Replies

1. 
   TomW | Sep 23, 2009 07:09am | #1

   If you mean an actual riving knife that raises and lowers with the blade, I don't think there is anything available. There are several aftermarket splitters available.

   The geometry of the trunnion on the unisaw doesn't lend it self to a real riving knife setup.

2. 
   BillBrennen | Sep 23, 2009 09:17am | #2

   What TomW said in post #2 is dead-on correct. I strongly recommend you get an aftermarket splitter.

   Biesemeyer makes a nice snap-in splitter for about $130 and Delta sells one of their own that is almost as convenient for half that. I had the Delta model on my old Unisaw. The Delta is (or was, it has been awhile) a part of their Uniguard assembly that can be ordered separately.

   Bill

3. 
   AitchKay | Sep 23, 2009 05:08pm | #3

   You can the the standard guard apart, throwing away the plastic guard and anti-kickback parts, saving only the riving portion.

   I did that with my old, early-70s 9" Contractor's Saw -- a great, cast-iron tool. The riving knife worked quite well.

   I think it was Tage Frid who did the same thing with his Unisaw guard, also adding a wood guard atop it that was sized and shaped much like a throat-plate insert.

   I haven't gotten around to taking apart my 90s-era Unisaw guard, but at least I didn't throw it away...

   That oversize -- very tall -- riving knife you end up with also makes a handy hold-in for very narrow strips: I loosely hooked a bungie to one of the now-unused pivot holes for the guard, so that the knife was pulled slightly towards the fence.

   Then, starting with a scrap between the knife and the fence to hold the knife vertical, I made my cuts, pushing the first stick through with a second, and so on.

   The riving knife pressed the strips tight to the fence behind the blade, so I got very smooth cuts, without any of the chatter marks you usually get with thin strips.

   AitchKay

1. 
   TomW | Sep 23, 2009 05:18pm | #4

   Just to keep terminology straight all of the pieces you are describing as a riving knife are in actuality splitters.A riving knife typically extends only as high as the top of the blade, so it can be left in for non through cuts (grooves etc) and it also travels up and down with the blade.Not a huge difference but it cuts down on confusion.

   Edited 9/23/2009 10:19 am ET by TomW

1. 
   AitchKay | Sep 23, 2009 07:26pm | #5

   That's right.A splitter is kind of like a poor-man's riving knife, but it will never be as convenient.AitchKay

4. 
   popawheelie | Sep 24, 2009 02:07am | #6

   I made one out of a table saw blade. It is just about the right thickness and is strong as all get out.

   I got it out of a blade that was toast. Get one that is the thickness you want.

   Some of the skinny blades would be to thin in my opinion.

   I can't remeber but I think I used a small grinder to cut it out and shape it.

   It was a splitter, not a riving knife.

   "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."
   Will Rogers

   
   

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   Edited 9/23/2009 7:40 pm by popawheelie

5. 
   Jointerman | Oct 01, 2009 09:12am | #7

   The Biesemeyer splitter is very nice and I highly recommend it. But if you really want to retrofit your saw with a true riving knife, check out the BORK.

   http://shop.walnutacrewoodworking.com/category.sc?categoryId=2

   It's a true aftermarket riving knife. Some folks over on Knots have one on their Unisaws.