posted by: dejure
7/14/2009

I have a left tilt Unisaw, which I had been running without a splitter on it, due to the all too common complications associated with the original splitter-guard combination. To be honest, I had never used a splitter in the thirty some years of woodwork. To qualify that, I am a "push stick" fanatic and regularly use ones that both hold the board down and push it through at the same time. Regardless, watching a kerf close as wood curved back on itself always resulted in me white knuckling the piece on through. More than once, things got scary and I've lost a couple good push boards (shoes). Reviews on the Merlin splitter prompted me to give it a try. Now that I have and though I think it over priced for what it is, I would invest the money again for the improvements I note in using it. With it in place, I experience significant reduction in drag otherwise associated with blade pinching. Because it requires only a moment to install, or remove, I find myself using it religiously. To be fair, mine can require several attempts to get the release to work, but I tolerate that for the improved safety. While it use has reduced the amount of "excitement" I experience in my shop, that is, in this instance, a good thing and I give it a definite thumbs up. Kelly, formerly of Olympia, Wash.