Can You Use A Table Saw Without A Riving Knife?

Can you use a table saw without a riving knife is the most common question in my carpenter career? The beginners get confused about whether they need a riving knife or not. Jump to the article to solve your confusion.

Can you use a table saw without a riving knife?

The answer is yes; you can use a table saw without a riving knife. When the riving knife was not invented yet, we carpenters used a table saw. 

The only thing you should maintain is the safe technique & dedication. When you are using the table saw without a riving knife, it increases the probability of unwanted kickback. That is why cautions & the proper technique are a must. 

How to remove the riving knife?

• First, unscrew the four holders gradually with a screwdriver.
• After making the side bolts loose, you will notice a latch mechanism that actually holds the driving knife from taking out.
• The latch mechanism is like a round peg on the rectangular block. The block is attached with a spring. Simply push against the driving knife.
• Now put a thin metal stripe on the riving knife area to remove the knife from the saw. As a result, tiny pegs will quickly come out from the little hole.
• Then pull the riving knife up to remove it from the saw.

Now your table saw is ready to use. Just give much attention during cutting. Dedication & attention is the key to use a table saw safely without a riving knife.

How to use a table saw without a riving knife?

A Riving knife is an optional safety tool that comes with a table saw. You can easily use a saw without a riving knife. But it is a bit risky.

So to make your cutting safe many woodworkers suggest using the riving knife. As a result, this conception arises that you can’t use a table saw without a riving knife.

But if you are not a professional woodworker, then riving is not your cup of tea.  We are going to share an alternative safe approach of using a table saw without a riving knife to give a solid answer to this controversy about a riving knife.

You only need to remove the riving knife to use a table saw without a riving knife.

What is a Riving Knife?

A riving knife is an additional safety tool that comes with a table saw. It is an optional safety barrier for wood cutting. The purpose of the riving knife is to make your wood cutting safe & secure. There are no extra benefits to using a riving knife. 

But it helps to reduce the chance of kickback that is essential to avoid unwanted injury. If you ever use a table saw, you know how dangerous a kickback accident is. It has a chance to bring severe danger for the operators. It can cut operators’ hands in some cases. However, the riving knife is a blessing for avoiding those vital accidents.

When you put a wood piece through the saw blade, the riving knife retains the two cut sections from collapse.  Suppose you remove the riving knife & use the saw without a knife. In that case, the cut section has a high chance of closing in front of the saw blade. As a result, the blade becomes destroyed & causes kickback.

That is why it is not recommended to use a table saw without a riving knife. But if you have dedication, concentration & most importantly, experience, then you can skip the ring knife.

When Do I Need to Remove the Riving Knife?

Basically, expert or experienced carpenters or woodworkers skip riving knives. Because they don’t need safety devices. Besides, there are some scenarios where the woodworker needs to remove the driving knife. Let’s learn when you should remove your riving knife.

• Dado blade set:  When a carpenter needs to construct a rabbet or dado using a dado blade set, the riving knife is the barrier to ideally form the cut. 

• Small Blade: Suppose you need to use a smaller blade as 6 inches saw blade. But the table saw generally uses a 10-inch diameter blade. When you replace the large blade with the small one, it creates a large gap between the riving knife & the blade’s backend edges. As a result, the driving knife won’t reduce the chance of kickbacks. So you can simply remove it.

Well, in some exceptional scenarios riving a knife is not only beneficial. But it is pretty effective in general working scenarios.

FAQs

Final Verdict

We hope now your confusion is clear & get the answer of can you use a table saw without a riving knife. Definitely a riving saw is not any must-have device for a table saw. It is an extra safety device that you can use depending on your wish. You can easily remove the riving knife & use it.

But it is safe to use a riving knife to avoid the chances of injury. We discuss the detailed functionality of the riving knife to clear the controversy. Yet if you have any queries, feel free to ask.