BORK - Blade Guard (Rating: 5)

A few weeks ago I added this blade guard to my Shop Fox W1677. Even though I'm aware of the risks, I'm admittedly one of those who finds most stock blades guards to be cumbersome and even somewhat more dangerous because they severely obscure my view of the cut. (I realize that viewing the cut isn't necessary, but I'm much more comfortable when I can see it) However I am a strong advocate for using a good splitter or riving knife, and have had the BORK riving knife on my saw nearly constantly for over 2 years….very happy with the BORK BTW.

The BORK Blade Guard (BBG) is by far the least cumbersome of any guard I've used, which includes the stock guards for my Delta 36-600, GI-50-185, Craftsman 22124, a BT3000, and even a prototype Shark Guard for my 22124. The BORK guard is small, light, and transparent, and barely obstructs my view at all. AFAIK, it's made from Lexan…I'll make a correction if I discover I'm mistaken. It slips on and off the BORK riving knife in seconds, and can also be easily flipped out of the way while still attached. It works beautifully during cuts and is barely noticeable. To hold the guard in place, the BBG requires a custom slotted knife that installs in the original BORK attachments. It's slightly longer than the original and rides farther over top of the blade, which doesn't allow for thru cuts, but the original can be easily substituted in a few seconds for those operations.

All in all, I'm a happy camper, and am now part of the "blade guard" user club! The BORK guard is great, as is the proprietary riving knife that comes with it.





Here's the original knife installed:


The BORK and the guard are from Bob Ross at Walnutacre Woodworking and are available at TheBORKStore.com for ~ $160. To add just the guard to an existing BORK is only ~ $60. AFAIK, the coupon code "Lumberjocks" will get a discount, unless it's expired (check with Bob).