Over arm blade guard recommendations

[brianlanning]

Hi everyone. The thread about blade guards the other day has me worried again. I have a delta contractor's saw with the horrible stock blade guard. It's collecting dust on a shelf somewhere. So I figure it's time to get an over arm blade guard. Here are the features I'd like:

Price isn't that big of a concern. I'll pay more if I get more. Having said that, $200 sounds right.

I'd like dust collection, proferably with a 4" duct.

I'd like for it to be able to swing out of the way for the tenoning jig for example.

I'd like for it to be as invisible as possible. ;-)

If it could integrate anti-kickback pawls, that would be great, but seems unlikely.

I'd like for the fence to get reasonably close to the guard without disrupting things.

I have my router table integrated into my table saw. So if it were quick and easy to detach the DC hose from the blade guard and plug it into the router table fence, that would be ideal.

Things I don't want:

When the board hits the front, you get a mexican stand-off with the board pushing on the contraption rather than it lifting up and out of the way.

And just the opposite, when I push a board through it, I don't want it to have a counter weight that's too heavy such that it sails up in the air, then slowly comes back down and bounces.

Bent clear plastic that distorts the view of the blade.

Junky construction.

If anyone else can suggest features I didn't think of, that would be great also.

tia

brian

[Upscale]

Possibly make your own? Depending of course on how much of a rush you're in to have one. I'll upload a picture I save to ABPW.

[Doug Miller]

Just make sure you read the post from a couple days ago about a kickback caused (apparently) by the suction from dust collection on an overarm guard lifting a lightweight offcut into the blade...

I'd say that's a requirement, not just an "I'd like it" feature.

Clear lexan should do the trick just fine. Plexiglass, even 1/4" thick, will fracture if it gets hit by a blade-propelled offcut. DAMHIKT.

Hard to see how that could be incorporated effectively into an overarm guard. Integrated with the splitter or riving knife, sure. But there's gotta be too much give and flex in an overarm guard for it to provide any effective protection against kickback.

Note that this may be incompatible with your desire for a 4" dust collection hose.

That's where my router table is, too. I used a wye fitting in the dust duct, with separate hoses (and separate blast gates) for the table saw and the router.

If the front is bevelled or curved on the underside properly (like the factory guards are), this shouldn't be an issue.

Springs instead of counterweights?

Oh boy, here we go again. You don't need to see the blade.

[Pat Barber]

The Delta Uniguard will do what you want. It does not have dust collection.

Biesemeyer guard comes with a removeable splitter and can be ordered for dust collection.

Hi everyone. The thread about blade guards the other day has me

[brianlanning]

I've considered that route also. At this point, I have more money than time. And I'd rather finish up some other project first. Still, that may be what I do if I can't find what I'm after.

brian

[RayV]

This sounds like it would meet most if not all of your criteria and the best part is you get to build it yourself.

[Andrew Barss]

: Here is the story on overhead blade guards:

:

anyone's interested, I have an original-style (see final page of the article above) Brett Guard for $150.

-- Andy Barss

[Art Greenberg]

Check out the Shark Guard:

not overarm mounted. I have the Beisemeyer splitter mount in my JTAS10, and Lee made a version of his Shark Guard for me that fits that mount.

It does not have a 4-inch dust port. You'll need an adaptor for that.

Otherwise, I think it hits most of your "wants".

[B A R R Y]

I'm very happy with it. If it's in the way, you can simply raise it up, tighten the knobs, and pretend you don't have a guard.

[Leuf]

My shop is in the basement, I built mine to attach to the ceiling for about $50. Basically it's just a telescoping plywood box within a box. I made the inner box in two halves, basically two U's, that could slide independent of each other. Each side has a T-track and locking knob. The guard halves mount on the end with another short section of t-track for fine adjustments.

Since it's hollow it can be the duct itself, though I haven't done it.

Mine can slide up about 20 inches or so off the table. My saw is on a mobile base so if I need to do tenons on something longer than that I can pull the saw out. I have marks on the floor that help get the saw back in the proper spot. I had considered having the whole guard be hinged at the top so it could pivot up to the ceiling, but

Mine is glaring and in your face, literally. It says "Use me or I'll smack you on the nose" every time I go up to the saw.

Not likely.

I sized mine with only a 2"x2" inside dimension, smaller than you'd like for dust collection, and it still gets in the way of the fence a lot. I can slide the fence side of the guard up out of the way and leave the other side down for some protection.

Mine doesn't automatically adjust to height, I'd rather have it sitting just about the stock. It only takes seconds to adjust it, seconds you can use to think through what you're about to do.

-Leuf

[Doug Miller]

In article , Leuf wrote: [long snip]

I like the way you think. Can you post pics to ABPW?

[Leuf]

originally had the inner part as one piece and there was a single knob on the front, and I had to experiment with different knob placements to make it more sturdy - if you're wondering what's with the plugged holes on the front. You probably can't see the end of the drill bit I broke off drilling the lexan, but I see it every day.

-Leuf

[Doug Miller]

Pretty clever. Thanks for the pics.