Shop built Tablesaw guard question

[Tony S]

I am about to begin to build a tablesaw blade guard and have a quick question. There has been a few shop built examples on the net some seem good others not so good. One example the builder who built a ceiling mount said he wished he would of made it to move side to side. Am I missing the reason why a guard needs to move side to side besides getting it out of the way for operations where it can not be used? Also any advantage of one mounting method than another ceiling,floor, end of extension table, when all options are feasable. Thanks in advance
Tony

[Alberto]

Hi Tony,

I don't have a guard in mine I assume that being able to move the guard side to side lets you bring the fence closer for ripping thin pieces. As for the best way of mounting it I guess it depends on your particular application. Mounting it from the ceiling warranties that it won't limit the rip capacity of your saw. Mounting on the extension also provides another leg for support to your table (the comercial models can be quickly disconected when you need all the width). It really depends of your setup...

Alberto//

[Ken in Regina]

Tony, I have built a ceiling mounted blade guard. As you can see from the picture below, I've included some sideways adjustment via the slot in the aluminum angle. As Alberto guessed, it lets me get the fence closer to the blade when I need to.

I decided to mount mine from the ceiling so that I never have to worry about it getting in the way. I haven't moved my saw in nearly a year. If I ever do need to move it, it will either be temporarily to make space to do something else, in which case I'll move it right back, or else it will be a permanent move, in which case I'll simply unscrew the plate from the ceiling and screw it back in above the new location.

This was built entirely from recycled material except the plastic connector for my shop vacuum. If you haven't already seen this one, the link below will take you to some additional pictures. I don't necesarily recommend this one, as it was my first attempt, but it might give you some ideas. Overall, it has worked as well as I had hoped ... and the price was definitely right!


Shop Built Items (http://community.webshots.com/album/25137432VvuOLjQXPS)
http://wsphotofews.excite.com/018/1f/5h/4J/gd55693.jpg

[MadMark]

Here's one I built.

I think the cleverest thing was the addition of the lights to the inside of the guard. This keeps the blade in view at all times.

M



Mark's Saw Guard (http://www.netexperts.cc/~lambertm/Wood/guard.html)
http://www.netexperts.cc/~lambertm/Wood/guard06.jpg

[Meritt @ the Lake]

This is an blade guard by a member of the Pond. He wrote up a good article on it.

http://www.wwforum.com/faqs_articles/overarm_guard.html

best of luck, Meritt