TS - Power Proportional to Kickback

[Coop]

I’ve wondered this for a long time and a recent thread on WTO regarding a SawStop made me ask. I currently have a 1 3/4 hp Jet ts, purchased in 2010.  It came with a riving knife but I don’t what I did with it and never installed it. After joining WTO and listening, I realized how important it could be. I ordered one and and it was for thin kerf blades and I took it off as I switch back and forth. So having said that, I have been pushing my luck for ten years. Question is, all things equal, is a higher powered saw more likely to kick back than say the one I have? Currently I can see if the board comes back together on a rip cut and can hear the saw becoming in a bind, thus providing me time to shut the saw off. I suspect with a higher powered ts, I would not hear that and that it would kick back? Hope that makes sense and I don’t mean this as an excuse to not use the knife, regardless of whether or not I replace my saw with another. 

Edited May 26, 2020 by Coop

[Jamie]

1 minute ago, Coop said:

I’ve wondered this for a long time and a recent thread on WTO regarding a SawStop made me ask. I currently have a 1 3/4 hp Jet ts, purchased in 2010.  It came with a riving knife but I don’t what I did with it and never installed it. After joining WTO and listening, I realized how important it could be. I ordered one and and it was for thin kerf blades and I took it off as I switch back and forth. So having said that, I have been pushing my luck for ten years. Question is, all things equal, is a higher powered saw more likely to kick back than say the one I have? Currently I can see if the board comes back together on a rip cut and can hear the saw becoming in a bind. I suspect with a higher powered ts, I would not hear that and that it would kick back? Hope that makes sense and I don’t mean this as an excuse to not use the knife, regardless of whether or not I replace my saw with another. 

I think you are spot on. When I had my ridgid saw I could feel or hear when it was gonna kick, with the powermatic I can’t hear it bog the motor at all. It is a 5hp saw. The ridgid did have a riving knife built into the blade guard which I did use quite a bit because it helped so much with dust collection. I can’t ever really remember if that saw did kick back on me, seemed like I would get it shut down before it would happen. I did have the powermatic kick on me not to long ago, happened so fast that it absolutely scared the crap out of me. Made me go on the hunt for a riving knife for it, with none available I opted for the Mj splitter. Have to say that it works really well and I get nervous using the saw without it in place. Bad part about the splitter over the knife is that the splitter only works on 0degree cuts. 

[Coop]

Thanks Jamie for the reply. I ordered a splinter set, two pieces with two pins in each one, one for thin kerf, the other for 1/8”, don’t recall the name. I had to drill corresponding holes in my insert and apparently they were super critical and I knew that from the start. Apparently they were too critical as they created a bind in itself as soon as the piece cleared the blade and I chunked them. 

[Jamie]

16 minutes ago, Coop said:

Thanks Jamie for the reply. I ordered a splinter set, two pieces with two pins in each one, one for thin kerf, the other for 1/8”, don’t recall the name. I had to drill corresponding holes in my insert and apparently they were super critical and I knew that from the start. Apparently they were too critical as they created a bind in itself as soon as the piece cleared the blade and I chunked them. 

That sounds like the set I have. It came with different width splitters that I can custom tune the amount of spread that I get. 

[Chet]

I would think that low power will have more likelihood of a kickback but with more HP you might not hear or feel it coming.  Also the higher the HP the bigger the mark the kick back will leave in your body. ?

If I needed to purchase aftermarket splitters I would go with the micro jig set. https://www.microjig.com/products/mj-full They have some like the ones you described Ken but their standard ones have a bracket that mounts on the underside of you zero clearance plate and in the saw kerf.  Looks like easier alignment.  I think the have a video on their website.

[Coop]

Thanks Chet for the link. These are the ones that I have but I see from the video that they now have a drill guide for the holes. The holes were my problem as if they were exactly parallel, as mine weren’t, it guaranteed to pinch the board against the fence. I’ll get in touch with them to see if I can get the guide by itself. 

[Jamie]

8 hours ago, Chet said:

I would think that low power will have more likelihood of a kickback but with more HP you might not hear or feel it coming.  Also the higher the HP the bigger the mark the kick back will leave in your body. ?

If I needed to purchase aftermarket splitters I would go with the micro jig set. https://www.microjig.com/products/mj-full They have some like the ones you described Ken but their standard ones have a bracket that mounts on the underside of you zero clearance plate and in the saw kerf.  Looks like easier alignment.  I think the have a video on their website.

That is the set I have. Got the 1/8 set to match up to the Forrest blade. Do like them and feel a lot safer with them 

27 minutes ago, Coop said:

Thanks Chet for the link. These are the ones that I have but I see from the video that they now have a drill guide for the holes. The holes were my problem as if they were exactly parallel, as mine weren’t, it guaranteed to pinch the board against the fence. I’ll get in touch with them to see if I can get the guide by itself. 

I can send you my guide to get it set up if you would like.