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.