Install Thin Kerf blade on SS 500

[clementfeme]

I hane been reading about the advantages of switching out to a thin kerf blade. My question is, what do I do about a thin splitter. The standard splitter will surely grab and seize the board when ripping. Does any one have a fix for this problem, other than teling me to leave well enough alone.

Thanks for all your help.

Clement Femelat

[reible]

Hi,

I don't have a 500 splitter to check but I just slipped out and measured my 520 version. The thickness is about .072". I think you will be hard pressed to find thin kerf blade that thin. Without looking one up I seem to recall them being in the .090 ish range.

To be sure when ordering the blade check to see what the spec's are, and also check the 500 splitter but I think you will be fine.... you might have to check the alignment however.

Ed

[dusty]

I hane been reading about the advantages of switching out to a thin kerf blade. My question is, what do I do about a thin splitter. The standard splitter will surely grab and seize the board when ripping. Does any one have a fix for this problem, other than teling me to leave well enough alone.

Thanks for all your help.

Clement Femelat

I use a thin kerf blade almost exclusively these days and I use the standard Shopsmith Upper Blade Guard with splitter. I do not experience any problems that could be attributed to the splitter being too thick.

How can this be? Well I think the answer has to be that in reality the splitter is really too thin for use with full kerf blade.

If measurements would help, I'd be glad to take them for you. Just holler.

[dusty]

Clemente;

First let me qualify my comments. I have a Mark V 510 so my measurements are typical only of a 510. If you have a 500 splitter, yours may be different.

I happen to be making a supply of new ZCI so I had a couple of freshly cut kerf to measure. Generally speaking, my kerf are .1".

My riving knife measures .089"

I attempted to measure the kerf on the blade but don't feel that I got a real good reading because my caliper jaw is not long enough to span two or three adjacent teeth on the blade. However, I did take some measurements. I would say that the two blades that I just measured have a kerf of .092".


Now one of these blades was the one that I used to cut the kerf in a couple of the ZCI. The blade measures slightly less than the cut kerf. I believe that is the result of some runout on my headstock. The difference being .008"; if this is my runout, "this is good".;)

[dusty]

Just an after thought...that may not mean much but anyway.

The riving knife that I have came with my Mark V many years ago. The saw blades that I bought from Shopsmith at that time were not thin kerf. The actual kerf was significantly wider.

The implication being that the riving knife NEED NOT be as thick as the the kerf is wide.

Does this ring true with everyone? I made a riving knife to be used when I did not want the upper guard to be in place. It is thinner still and I was going to remake it from thicker stock. I may be rethinking that. Comments please. Should the riving knife be as thick as the kerf being cut?

[beeg]

Comments please. Should the riving knife be as thick as the kerf being cut?


I would think NOT, Dusty. If it is the same size, it MIGHT bind.

[a1gutterman]

Gentlemen,

Are you measuring the kerf that the saw is cutting or the thickness of the blade? With the offsets in the teeth (or the width of the carbide teeth), the thickness of the blade is immaterial. :confused:

[reible]

Gentlemen,

Are you measuring the kerf that the saw is cutting or the thickness of the blade? With the offsets in the teeth (or the width of the carbide teeth), the thickness of the blade is immaterial. :confused:
Hi,

In my case I measured the splitter and was recalling the width of the kerf per the manufactures "kerf width" which will vary from manufacturer to manufacture. The catalog nearest to me has their thin keft blades listed as .097" for a sample size of one.

Ed