Do anti-kickback pawls really work???

[Greg Muller]

Fortunately for me, I have never had a serious kickback (no bad juju, no bad juju), but I am shopping for an easy to remove splitter. Are the pawls effective? Any evidence?

[Ben Rafael]

They have been very effective for me.

[Greg Muller]

So, Ben, you have actually had a dangerous kickback stopped by the pawls?

How much damage to the wood did they do? (I know that wood damage is better than damage to me, I'm just trying to get an idea of how deep the pawls imbedded themselves in the wood for a force reference)..

thanks.

[Steve Sawyer]

From what I understand, anti-kickback pawls are better than nothing, but not really the thing on which you want to rely to deal with kickback.

First you want to prevent kickback if possible. The best defense against kickback is a true riving knife, basically a splitter just shy of the width of the blade that curves up and around the back of the blade. This keeps the stock from contacting the teeth on the back of the blade which is what causes kickback.

The next best thing is a splitter, also close to blade-width, and as close to the back of the blade as possible. The thinner the splitter, the less effective it is. The farther back from the rear of the blade, the less effective it is.

Anti-kickback pawls should be the backup to the preceding two options - if you can't, or don't (despite your best efforts) prevent the kickback, the pawls will at least retard the return of the stock in your direction. However, by their very design the pawls may or may not be effective at this - it depends on how the stock is moving (upwards, twisting, parallel to the table, etc.) and dumb luck as to whether the pawls actually engage the wood.

Other solutions are things like board-buddies and featherboards, both of which will retard the movement of the stock in a kickback situation, but again the way the wood reacts to the kickback, as well as the condition of the wood surface and the device (i.e. how much swarf and sawdust is there lubricating that interface) will determine their effectiveness.

[Jim Broestler]

They seem to be good at keeping the cutoffs down, preventing them from being caught by the blade and flying toward me. As far as keeping a workpiece down in the event of a kickback, I have yet to find out because I use a couple different safety measures to prevent it (after nearly losing a finger because I didn't keep the guard/splitter on).

[Glen Blanchard]

Prior to my SawStop purchase, I owned (and loved) a JET cabinet saw - and before that a JET contractor saw. Both of my JET table saws had anti-kickback pawls, so I was accustomed to them being there. I can't say that they ever prevented a serious kickback, as I have never had one of those. When I purchased my SS, I was at first a bit disconcerted with the lack of anti-kickback pawls. I even began a thread here asking about their importance. Bottom line is that if you have a splitter or riving knife, there is not a great need for these things. I do not miss them with my SawStop.

[Ben Rafael]

Mine have left small pin size holes in the lumber.
IMO, you should have both the pawls and a splitter. With narrow stock the pawls can be a bit of a pain, it those cases I just secure them out of the way.
The pawls actually cause more damage to my miter sled than to any wood I've run through my saw.

[Ben Rafael]

I agree with Steve, if you can have a riving knife then that is far better than pawls. Unfortunately riving knives are not commonly available on saws in the US.

[Rick Gifford]

But, all the big manufactuers are putting the riving knives on their new models. Your going to see them alot from now on.

[Greg Cole]

Hey Greg,
The factory guard with pawls on it never made it on the saw.
I used (still do) the MJ snap in splitter. It's OK. I'll give it to you if you want it when I get the new guard installed (have the mounting-spacing template & 2 splitters). Good for 3/4" material or thinner as they splitter part's not too tall, 'tis better than nothing.
I finally got my Shark Guard delivered and am working toward getting that installed, hopefully this weekend.
I too would rather gear up to have things in place to avoid kick back versus rely on some stamped steel pieces as a kick back deterrent. The splitter with the shark guard work much like a riving knife except it's stationary (to there are a couple height splitters for different thickness materials).
Cheers.
Greg

[Lee Koepke]

they also leave small holes in your fingers if they are in the wrong place during re-installation of your guard assembly ....

[Dan Lee]

When I purchased my SS, I was at first a bit disconcerted with the lack of anti-kickback pawls.

Glen
Didin't you get the second knife that has the plastic blade guard and pawls?
Dan

[Roland Chung]

Hi Greg,

Try to find a good splitter with the anti kickback pawls. It's not so much that we would remember being saved from a nasty kickback by the pawls - they work more like a finger board, almost passively. Once the board gets past the rear part of the blade and is "held down" by the pawls, the board can't ride up on the rear teeth (coming up from below the table) and get kicked back at you.

A good splitter helps keep some wood boards from closing up around the teeth in the rear of the blade, preventing the board from lifting and getting thrown back at you.

It is the lifting action of the teeth at the rear of the blade that is trying to get you. The two functions of the splitter with the anti-kickback pawls helps resist this.

There are some limitations:

1) My pawls don't grab melamine.
2) There is a danger zone after the board passes the center of the blade and before it reaches the splitter and pawls, where the board could lift off and be thrown at you.
3) The pawls work better if you sharpen them occasionally.
4) The pawls can leave marks, but it has never been a problem for me. I've never seen them on finished work.
5) I've seen solid wood boards try to close up more than plywood or melamine or mdf.
6) Never had a kickback using a splitter and pawls.
7) I've had nasty kickbacks using a jobsite saw without the blade guard/integrated splitter and pawls.

Someday, I will even move up from the splitter and pawls to a table saw with a riving knife. Good luck and get a good one!

[Glen Blanchard]

Glen
Didin't you get the second knife that has the plastic blade guard and pawls?
Dan

Ya know Dan, that thing is hanging on my wall and I have never really even looked at it. It went straight from its packaging to being a wall adornment. I have an Excalibur overhead guard, so I went right to the stand-alone splitter.

[Jim Becker]

When I bought the Biesemeyer snap-in splitter for the Jet cabinet saw I used to own, the very first thing I did before installing it was remove the pawls. I don't like them and can't really see their benefit when the splitter is in place to keep material from riding up on the blade in most circumstances. They also can damage thin veneers if they get the least out of adjustment. Additionally they totally get in the way of narrow rips and using a push block. You'll not see pawls on a Euro riving knife, either...