Homemade TS overarm guard

[Todd Franks]

I had another Creeker send me a PM asking about my homemade blade guard that I mentioned in a previous post, so I figured it was worthy of posting on the general forum.

The overhead arm portion I cloned from the Biesemeyer design with a few modifications. It is all made from 14 ga square tube steel. The main support is made from 1½ tube. The telescoping arm is made from 1¼ tube. With ¾" UHMW tape from Woodcraft applied to all 4 sides of the 1¼ tube, it made for a perfect fit inside the 14ga 1½ tube. For the front to back adjustment I again used 1¼ tube inside 1½ tube, but notched the bottom out of the 1½ tube to allow a 1" vertical tube to slide freely. I welded on an 1/8" thick steel piece at all the locations for the knobs so I had more meat to drill and tap. All of it was welded up with a MIG welder at my brother's place. Working with metal was kind of fun (although not nearly as fun as wood ). After a few practice welds, I was able to make functional welds. Making them pretty is another story, thank goodness for angle grinders. I left open the possibility of adding a telescoping support leg, but didn't end up needing it. The final step was to paint the whole thing with Hammerite paint trying to match the Grizzly green.

The idea for the blade guard portion was obtained from Gordon Sampson's article in the BP archives of WC. I used a 4" flex hose for the dust port. I drilled and tapped a 3" sch 40 PVC coupling and attached it to the top Lexan piece for the adapter to the flex hose. I will say that if I had it to do over I might use 1/4" Lexan instead of 3/8", because 3/8" is really heavy. I might also build a Brett style guard also for ripping narrow pieces. I installed the Lexan guard piece with clevis pins for quick removal in case I wanted to switch between a Brett style and a basket style guard quickly. I won't go into much more detail as you can read more about it at the BP archives.

I spent about $50 for the metal, $50 for the Lexan, and probably another $50 for the flex hose, paint, and hardware. It wasn't a huge savings, but it was worth it to get exactly what I wanted.

Thanks for looking,
Todd

[Bob Marino]

Todd,

Real nice design and welding job. As nice and professional looking as any of the ready made guards.

Bob

[Boyd Gathwright]

Hi Todd,

I like your design; it’s clean and neat and allows plenty of visibility, nice job. So how does it perform? Would be very much interested in a performance break down. What amount of vacuum pressure are you pulling, approximately? What is the source of your vacuum? How well does it pick up the dust verses not having the guard etc.? Would you make any design changes or additions to what you already have? What are your impressions? Where did you purchase your lexan and how did you cut and drill it? Have you considered applying a bush-like perimeter around the bottom or sides of the guard (that contacts the table saw) so as to keep a steady amount of airflow (vacuum leakage)? These are just some of the questions and areas that I am interested in. I, too, have a similar project underway and I should have had it finished by now but Mother Nature (rain) and other priorities have dominated the pass three (3) or so months. I would very much like to hear from you about your project for I am not one to REINVENT the preverbal wheel.

Thanks for showing us your project and I look forward to your update. By the way, welcome to the Creek. Glad to have you aboard.<O</O


Boyd
.

.

I had another Creeker send me a PM asking about my homemade blade guard that I mentioned in a previous post, so I figured it was worthy of posting on the general forum.

The overhead arm portion I cloned from the Biesemeyer design with a few modifications. It is all made from 14 ga square tube steel. The main support is made from 1½ tube. The telescoping arm is made from 1¼ tube. With ¾" UHMW tape from Woodcraft applied to all 4 sides of the 1¼ tube, it made for a perfect fit inside the 14ga 1½ tube. For the front to back adjustment I again used 1¼ tube inside 1½ tube, but notched the bottom out of the 1½ tube to allow a 1" vertical tube to slide freely. I welded on an 1/8" thick steel piece at all the locations for the knobs so I had more meat to drill and tap. All of it was welded up with a MIG welder at my brother's place. Working with metal was kind of fun (although not nearly as fun as wood ). After a few practice welds, I was able to make functional welds. Making them pretty is another story, thank goodness for angle grinders. I left open the possibility of adding a telescoping support leg, but didn't end up needing it. The final step was to paint the whole thing with Hammerite paint trying to match the Grizzly green.

