Aftermarket blade guards?

[John Sanford]

Another recommendation here for the Delta Uniguard. I've been using it for 10+ years on my Delta Contractor's Saw, mounted up just fine to my Incra Fence system.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks guys. The guy who installed the biesemeyer threw away the other fence hardware, so I dont know if the delta will mount. Ill have to look into that. The shark gard looks good, even with the 3 month wait. Ill look up the excaliber too. As always, thanks for your help!

[Harley Reasons]

Thanks guys. The guy who installed the biesemeyer threw away the other fence hardware, so I dont know if the delta will mount. Ill have to look into that. The shark gard looks good, even with the 3 month wait. Ill look up the excaliber too. As always, thanks for your help!

Keep us posted as to your outcome, since I have a very similar Delta I'm extremely interested in your findings.

[Al Bacon]

The BO.R.K is a riving knife....AFAIK, the Sharkguard is a splitter. Do you have a preference?

Actually the Sharkguard can be had with either the riving knife or the splitter. In many cases it is the buyers choice.

[Julie Moriarty]

I've worked with the Excalibur overhead guard as well as shopmade guards. Both work well at shielding the blade and collecting dust. The Excalibur has a blade cover wide enough to cover a blade tilted at 45 degrees. It can be raised to about 4" high, slid to the left about 14" and can be swung out of the cutting field completely. You can make a ceiling mounted guard that works as well in less than a day with scrap lumber and a few dollars in hardware.

I've seen the wide guards and it always makes me wonder what you do when you're making thin rips. Do you remove the guard? Can you move it over enough to allow for a push stick to pass through between the fence and guard?

From my experience, it seems the times you need the most protection are often the times when the blade guard hinders the ability for the stock and push stick to pass through unimpeded.

[Mel Fulks]

At times I remove guard ,make blade no higher than necessary ,and push material with a sort of ice pick. I think there is some safety in knowing that will not slip.

[Floyd Mah]

Incidentally, the Delta Uniguard is very adjustable. It's only drawback is the lack of dust collection. The two plastic faces of the blade guard are independently hinged, allowing you to swing only the guard face nearest the fence out of the way for a thin rip, or even to ride on the fence, in case of the lower fence (1/2" high) of the Delta UniFence. The tubing holding the guard also telescopes laterally to accommodate a tilted blade or to move the guard farther away from the blade. The tubing also pivots to raise or lower the arm hinges, which also moves the enclosed space forwards or backwards relative to the blade arbor. The two plastic faces can be moved apart to enclose a variable width under the guard.

There is no need to get your hands anywhere close to the blade. One of the ways to rip a narrow strip is to use another thinner board as a pusher. This consumable board is meant to be cut by the blade, while another pushstick or feather board can be used from the side to hold the workpiece against the fence. In sort of a one-man band arrangement, I had hooked up a lever to turn off the saw with my foot so that I don't need to take my eyes or hands off the table saw to cut the power after finishing a cut.