# Not nearly as good as it could be



## WhereDidIPutThat

Never heard of Shark Guard until now. Just checked out Lee's website too, he must be very busy. How long did you have to wait to get your attachment from them?


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## jmos

I think it was 5 or 6 weeks.


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## Redoak49

I agree that it could be better. However, it will also depend on what dust collector you are using. Mine works pretty well and on most cuts pulls a very high per cent of the dust. Only, when ripping near the edge of a board does some blow out the side.

With a 4" hose connected to the Sawstop and the smaller hose take off for the over the blade, I am pulling 670 cfm at a static pressure of 10". This seems to work well for me. With less air flow, more dust would escape.


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## jmos

I've got a ClearVue CV1800, so it pulls pretty hard. Still not great pick-up from the stock SawStop blade guard dust collection.


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## OggieOglethorpe

That's not an overarm guard in the picture…

The Excalibur kills both of them if you''re really serious about a dust collecting overarm guard.


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## iminmyshop

I agree that SawStop's overblade system is inefficient at best. If you are going to pay extra then at least get something that works well.


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## toddbeaulieu

I bought one and never even used it. I ended up with an Excalibur telescoping arm and "hood" with my CVMAX. Not being sprayed in the face is a wonderful thing. Ripping the edge of a board was always the worst.


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## Lenny

For the benefit of those reading this review, there are a number of Lumberjocks who have posted about Sawstop's overarm DC and what they have done to get it better. I agree it is weak at best. One of the main issues is that the smaller hose meets up with the 4" hose at a direct 90 degrees…a no no in the DC world. It's a shame that a woodworker has to alter a $200 accessory to an otherwise fine tool but that's the nature of the beast. *jmos*, I'm curious to know if you use the Micro Jig grippers at all. It seems to me that in most applications, you can't use the gripper in combination with overarm DC.


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## jmos

Lenny, I haven't seen the threads about improving the stock system; I did the review because I only found the one other and it was very positive.

I do have a set of Micro Jig Grippers (I don't use them a lot, but they are great for certain cuts) and the Shark Guard does not work when using those, nor does it work when using a crosscut sled. I do like that the Shark Guard is easily removable and the mounting/riving knife is below the blade height, so you don't have to remove the ZCI and change the knife. That makes it much more likely I'll put the guard back on the saw when I should.

I have not used the Excalibur system, and it may be a much better mousetrap. I'm not real familiar with it, and didn't even think about it when I upgraded. I would encourage others to check both the Shark Guard and the Excalibur and pick the one that works best for them. Either has to be better than the poorly designed stock system.


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## RichardDePetris

I was looking at the Reaxx hoping it would be a serious contender with the SawStop, but at 1499 street price it isn't worth the money. The SawStop is better priced and a much better made machine. The nondestructive technology isn't a selling point. The last thing I care about is my $100 blade when it just saved me $100,000 reattachmeng fee.


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