..... I would add that I use an
: auxiliary fence that is attached to the saw's fence. It only travels to
: the center of the blade. When strips are passing into the saw, it runs
: along the fence, gets ripped, than has free space to open up.

The picture of your ripping setup looks important to me so I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. Note I'm new at this and when I use a fence to rip my first strip, it will be the first time.

I'll ask some questions that can be answered yes or no.

You show three separate fences plus the Rigid supplied fence, right?

First, on the table surface, fixed in the miter channel are two small fences that hold the strip in the horizontal direction, right?

How are they held in one spot in the miter channel?

Second, The fence that is attached to the fence supplied with the saw holds the strip in the vertical direction, right?

Have you drilled holes in the Rigid fence to hold your wooden piece that supports this last mentioned fence?

Is the supplied guard, now out of position, used at all?

I like this and I think that, even with my limited skills, I can rig it up.