Darn,,,, I was hoping you were going to say aftermarket. I have seen the new ones, IIRC SawStop was probably the first, maybe the Powermatic 2000, and Jet has one and Delta has the newer design on the current Unisaw.
IIRC the guards are still basically the same idea but better built, read that as what appears to be more impressive engeneering rather than the stamped and folded variety that came with most saws in the past. AND they are quite easy to remove and replace.
No.
Actually, all his shows comment right at the end that guards are removed for photographic purposes.
Back when Japanese products were considered junk (in the US), I lived in Japan. You could buy products there that were as good, if not better, than anything made anywhere. Of course, they also made cheap crap. The cheap crap is what the American importers were buying as it had the best profit margin on resale. No one would pay near US prices for things that had always had the reputation as junk. As people got more used to Japanese made items, the importers started bringing in higher quality (and higher priced) products as people were becoming willing to pay for it. I would bet that China is at the same point now. Quality products made in China probably are available but the importers buying it go for the low end. Remember, Americans have been in China teaching them manufacturing for years.
The problem of course is that some operations can't be done with the guard in place unless you have one of those fancy aftermarket overhead guards.
For example, when I said I was ripping a piece of wood to 2.5", that was somewhat simplified. What I was really doing was ripping 1/4" off of a
3" wide board. With the guard in place, the 1/4" offcut, which was what I wanted, would have fit inside the guard and probably been chewed to bits by the blade.A riving knife OTOH would be very nice if there was one available for my saw, but there isn't. I do use a splitter but that has to be removed in order to make a cut that doesn't go all the way through.
Since my accident, I have been considering some way to suspend my guard an inch above the table. With the strange design of my ancient Delta it just might be doable.
Damm it's hard to type with one thumb wrapped up like a mummy. You wouldn't believe how many times I've hit backspace to write this!
Larry
I believe this was menti>
From what I read, even the cheap saws will be better than in the past. If you are spending though $1000 and up, way up, for a good saw, it should be fitted with a guard that is sensible, workable, safe, and actually encourages use.
If importers would stop buying the cheapest stuff available to fill the big box stores it would have already improved. As diggerop mentioned, there are some interesting pieces out there, we just don't see them on these shores much/yet. And for the few importers that actually have any input into the manufacturing process, it's not rocket science - stop being so damned cheap and lazy. The Taiwanese, Indians, and Chinese sure won't be - they're hungry for your dollars.
You would think. That was one of the big disappointments of the Unisaw. I think it went 20 years without any major upgrades - other than a trendy, yet dated X splashed across the front and in the model number. Heavy, reliable saw, but the guard and splitter were a joke. The Powermatic2000 and SawStop upped the ante in the saw market.
Greg G.
Yep. I tried my best to keep that blade guard installed on my Unisaw, but it's just an utter piece of crap and I can only put up with so much of that. I opted instead for a good phenolic zero-clearance insert with a relief cut in back to allow the installation of a collection of splitters (riving knives, really, of my own design that I made in about five different heights, each of which hug the blade as closely as possible according that that particular blade height). Couple that arrangement with a good crosscut sled, a pair of GRRR-Rippers and various featherboards and I'm about as safe as I can be without have a blade guard or Saw-Stop to protect me the rest of the way. Being deathly afraid of the machine and following a calm calculated process helps too. I've had my Unisaw for about 10 years and it has yet to bite me (knock on wood...).
OTOH, that's exactly why I bought my Unisaw. Well, that and the price.
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