Installing Delta Uniguard 34-976 on Unisaw with biesemeyer fence

[Joe Tuminello]

I am about to install the Delta Uniguard 34-976 on out Delta Unisaw that has a Biesemeyer fence and a 52 inch extension table. The Biesemeyer fence system has a sturdy angle iron on the outfeed side of the table that interferes with the installation of the brackets for the guard. Rather than remove it and install a flat strap as suggested by Delta can I build it out with spacers to make it flush so I can hang the brackets for the tubes? I like the idea of having that rigid angle iron holding everthing together rather than replacing it with a flimsy strap. The angle iron is about 2 inches deep.
What solutions has anyone else come up with for this install who faced the same issue?

Thank you,
joe

[Jim Becker]

i"m trying really hard to remember how the UniGuard mounts, but...just speculating, mind you...can you just remove a section of the horizontal portion of the rear angle iron right where the guard needs to mount? And angle grinder with a cutting wheel could do the job, cleaning up with a nice flat file and some paint.

[Joe Tuminello]

No, the angle interferes with the tubing of the guard. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Frankie Hunt]

I think (its been almost 20 years) that my Unisaw with Unifence came without a back sided angle bracket. Knowing that the Biesemeyer version came with that angle iron I purchased a 2" piece of angle iron to go along the back of my saw too. I faced the same problem installing my Uniguard. I just cut a slot in the angle iron to accommodate the Uniguard mounting bracket. I used a hack saw to cut the sides and removed the rest with an angle grinder.

You could add an appropriate sized shim between the saw and the mounting block but it would mess with the coverage of the saw blade. It would put the Uniguard rearward a couple of inches, leaving the saw blade un-centered front to back. You could possibly compensate some by tilting the guard down to cover the front of the blade. (By tilting the guard, it swings in an arc, it would come forward some) If uncomfortable with removing all of the ledge, you could compromise by using a less than full size shim, cutting only a portion of the ledge, leaving part of the L shape in the angle iron.

I chose to mount mine flush and it works great with no apparent compromise in needed structural integrity.

My saw is the 52 inch version and is on a mobile base. I don't have any issues with the table moving / sagging that I can detect.

Here is a pic of the Uniguard mounting bracket showing the angle iron cut away:
Uniguard resized.jpg

[Joe Tuminello]

Thanks Frankie,
I just got off the line with Steve at Delta and he advised removing and replacing the angle with a strap. Which is what we already knew. I considered doing what you did , but when I held the bracket where it's supposed to go it looked like the angle iron is in the way of where the tube will go. In the photo you sent (which is great, thanks for that) it looks like the tube just fits under the angle iron. Thats how I would prefer to do it. I suppose the other alternative would to be do the spacers in the angle, which puts the guard 2 inches back, and re-fabricate that final arm to the shield to bring it forward. All up I think what you did is easier if it works for us.

Joe

[Frankie Hunt]

I would just replace the existing angle iron with a new piece of angle iron. That way you could possibly mount the angle iron a tad higher, since you are drilling new holes. I mounted mine just under the miter slots. (You could even mount them higher if you notched the angle iron where the miter slots are) As you can see, the guard just fits under the angel iron. Clean the angle iron with paint thinner and spray paint black.

[Joe Tuminello]

I would just replace the existing angle iron with a new piece of angle iron. That way you could possibly mount the angle iron a tad higher, since you are drilling new holes. I mounted mine just under the miter slots. (You could even mount them higher if you notched the angle iron where the miter slots are) As you can see, the guard just fits under the angel iron. Clean the angle iron with paint thinner and spray paint black.

Do you have any problems with the tubing interfering with the cabinet door? We need access to receive pressure washers, etc as they are dropped down. (We are a trade school). We want the door on and closed because we have an industrial dust collector and that helps. Thanks for the additional tips.

