Saw Guard

Very nice. I will interested to see your evaluation of how it works. What are you using for a splitter?

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

For me a kerfing knife not attached to the blade guard is the next purchase.

Drew

-- Drew, Pleasant Grove, Utah

good for the fingers, and the eyes!

-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/

A splitter/kerfing knife (they are the same thing aren’t they?) would be the next logical step. Any recommendations??

-- Bruce Ebling

Depends on how much you want to spend.

This an example of the high end.

The low end would be something like this.

I’m wondering if anyone has a shop made solution they could recommend.

-- We must guard our enthusiasm as we would our life - James Krenov

Nice guard, Bruce. I’m with Wanye on the high end example. I’ve been eyeing the same one. You could also make (or purchase) a zero-clearance insert and wedge a piece of straight grain wood in the end slot. Be sure to joint it or cut it in such a way to give it a thinner leading edge. The disadvantage to this approach is no anti-kickback teeth…

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

Very nice setup, I’ve been looking at these, but they’re quite pricey. I’m sure yours is going to work fine.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

The advantage to the pricey one is it follows the blade so if you take a 45 degree cut where you are more likely to get kickback it still protects you.

Drew

-- Drew, Pleasant Grove, Utah

Ah yes, Drew’s comment highlights another disadvantage of the shopmade solution. Thanks, Drew.

-- Jeff, St. Paul, MN

If this works for you, check the reviews of 4 different splitters here on this page from FWW online.

-- -** You are never to old to set another goal or to dream a new dream ****************** Dick, & Barb Cain, Hibbing, MN. http://www.woodcarvingillustrated.com/gallery/member.php?uid=3627&protype=1

Nice upgrade.

-- Jesus is Lord!

(To Wayne C.)
For a splitter I use a piece of oak wedged into a slot cut into my zero-clearance plate. It only works at 90 deg. but that’s where my saw lives. I use my table-mounted router to add 45 deg edges. Haven’t had to rip any other angles yet.

-- http://nmwoodworks.com (pens & bowls, mostly)

Nice! Very functional.

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Safety first. Thats my policy. Good job.

-- Ron, Twain Harte, Ca. Portable on site Sawmill Service http://westcoastlands.net/Sawmill.html http://westcoastlands.net/SawBucks2/phpBB3

Hey Bruce,
Nice job on this and the cherry cabinet. I have a question about your production on the blade guard…Did you think about putting a counter balance weight at the other end of the fulcrum? My friend and I have been contemplating making one, but we weren’t sure if we needed weight or not. I hope you have had a chance to use it to answer my question, because it is killing me not to know how this works for you. Again, nice job. What size of aluminum tubing did you use? What wall thickness did you use? One more question, I promise…do you have any support for the post coming off of the ceiling to stop side to side motion of the guard against the saw blade?

-- Todd

Todd: I checked out your shop and am very impressed! I need a much better dust system and noticed your downdraft table and new Griz collector; how are they working out? Here is the link to the overhead guard :http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/overarmguardplain.shtml. Let me know if that link works for you. I did think of using a counter weight, but it really doesn’t need one. Of course I have yet to install the hose that would fit on the guard for dust collection and that would make it heavier and maybe a counter weight would be a good idea to help lift with a dust hose attached. I did also attach a 1” X 1/8” piece of steel to help counteract the side motion, the unit is rock solid now. I can send more photos if you would like. The guard works fine, but when you get down to the smaller cuts (less than 1”) then the guard gets in the way of the push stick. It also makes it difficult to cut tall items since mine will only retract so far, so that has been a problem. You just have to make yourself go to the extra trouble to use the guard. It is easier to not have the guard, but I want to keep all of my digits. If I can answer any more questions or send photos I would be glad to.
Bruce

-- Bruce Ebling

Funny that I came by this now. I am in the middle of constructing one from the same Badger Pond plan. I only had 1/4” Lexan on hand so I had to make some changes to make that work. Looks like you followed the plan perfectly. I had the metal from a dismantled table, so I really have only the hardware invested. I hope it has served you well. It will certainly be better than nothing as that is what tends to be “on” my table most often.

-- Jeff, South Carolina

You could always make your own simple splitter, like the one shown in this photo album (not my photo album or shop):

http://community.webshots.com/album/25137432VvuOLjQXPS