# Shark Guard Install on Powermatic 64A Part One



## fivecodys (Dec 2, 2013)

My wife, being the good wife that she is, gave me a Shark Guard for Christmas.
What follows is part one of the installation process.

I spent some time with Lee at Leeway Workshop to make sure this guard would fit my saw better than the stock guard. The stock guard was crappy at best.

Lee suggest the .090 splitters so I could use this guard with both my combo blade and my ripping blades.

The guard came nicely packed and had everything I needed but instructions. I was able to get what I needed off the website so that was just a minor irritation.










After unpacking I decided to make sure that my saw was in alignment (Miter Slot to blade, Blade to rip fence).
There was no sense aligning the spliter if everything else was out of wack.



















I had installed the Contractor PALS last year so I was confident the blade to slot alignment was still good but I went through the process anyway. Nothing had moved.




























With all that checking out OK, I moved onto the spliter installation.

First I had to install the mounting bolt. Much easier if you remove the blade.










Next was a test fit of the splitter to see how far off the alignment was.










You can see by the gap that I had to make a few adjustments.
The bolts that hold this bracket in position are a huge pain to get to.
I had to do this all from the back of the saw by feel.










I made a little alignment jig by ripping a piece of scrap about 3/4 of the way and then turning off the saw.
This gave me something to measure the amount I was moving the bracket by. I thought for sure that this darn thing would move on me as I tightened down the bolts but it stayed put.



















Here are the results. A good alignment.










I put in the tallest splitter to see how much clearance to the blade there was. The blade at it's full height touches the splitter. I will have to be careful here










Now it was time to test the splitter to see how it would work with my inserts. I inserted the splitter that had the mounting bracket for the guard attached. Uh oh! I knew this was going too smooth!










The front of the splitter interferes with the throat plate as it tries to seat. Even with a file down it still wont fit. Time to try the new zero clearance insert.
.
Well…......after fitting the new insert I have discovered a problem.

There is just a tiny 1/8" "Bridge" left to hold the two halves together. I cut the slot for the splitter with the band saw.










In hind sight, I would *not have* raised the blade all the way through the insert as it leaves very little material left between the splitter and the saw kerf. I think I will buy or make another insert.

So now the guard has been put on and a test cut made. It works just as advertised. 
After Lee and I discussed my DC system we decided on a 4" dust port. 
I am still waiting for my 5" x 5"x 4" Wye to be delivered so I can't permanently install the 4" drop for the saw but I did move the saw over close enough to use a different 4" hose and I ripped a piece of MDF and had zero dust exiting the guard.










I will post a Part Two when all the DC parts arrive and I can run it through a few tests.


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## jamsomito (Mar 26, 2017)

Awesome! Thanks for the thorough write up.  My Shark Guard is in the mail as I write this and I was planning a little write up here and/or a video on YouTube because I couldn't find all the info I wanted prior. I appreciate your walk-through of the issues that came up while installing.

A couple questions:

How much does the tall splitter limit blade height? It seems the mounting bolts have some play to allow for alignment - is there any play vertically to allow the splitter mount to raise up enough that you get full extension on the saw height? I also noticed you have what looks like a Freud blade. I've heard those are not a full 10", so it would be a bigger… problem, if you want to call it that… possibly with other blades. Just some thoughts.

What DC system do you have/ how do you plan to attach to the SG and the saw?

I was planning to make a new throat plate because I have no splitter or guard at all right now. It looks like you can get away with one long slot and leave a small connection between "halves" right behind the splitter. Do you think there's enough room for that?


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## fivecodys (Dec 2, 2013)

> A couple questions:
> 
> How much does the tall splitter limit blade height?
> *It's about 1/8"*
> ...


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## jamsomito (Mar 26, 2017)

I just measured mine too and it's 9-13/16". I was under the impression the difference was greater than that. Sorry, didn't mean to send you on a wild goose chase with that.

Ah, I actually remember reading your thread about DC. You have a great setup.

Thanks for the follow up. Looking forward to your part 2.


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