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If your saw is not equipped with a splitter or a riving knife you need to read this.
It is well known that a table saw's main role is to rip wood. Table saws were designed as tool to rip wood and that is what they are best doing, and that is what most of them are used for most of the time. The type of material you are cutting can make a big difference to your safety and the ease with which you cut wood, and to the actual wood you are cutting. For example, if you are cutting material like plywood, MDF, hardboard, chipboard or any of the other “manufactured woods and materials” splitters or riving knives are not as critical, though they are still useful.
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I don't know how many times I get asked the question, what should I purchase a jointer or a planer. The quick answer to this is both, but for those who want to know why, or what alternatives there might be, read on.
Depending on where you obtain your wood, it can be anything from rough to finely milled and ready to use. In many cases wood is purchased "rough cut" and needs to be finely milled. The reason for this is that whoever milled the wood, has no idea what you are going to make with it, so they cut the wood on the large size you you can re-size it to fit your project and as well as to cut around, or include any "features" of the wood like figure, knots etc.