The idea for the blade guard portion was obtained from Gordon Sampson's article in the BP archives of WC. I used a 4" flex hose for the dust port. I drilled and tapped a 3" sch 40 PVC coupling and attached it to the top Lexan piece for the adapter to the flex hose. I will say that if I had it to do over I might use 1/4" Lexan instead of 3/8", because 3/8" is really heavy. I might also build a Brett style guard also for ripping narrow pieces. I installed the Lexan guard piece with clevis pins for quick removal in case I wanted to switch between a Brett style and a basket style guard quickly. I won't go into much more detail as you can read more about it at the BP archives.

I spent about $50 for the metal, $50 for the Lexan, and probably another $50 for the flex hose, paint, and hardware. It wasn't a huge savings, but it was worth it to get exactly what I wanted.

Thanks for looking,
Todd

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Boyd,

Have you noticed there are two "Todd"s that are members and both are extremely talented!

[Frank Foley]

Todd,

Very nice job. Did you do the welding yourself, or have a shop do it?

Frank

[Tyler Howell]

Hey Todd,

After several failed attepts at a "roll your own I went to Excal! No shortage of talent in your shop.
Nice job. thanks for sharing.

[Wes Bischel]

Todd,
Great job on the guard! I was going to build one myself, but I will admit, I could not guarantee success - so for about the same price I recently went with the PSI unit. I admire your workmanship - especially the welding.

Wes

[Todd Franks]

Ken, thanks for your kind comments, but I think I have much to learn before I'm as talented as Mr. Burch.

Frank, I did all the welding myself.

Boyd, it performs great. No comparison to the factory blade guard without dust collection. I don't know what the CFM or static pressure is. I'm using a 2hp Jet canister for my DC system. I'm using 6" S&D PVC reduced down to 4" flex hose. With just the blade guard blast gate open, not a speck of dust escapes. With both the guard and bottom cabinet gates open, the blade guard performs adequately, I'd guess an 80% capture rate. There definitely is not as much airflow with just the guard open. A bigger DC would solve this I think. I did not add a counterweight yet, so it is too "heavy" right now for the guard to glide up and down with the workpiece moving under it. Actually, I like locking it in place an 1/8" above the workpiece better. That way my fingers won't be able to drift under the guard. I bought the Lexan/polycarbonate online at McMaster-Carr. I used normal woodworking tools to cut and drill it. My WWII blade worked just fine. The only design change I would make is to use 1/4" Lexan instead of 3/8". The 3/8" stuff turned out to be really heavy, I'd have to add a lot of counterweight to balance the weight.

-Todd

[Boyd Gathwright]

Thanks for sharing your experience with me Todd.<O</O

I will take into serious consideration all that you had to say as I finish up on my project. My intent is to finish just as soon as my other priorities abate.
<O</O
Boyd



.

Ken, thanks for your kind comments, but I think I have much to learn before I'm as talented as Mr. Burch.

Frank, I did all the welding myself.

Boyd, it performs great. No comparison to the factory blade guard without dust collection. I don't know what the CFM or static pressure is. I'm using a 2hp Jet canister for my DC system. I'm using 6" S&D PVC reduced down to 4" flex hose. With just the blade guard blast gate open, not a speck of dust escapes. With both the guard and bottom cabinet gates open, the blade guard performs adequately, I'd guess an 80% capture rate. There definitely is not as much airflow with just the guard open. A bigger DC would solve this I think. I did not add a counterweight yet, so it is too "heavy" right now for the guard to glide up and down with the workpiece moving under it. Actually, I like locking it in place an 1/8" above the workpiece better. That way my fingers won't be able to drift under the guard. I bought the Lexan/polycarbonate online at McMaster-Carr. I used normal woodworking tools to cut and drill it. My WWII blade worked just fine. The only design change I would make is to use 1/4" Lexan instead of 3/8". The 3/8" stuff turned out to be really heavy, I'd have to add a lot of counterweight to balance the weight.

-Todd