I have a General 350 TS. I bought a pair of Freud blade stiffeners and several Freud TS blades. Should I install only one stiffener outboard of the blade or one on each side of the blade? My concern is shifting the blade too far to the left such that the blade is not centered in the table insert or may even touch it from the bottom. Sure, I can try it both ways and see, but I thought you guys would save me the trouble of doing that.
Place one on the side of the arbor nut.
Bob S.
How big is the flange on the arbor? On the Metabo TS i worked width the flange was about 3 1/2" in diameter, so i don't see the point of the stiffener...
There are two types of stiffeners that I know of on the market. One type is basically a large diameter flat washer. A single one of these is used on the nut side of the blade. There is a second type which is flat only near the rim and curves away from the blade closer to the arbor. This type is meant to be used in pairs - one on each side of the blade. I don't know off hand which type the Freud is. However I suspect that if Freud sells them in pairs that is the way they were meant to be used. I use the type that is flat and only use one on the outside of the blade. John
If you have full-kerf blades, vs. thin-kerf, you may not even need them.
Barry
Typically you just use ONE stiffener, between the arbor nut and the blade
John
Why on earth would you remove the splitter?
-- Doug Miller (alphageek at milmac dot com)
How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?
Probably the same reason I've removed every splitter I've ever owned. Stock splitters suck! They don't stay aligned, they're in the way when you don't need them, and they're a PITA to take off and put on.
I've had more safety problems with misaligned plates, malfunctioning pawls, etc... than kickbacks due to not using one. In other words, the crappy stock splitters have CAUSED problems.
Understanding what causes kickback, staying out of the line of fire, and using other safety devices, like featherboards on the fence, push sticks and blocks, etc... can make ripping plenty safe with no splitter.
I'd LIKE to use one, so I'm looking for a good aftermarket splitter for my General. A local dealer is checking on availability of the Bies snap-in model for the 650. The Merlin still needs a rear connection, so I don't see it as a viable replacement for the stock version.
Barry
The Freud stiffeners are designed only to be used in pairs. If you use just one, you will retension the blade and it will no longer be perpendicular to the table top. If you don't believe me, adjust your blade perpendicular to the table without the stiffener. Than install just one stiffener and check the blade with an engineers square. You can easily see that it is now out. I made cuts with both stiffeners on, and then without and could not tell the difference so I don't use them. All of my blades are full kerf. The stiffeners might make a noticeable difference if you are using thin kerf blades. There is a different type of stiffener that is used on just one side of the blade - Forrest makes one.
If you aren't going to use it ever again, will you part with it? I am looking to retrofit a splitter on an older Beaver/Rockwell saw.
If you can help, please let me know.
Thanks, Andrew.
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