fence the stock will drift towards the bit as the end of the work clears the infeed side of the fence. The Gripper prevents the stock from sliding back into the cutter and eleminates the snipe. One last thing, you can straighten the edge of a short board using the Gripper on a TS.

[Leon]

Oops,, I forgot, crosscutting and mitering 1/16" thick, 1/4 wide or thinner veneer on the TS is easy to do with the Grriper.

[CW]

I thought it was just another gadget too. I always thought the notched push stick was dangerous so made them like Leon's. After reading so many good reviews on the Gripper, I broke down and bought one. Yes, it's expensive and yes, it's worth the money. Sure, you can make things that work just as well but either you put a lot of time into making one adjustable block like the Gripper or you build several fixed type to fit all situations you may run into. With the Gripper being so versatile, it's discourages you from using something that is less than adequate due to not being able to find the particular home made one your looking for (or haven't made yet).

[Leon]

I learned also that most the vulnerable parts are replicable, so if you have a special cut through one of the legs or cut one by accident you can get replacements.

[J T]

Fri, Apr 6, 2007, 6:40pm (EDT-1) [e-mail] (Leon) doth sayeth: Don't write it off just yet, the ability to hold a dowel and cut a flute down it length on the TS. you can straighten the edge of a short board using the Gripper on a TS.

I doubt I'll be doing either. I'll pass .

JOAT In the rough is just enough.

[J T]

Fri, Apr 6, 2007, 7:13pm (EDT-1) [e-mail] (Leon) did sayeh: Oops,, I forgot, crosscutting and mitering 1/16" thick, 1/4 wide or thinner veneer on the TS is easy to do with the Grriper.

Don't anticipate doing any of those either.

JOAT In the rough is just enough.

[J T]

Sat, Apr 7, 2007, 1:25am (EDT+4) [e-mail] (CW) doth sayeth: Sure, you can make things that work just as well but either you put a lot of time into making one adjustable block like the Gripper or you build several fixed type to fit all situations you may run into.

If I were making using its adustabe capiltes by repeatable making just one or two parts that wold be non-duplicted, its adjustable capabilites mght be worth te ouput. But, as I tend to make multples f a part, move on to multiples of another part, then eventualy perhaps need more copies of th first part, rather than fiddling aroundwith adjustmets, I prefer to make a non-adjustable jig, or whatever you want to call it, and use that. Botom line? It's more fun making my own; more satisfying they'll work and it was me that made it, not someone else; and that's all good for the soul.

JOAT In the rough is just enough.