Santa Brought Me A Landshark

Or, more accurately a "Shark Guard" by LeeWay Workshop.

Installation

I’ve only had the opportunity to install this today, so I haven’t really had a chance to fully put it through its paces. However, so far I am impressed. The improvised packaging the unit arrived in was demonstrative of its small shop origins; the actual contents, however, were not. Installation was straightforward using the directions provided on the site. They warned that some owners of my saw (Craftsman 22124) have experienced alignment issues. I encountered this as well — leading to a bit of extra time spent applying, as suggested, small bits of foil HVAC tape to the mounting bracket. A bit of trial and error and I was in business. That is, of course, only after applying the supplied “shark face” decals, natch.

Impressive

Overall, this is a very impressive package. The unit I received is the version 9.4 — with the big 4” dust port and anti-kickback pawls. It also includes 3 different splitter sizes. Two for use with the guard and one “Shorty Splitter” for cutting stock with the guard removed. Swapping out the splitters is a snap, quite literally, using the spring-loaded plunger. Pull a ring and lift out the current splitter and then just slide in the new one until it “snaps” into place. The snugness of the fit is adjustable via 4 small set screws using the hex key, provided (nice touch).

Anxious to try this out, I attached a 4” hose to the dust port, locked the guard in place and reached for a scrap of MDF. With the DC running, I experienced 100% visible dust pickup. Awesome!

Time will tell just how practical this new device will be, but at this point I completely intend on making this a near permanent fixture on my saw, removed only when the cut demands. The next step will be to build a support arm for the DC hose that will swing away when necessary. My expectation is the Shark Guard will make for both safer and cleaner table saw cuts.

Thanks to Santa and Lee!

[originally published at http://tenonandspline.com/blog/archives/195]

-- Patrick, Chicago, IL http://www.TenonAndSpline.com/blog