Joe

[Frankie Hunt]

Do you have any problems with the tubing interfering with the cabinet door? We need access to receive pressure washers, etc as they are dropped down. (We are a trade school). We want the door on and closed because we have an industrial dust collector and that helps. Thanks for the additional tips.

Joe

I assume you mean the Unisaw's motor cover. My unisaw has a big plastic cover as opposed to the older saws that had a metal door. My saw is a left tilt saw which means the cover is on the left side of the saw and not on the side that would be near the Uniguard support bracket.

Here is a pic showing the clearance on the right hand side. On my saw I installed a Dewalt sliding table on the left side. I then moved the left side cast iron wing to the right side. I then shortened the right side table by that amount. So.... having said that, here is a picture showing what you may need to know. The rule is touching the right hand cast iron wing bottom. The black below that is the 2 inch angle iron hanging down. Below that is the black Uniguard support tube. You will have a tad bit less than 3 inches of clearance for the "door".

My plastic motor cover is not hinged and would work on the right side with no problem. If it was a door then the 3 inches of clearance would have to be dealt with.

If you are asking how high the Uniguard is over the saw then it adds less than 14 inches to the height of the saw.

Is this the info you are looking for?

Uniguard bottom resized.jpg

[Jim Becker]

What Frankie shows is what I was suggesting...and I believe what I did to mount one to the Jet cabinet saw I had at the time.

[Joe Tuminello]

Thanks for that photo, we have a right tilt unisaw with the metal cover. It's in a school shop at a community college trade school and because so many people need the saw all the time, I really have to think this through so I can just do it with a minimum of down time. Using saw guards is required, and the one we have needs replacing. Can you tell me what were the dimensions of the angle Iron you used? I'm not there right now, but ours was 2 inches on the horizontal leg and I believe 1 1/2 on the vertical. It didn't look like the brackets would work when I held them where they had to go, but Ill look it all over again Monday. So Jim thanks to you too. Planning is everything.

[Frankie Hunt]

The angle iron I used was 2 inch x 2 inch. It's a full 1/4 inch thick.

I wouldn't let the door be a stopper. You could cut off the top part of the door and put a sliding piece of 1/4 inch plywood or masonite inside the door to close off the upper portion. Put a slot in the middle of the plywood and a single bolt hole in the door. Use a wingnut on a bolt to tighten it down in the up/closed position, or loosen it and slide the panel down to essentially shorten the door allowing it to clear the Uniguard support arm when swung open. Modify the door ahead of time so you encounter no downtime. Built like mine, you would need 3 inches of clearance. Make it so you had 4 inches to provide "wiggle room"

Use your existing angle iron, just cut a slot.

Or even better ......
Purchase a new piece of angle iron 2 inch x 2 inches 1/4 in thick. Drill all required holes, remove space for the Uniguard bracket and paint it. Then there will be not much down time involved when you do the actual install !

[Frankie Hunt]

Another option for the door is: Remove the existing door that is on hinges and build a replacement that fits on hangers instead of hinges.

[Joe Tuminello]

Really good suggestions, especially the addition on the door. Thanks again Frankie. I'll let you know how it went.

[Joe Tuminello]

i
rankie and JimInstalled it yesterday. Total time 3 hours, two people. After careful measurement We determined that removal of the angle iron that came with the biesemeyer fence set up was not necessary. Using a portable band saw and a drill to perforate the crosscut we tapped the cut sections out with a hammer and filed all edges of the slots. The 2 inch OD diameter tube of the guard support just fit under the horizontal of the angle iron allowing the holes of the supports to match up with those already there. Once that was installed, all the other time was spent assembling, installing, and adjusting the splitter and guard. The lower clean out door opens enough to reach inside so we feel no modification is necessary there. Thank you for all your help and suggestions. I have a photo, but do not know how to add it here. (Our angle Iron has a 2 7/16 vertical leg and 2 inch horizontal measured from the outside. )

Joe

[Frankie Hunt]

Good deal Joe, glad it worked out!