Splitter/riving knife help

[memzey]

Hi gang,

I feel it's about time I sorted out this aspect of safety on my machine and need a bit of help. My saw bench is an older Wadkin dimension saw that is very similar to the AGS 10 from the early 1960's in that it has the mounting for a splitter rather than a riving knife. I got the crown guard with my machine but no splitter as such. The first thing I'm hoping is that some helpful soul on these boards with a suitably aged AGS will be kind enough to share a scan or drawing of said splitter so that I can fabricate one for myself. I could probably have a stab at hacking something together but would feel more comfortable using a proven pattern if at all possible. My second request is for some guidance on where I could get a 12" square sheet of 2.5mm gauge plate or stainless steel for the making of this device. It seems as though small quantities like that are hard to come by or ludicrously over priced. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

memzey

 

[PassionforWood]

Hi there I would suggest finding a local metal worker and asking if they have a spare off cut of plate that you can buy from them. I'm sure you would be able to buy from them at a lower cost than buying online. A larger company would be sure to have a price laying around gathering rust.
Just a thought!
Good luck with it.

 

[sunnybob]

You can buy any metal any size on ebay, delivered to your door.
Weight that against fuel and time costs trying to scour your area for a piece of scrap.

 

[PAC1]

Have you tried Scott & Sargeant they sell a number of aftermarket riving knifes with or without crown guards

 

[misterfish]

My machine (early 70s) just has a riving knife with blade guard. Have a look at my post wadkin-ags-10-riving-knife-t84071.html which includes assorted pictures.

If you want I can find a scan of the riving knife. Let me know if you want that.

The instructions for my machine only mention the riving knife and blade guard - there is no mention of just a spliiter.

Misterfish

 

[memzey]

Thanks for that Mr Fish. Believe it or not I'd actually seen that when I did my searching before making my original post. The problem is that the riving knife is of a different pattern to the splitter. I know this as I had the opportunity to try the riving knife from an AGS 10 on my machine and it fouled the blade. Thanks again though.

Some mentions of getting sheet metal from eBay; there is one seller selling an 8" x10" square of 2.5mm stainless but he wants £25 +p&p for it! Now I may be getting a bit curmudgeonly in my old age but that seems over the top to me. I will see if there are any sheet metal places nearby but I don't hold out much hope tbh. St. Albans is all estate agents and trendy wine bars nowadays!

 

[Steve Maskery]

Make sure you buy gauge plate, not just mild steel. A RK does not need to be hardened, but it does need to be rigid, and iff you try to cut a RK shape from some 2.5mm mild steel the chances of it remaining flat are about the square root of zero. And if it is not dead flat it won't be any use at all. So spring for some gauge plate. You only have to do the job once.

 

[memzey]

Yes thanks Steve. I had concluded the same hence limiting my search for gauge plate (ground flat stock) or stainless. Trouble is there is loads of bright mild around in 2.5mm thickness but very little of what I'm looking for. I'll see if I can find someone local tomorrow but other suggestions are welcome.

 

[Steve Maskery]

You should find what you need at Cromwell's.
This about 2.4mm
https://www.cromwell.co.uk/shop/materia ... TL4130326C

 

[MusicMan]

I have an older AGS10 and will gladly scan the riving knife/splitter if you wish. But I am puzzled in that you said you tried one and it didn't fit. OTOH mine is different from misterfish's. It has two separate holes for the guard rather than a slot, and a thicker section where it bolts at the bottom. I think the slot sounds more convenient. Why not make a cardboard model of misterfish's, and if it doesn't work I can scan mine for you to try.

Wadkin always called it a riving knife. We tend to call a riving knife something that rises and falls with the blade, whereas a splitter is fixed. (Mine is a splitter on this definition). However, it can be adjusted manually, and it does tilt with the blade.

+1 for what Steve said about using gauge plate. I'd be tempted to look into laser cutting too, if you are uncertain of your metalwork skills, as you do not want to bend the plate while cutting it out.

And how about an old circular saw blade?

Keith

 

[memzey]

Thanks Steve. If nothing else that has shown me that I need to recalibrate my sense of value as regards the price of sheet metals. If I can't get an off cut cheap from someone local I think I'll get the £25 bit from eBay. Still need a suitable pattern though if anyone can help with that I'll be very grateful.

 

[memzey]

Thanks MusicMan, a scan of your splitter would be great! I'll pm you my email. Thanks again!

 

[Lons]

Hi Memzey
I occasionally use a company called Metal Supermarket as they have a branch not too far from me but don't know if anything close to you, they sell any size in most materials.

What about an old 300mm sawblade? might be just big enough to get one out of it and a knackered one will be cheap or better still a larger one if you trawl local small companies might just be available free. I saw some a while ago in a scrapyard.

Bob

 

[Steve Maskery]

+1 for the idea of making a cardboard mock-up first. It will allow you to make sure that nothing fouls when using the rise and fall.

Also, I'd not thought of using an old CC blade, but if you can find one the right thickness, that sounds like a good idea. The only problem I can see is if all manufacturers use a standard thickness. You need the RK to be slightly thicker than the plate itself, not the same thickness.

 

[memzey]

I think blade thicknesses may vary with size. The kerf certainly increases with diameter on standard blades according to Wealden's site. My blades have 3mm kerf and 2mm plates, hence me wanting 2.5mm for the knife.