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Thread: "Accessory Guard" on Craftsman (Emerson) Radial Saw Refit

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Las Cruces, NM
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    "Accessory Guard" on Craftsman (Emerson) Radial Saw Refit

    I responded online to the Emerson product recall offer for my Craftsman model 113.197750 radial arm saw and recieved my free model 509346 refit kit. The new blade guard comes already assembled except for a plastic piece called "Accessory Guard " that must be attached to it. (This is NOT an "accessory guard" in the sense that one would use it as a guard for a planer head or dado blade. It is merely something you must put on the new saw guard. It is a little curved plastic piece that serves to guard the lower edge of the blade on the side of the blade that is nearest the motor. )

    Once the accessory guard is installed, it is very hard to change blades on the saw and extremely hard to put on a dado blade with chippers. To get the blade on, I must blanance the guard on the saw without completely installing it. Then I must slip the blade on, tighten the shaft nut. Only after that, can I install the guard properly. The directions that come with the guard indicate that this is the correct way to do things.

    I'd be interested to know if other radial arm saw owners with a refit kit are findiing the same problem.

    If the "Accessory Guard" is left off, then it is possible to install the blade with the guard completely off the saw and then slip the guard on over it. The new guard is harder to install than the original guard, but I would be willing to take the trouble. (There is some danger that if the new guard is not seated properly, it will fall off into the spinning saw blade. So before running the saw, the operator needs to double check that the new guard is installed securely.) However, without the accessory guard, in place there is one side of the blade where the operator is not protected form its bottom edge.
    Last edited by Stephen Tashiro; 07-23-2008 at 2:10 PM. Reason: spelling

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    Central North Carolina
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    1,830
    I got the upgrade kit and installed it on my saw. About the only thing that I can see that the new blade guard does effectively is prevent the motor/blade assembly from moving forward on it's own as the new plastic part of the guard drops down behind the fence and prevents the motor carriage from moving forward until you squeeze the handle and raise the plastic. The plastic part also does a pretty good job of minimizing exposure of the blade, which the old guard didn't do very well. Whenever I change the blade I completely remove the guard and then re-install it after the blade change is complete. Using a dado blade with the new guard is quite difficult when cutting larger dados and this is why I kept the old blade guard. It is better than nothing in this case, but I usually do all of my dados/rabbets on the table saw anyway as I feel a bit safer. You should always choose the safest method to do your work.

    Charley

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    Las Cruces, NM
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    I don't understand how you are able to put the guard on after the blade is on. If you put the little "Accessory Guard" piece on the guard, you can't get a normal sized blade through the circle that is formed by the upper part of the guard and the
    Acccessory Guard. They form a closed ring and this ring has to go over the shaft before the blade goes on, because you can't slip it over the blade. Thre is no gap in this ring where the shaft can slide through when you try to slip the guard over the top of an already installed blade.

    I did manage to get a dado set onto the shaft by using the method that I described. By the way, should a blade stabilizer be used with the dado set that has chippers? There is room for one stabilizer on the shaft and I put it on the side nearest the motor. No room for one on the end of the shaft.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Location
    West Chester, Pa
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    72
    Quote Originally Posted by Stephen Tashiro View Post
    I don't understand how you are able to put the guard on after the blade is on. If you put the little "Accessory Guard" piece on the guard, you can't get a normal sized blade through the circle that is formed by the upper part of the guard and the
    Acccessory Guard.
    This was my problem as well. I guess I do not have as much patience as you, I removed the new guard.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Byron, IL
    Posts
    609
    It really doesn't matter if the retrofit is functional as long as it protects the manufacturer from more lawsuits. The most useless tool ever created will someday be designed by a personal injury lawyer.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    672
    would like to see pics of retrofit of saw. I have a saw that falls into the recall, but don't know if its really worth the hassle.

  7. #7
    The accessory guard will prevent the blade guard from being thrown off of the saw in the event of a kick back. I had this happen once using the old style guard and the sight of the guard flying across the room and striking the wall wasn't pretty. If you don't rip or use molding cutters, then kick back isn't a concern because the work piece doesn't have a tendency to lift off of the table. In that case you can dispense with the accessory guard. I don't recommend ripping with a RAS in any event because of the inherent danger of these saws; however if you do rip I would install the accessory guard for the additional safety that it provides. If you follow the directions that came with the upgrade kit - the blade can be changed with the guard in place.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Las Cruces, NM
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    I can't supply pictures of the retrofit since I haven't completed it. The saw that I purchased was a used saw that was built into a workbench. It didn't have the orginal saw table. To put on the new saw table, you need the nuts and bols from the old saw table, which I don't have yet. And I may not put the new table on. I will build some special purpose table for a crazy experiment that I have in mind that involves ripping some grooves down the length of some 1-by stock with a dado blade.

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