Table saw blade guards

I never installed mine 20 years ago when I bought my saw for all the reasons you listed.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

I don’t even remember how to put mine on

-- Ron, Missouri

i don’t even know where mine ( 3 different saws ) are ,
although i saved them ,
in case i ever sell one .
when i buy a new saw ,
whether chop or table saw ,
it’s the first thing to go !

-- david - only thru kindness can this world be whole . If we don't succeed we run the risk of failure. Dan Quayle

I was in the same position when I owned my Craftsman saw. I took the blade guard off right after I bought it for all the same reasons that you described. It was a serious compromise of the saw’s safety features as you say. But with my new saw it takes only a few seconds to remove or replace the blade guard with a riving knife so I use it all the time, unless I am doing a cut that precludes use of the blade guard.

-- Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful- Joshua Marine

I have never used mine

-- "Good artists borrow, great artists steal”…..Picasso

mine has been collecting dust for 4 yrs

-- Gary, DeKalb Texas only 4 miles from the mill

I don’t have them on mine, and I have an over head one for one of my saw’s. I’m with you, I think they can be, and I stress “can,” be more dangerous in place then without them. My advice, for what it’s worth, and what I tell the people who come into the shop to work, is to do what you feel comfortable with. If you’re comfortable and feel safe with the guards in place, then use them, if you’re not comfortable with them in place then don’t use them. However, I feel I should mention that the best blade guard/splitter system I’ve seen on a table saw is the one that’s on the new Delta Unisaw. If I owned one of those saws, I’d really consider at least keeping the splitter in place.

-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken

Ditto for all the reasons mentioned above. I’ve tried (usually once) with each blade guard on each new saw, then promptly remove them. Besides getting in the way, visibility and jamming etc, the concern I have is that the saw blade guards do nothing to prevent the most common type of accident. Say you are neglecting to use push sticks, and you slip or the piece is fired out. What happens? Your hands might slide on the top towards the blade. blade guards will just lift out of the way and let your hand slide right into the blade. Worse yet they might actually hold you down towards the saw if you try to pull up. The only safety options that I’ve seen that look useful are splitters and that SawStop.

I keep blades adjusted as low as possible, I usually adjust the blade to have 3 teeth showing above the material thickness. Also I keep my hands at least 10 inches from the blade, always have push sticks handy, and never take my focus off the cutting path until the blade is fully stopped. When not in use I drop the blade below the table height.

-- You know.... I think that old wood needs to be furniture.

Tried it at least once on each saw, and then stored it in a safe place. My current saw has a riving knife that I do like using and leave on all the time.

-- Mike

I’m saving mine for the wake.
Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

I think they all suck for all the reasons you listed. Used one 32 years ago and had a kickback and cut 2 fingers off and had them reattached.

-- Jerry--A man can never have enough tools or clamps

It’s a personal choice with pros and cons, like wearing a motorcycle helmet.

As long as you have some sort of splitter or riving knife setup, I don’t think it is that big a deal. But if some of you guys are ditching the stock blade guard with the built in splitter, and operating the saw with no protection against a board closing up against the blade, I personally think you are playing with fire.

-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"

Since my TS is mostly dedicated for ripping, I leave mine on all the time. I feel more comfortable with having the anti-kickback pawls and splitter engaged during a cut.

My old craftsman blade guard was a huge pain, compared to this new saw that has a fairly easy on/off thumbscrew and the lead edge beveled splitter travels up and down with the blade and holds good alignment with it. I can also see my cut easily, which promotes leaving it on.

I don’t build furniture at this point so I use my router for dado, and rabbets. Crosscutting I have a RAS. I like having machines pretty much dedicated to a task, so that it saves on set-up time.

To paraphrase Blazing Saddles: Blade guards? We don’t need no stinkin blade guards!

-- It must be jelly baby, cause jam don't shake like that...

My saw has a riving knife which I use almost all the time. the guard – - – no it gets in the way

-- The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. Confucius, 经过艰苦的努力的梦想可以成真