vertically as well as angularly adjustable the riving knife 22 is preferably a steel stamping and has an elongated generally curved thin body portion 28 as shown in fig2 with a center slot 30 that extends from a bottom portion 32 to a top portion 34 of its height a pair of apertures 36 are located on opposite sides of the slot 30 in the bottom portion 32 and a pair of apertures 38 are located on the opposite sides of the slot 30 proximate the midway between the top and bottom portions 34 32 the apertures 36 38 enable the riving knife 22 to be attached to the mounting post of the saw at its fully extended and intermediate positions an aperture 40 along with an opening 42 positioned near the top portion 34 of the riving knife 22 enables the riving knife 22 to be attached to the mounting post at its lowest position when the riving knife mechanism is in its fully extended or highest position the blade guard assembly 24 can be easily mounted to the riving knife 22 alternatively if better visualization is necessary it is possible to remove the blade guard assembly 24 the riving knife 22 further includes a pair of spaced forward and rear notches 44 46 the forward notch 44 opens forward at.