General 350/650 Riving Knife

[Scot Ferraro]

I called General's corporate HQ in Canada and spoke to JD. He did not know if there would be a retrofit available but he too was going to check to see if that is something that might be availble. He is supposed to call me back as well and I will also post a follow-up. I am a happy owner of a 350 that is a few years old and it would be sweet if this option was available. Jim's post makes a lot of sense and I am not sure if it can be done on the current saw but we will hopefully find out soon. I always use the splitter for through cuts and an Excaliber overhead guard -- I tweeked my splitter so that it is easy to take on an off but it should would be nice to leave it on all the time and not have to worry about it.

Thanks!

Scot

[Gary Curtis]

According to the people at General in Montreal, the complete cabinet saws with a riving knife are undergoing testing. They expect announcement of sales sometime early next year.

With a bit more testing it is hoped that a retrofit version of this safety equipment will be available. If all goes well, that might be in the spring.

Gary Curtis

[Bill Bryant]

Any recent news about the General 350/650 with riving knife?

[Bill Bryant]

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[Scott Seigmund]

I recently inquired about updates to the General 350/650 and received the following reply from Norm Frampton - Sales & Marketing General International:


"Dear Mr. Seigmund,
Thank you for your inquiry and for your interest in General!

Plans for a General Mfg. made riving knife for the General 350 & 650 cabinet saws are in the works. We are currently testing a few prototypes and we expect to have the completed units as well as a retrofit riving knife kit as an optional upgrade for previously delivered saws, available by late spring or early summer.

Unfortunately it is still a little too early in our development and testing process to be able to offer you definitive launch date or pricing just yet."

Many thanks to Norman for this information!

[Dan Lautner]

I am told by my local supplier the end of this month or early next month at the latest for the new General saw. I will not buy a TS without a Riving knife so I am waiting. The General will be the only non asian saw with a riving knife and an industrial quality motor.

Dan

[Jim Becker]

The General will be the only non asian saw with a riving knife and an industrial quality motor.

Well...don't forget all those Euro machines!

[Mark Carlson]

I'm still really interested to see what General comes up with. I hope its a riving knife with a decent blade guard that allows for overhead dust colletion and that is easily removed. The guard part should be easily removed. And a retro fit kit for older machines, please. I currently use a shark guard on a 650 and wouldn't switch for just a riving knife even though I know its better than a splitter.

~mark

[Bill Bryant]

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[Bill Bryant]

Any word on this yet?

[Mike Sandman]

I don't know a lot about General's cabinet saws, and if you have good experience with General, brand loyalty is a powerful magnet. But there are alternative cabinet saws right now with riving knives. I bought a Jet Deluxe Xacta after using a Delta contractor without a guard for too many years. The Jet's guard and riving knife design is similar to the Powermatic 2000 and it's very functional. The Jet is missing a couple of things vs. the P2000 -- notably adjustable levelers (!) and a removable key to disable the magnetic start switch (apart from pulling the plug). But otherwise it's largely the functional equivalent of the P2000 although it lacks the P2000's extra 100 lbs of cast iron, its better switch and its built-in casters... and an extra $400.
Mike Sandman

[Noah Levy]

I've been looking at one of the General saws, the 50-560 http://www.general.ca/pagemach/machines/50560a.html, which has a small format style sliding table. I read somewhere that it's a General International and that the quality of the "international" models doesn't equal the General machines made in Canada. Any thoughts about that?

[Jeff Cord]

I was at the woodworking show here in Pomona today looking at the 650R.
I was told that there will be a retrofit kit for the 650.
However, it sounds like it includes a good portion of a new trunnion (if not a complete new trunnion) so it's not a simple retrofit.
I was also told that it would run around $800-$900 (fairly expensive).
Jeff

[Dan Lautner]

Jeff, what did you think of the general 650R? Did the riving knife have a quick release? Was Eagle Tools the ones showing it? Any special show price? I'm thinking of buying this saw but would like to find out a bit more about the specifics. Thanks for any input.

Dan

[Jeff Hallam]

Noah, the things you've heard about "General International" not being the same quality as "General" are true. That's not to say that they aren't good tools, just that they aren't the top end that comes out of this company. Of course, there is also a HUGE price difference between the Int'l models and the straight General when pricing out lathes or drill presses etc...

I own a General 650 and have been very happy with it. A riving knife would be fantastic if it was a reasonable price. For now, I have removed the stock guard and I use a micro splitter from LV. It is easy to remove if I have to, and keeps the stock from binding.