Shark Guard upgrade for table saw dust collection
2020 Dust Collection rebuild
2019 Blast gate updates
Original dust collection page - useful pics of some machine hoods.
Note: This page uses links to Amazon.com of which Shigshop.com is an affiliate member
I've had a Grizzly G1023 tablesaw since 2006. This cabinet style saw, is capable of producing lots of sawdust. There is a 4" dust port in the cabinet which get some of the dust - my guess is about half of what is produced. The other half gets thrown above the table with most of it going right back at the operator. All table saws do this, sorta the nature of the beast. Various hood attachments can be had that go over the blade and not only protect the operator from the blade, but also knock down some of the dust. The best of these hoods have a port for dust collection.
I've had a Grizzly G1023 tablesaw since 2006. This cabinet style saw, is capable of producing lots of sawdust. There is a 4" dust port in the cabinet which get some of the dust - my guess is about half of what is produced. The other half gets thrown above the table with most of it going right back at the operator. All table saws do this, sorta the nature of the beast. Various hood attachments can be had that go over the blade and not only protect the operator from the blade, but also knock down some of the dust. The best of these hoods have a port for dust collection.
Soon after getting this saw back in 2006, I built my dust collection system and incorporated a Shark Guard. This guard has a 4" dust port. It is made of lexan with a special mount that attaches to the tilting arbor mechanism. The mount incorporates a splitter, another important safety device.
Over the years, I had to make several repairs where the lexan sides had broken.
Over the years, I had to make several repairs where the lexan sides had broken.
My original Shark Guard with repaired sides.
Recently, I went to the Shark Guard website (no affiliation with Shigshop.com) looking for spare parts and noticed they had made many enhancements to the original product, enough so, that it warranted getting a new one.
After a few quick emails and a phone call, I decided to get one. Here's what I received:
After a few quick emails and a phone call, I decided to get one. Here's what I received:
Excellent packaging - everything safe and secure.
|
The blade guard with dust port, mounting kit with splitter, hardware, and table insert.
|
Old vs. New
The old on has a 4" port, I opted for a 2-1/2" port on the new one. Other port sizes are available.
|
The old guard is lexan that is glued and screwed together. The new one has some 3d printed and lexan parts that are screwed together.
|
New mount on left, old on right.
|
The splitter on the new mount is adjustable, allowing it to be close to the blade regardless of blade height.
|
A new throat plate is included.
|
Here are a few of the enhancements:
All parts are very well made. For the mount, I'm guessing the splitter is stainless steel, the kickback guards steel, and other parts aluminum, with the red being powder coated.
The guard itself is mostly lexan, with a couple 3d printed parts and high quality hardware.
The throat plate is made of oak with a red hard plastic laminate. There are 4 allen head leveling screws as well as a adjustment screws on the edges.
- 3d printed dust port and other parts.
- Overall narrower design allows the tablesaw's fence to be positioned closer to the blade without having to remove the guard.
- No tools required to remove guard and guard mount without having to remove the splitter
- Roller under leading edge allows workpiece to seamlessly enter the cut.
- More robust mounting mechanism securely holds the guard onto the mount.
- Splitter can be positioned close to blade regardless of blade height.
All parts are very well made. For the mount, I'm guessing the splitter is stainless steel, the kickback guards steel, and other parts aluminum, with the red being powder coated.
The guard itself is mostly lexan, with a couple 3d printed parts and high quality hardware.
The throat plate is made of oak with a red hard plastic laminate. There are 4 allen head leveling screws as well as a adjustment screws on the edges.
Installation
It took about an hour or so to install. After removing the old one, here's how I did it.
The throat plate was cut on a CNC machine with tabs which I had to remove. Overall size was slightly too large for the opening on my saw, which was easy to make perfect on my edge sander. There are some countersunk flathead adjustment screws on the edge of the plate that can be used to take up any slack. These countersinks had to be made a little deeper to make the screwheads flush with the sides. I probably could have just removed the screws altogether.
The allen head levelers made it simple to adjust height.
The allen head levelers made it simple to adjust height.
You can see the tab left from the CNC router here - have to remove that for the plate to fit.
|
Cleaning up the throat plate on the edge sander.
|
Perfect fit.
|
Step 2
The splitter mount is next attached. The splitter needs to be in perfect alignment with the blade. 2 bolts hold a mount block onto the tilting arbor mechanism. After snugging up the block (but not tightening it), I attached the splitter and used a straight edge and square to align it to the blade. The straightedge is laid against the carbide teeth of the blade and the square sits on the table making sure the splitter is perpendicular to it. Then, the mount bolts are tightened and everything is rechecked.
The splitter mount is next attached. The splitter needs to be in perfect alignment with the blade. 2 bolts hold a mount block onto the tilting arbor mechanism. After snugging up the block (but not tightening it), I attached the splitter and used a straight edge and square to align it to the blade. The straightedge is laid against the carbide teeth of the blade and the square sits on the table making sure the splitter is perpendicular to it. Then, the mount bolts are tightened and everything is rechecked.
Lining up the splitter with the straight edge touching the blade's carbide teeth.
|
Ensuring the splitter is perpendicular to the table.
|
Final check - eyeball it. If it's not aligned, you should notice it.
|
It's simple to adjust splitter to stay close to blade, which is not possible on the old guard.
I put and 2-1/4" to 4" adapter on the dust collection hose. It can be removed from the guard and a shopvac hose attached.
|
The guard mount is easily removed and attached to the splitter - no tools required.
The guard in raised position.
|
Final thoughts
The Shark Guard team has been making some stellar improvements to this product. They have a few different options that allow their guards to be used on a variety of saws. They responded very quickly to my questions and shipped super fast.
My initial cuts were great. The roller on the guard is a very nice touch as now, you hardly feel any resistance at all while the workpiece passes under the guard. Dust collection is again stellar, but other components of your system are very important for this.
Shark Guard has various dust port options available. For my dust collection system, the smaller dust port works well - there is almost no airborne dust during most tablesaw operations. Using a 4 to 2-1/4" reducer is a bonus because now I can unplug the guard and attach a shopvac hose - very nice indeed.
AAA+++ recommendation from me.
The Shark Guard (no affiliation with Shigshop.com)
My initial cuts were great. The roller on the guard is a very nice touch as now, you hardly feel any resistance at all while the workpiece passes under the guard. Dust collection is again stellar, but other components of your system are very important for this.
Shark Guard has various dust port options available. For my dust collection system, the smaller dust port works well - there is almost no airborne dust during most tablesaw operations. Using a 4 to 2-1/4" reducer is a bonus because now I can unplug the guard and attach a shopvac hose - very nice indeed.
AAA+++ recommendation from me.
The Shark Guard (no affiliation with Shigshop.com)
