who has kept their blade guard on?

[t1callahan]

I missed it too, but

Those kickback fingers "prawls" do damage the wood, so I put some electrical tape over them, and no more damaging. the fix took about 45 seconds to do. It may wear out , but I can change later. my though is that if a piece of wood wants to kick back, it will break through the tape to catch the wood.

[Pappy]

I don't know what the problem is that you guys have with the stock guard. I kept mine on...









...a top shelf until I gave it to someone for the shipping!

[scorrpio]

Featherboards, shop-made riving knife and a ZCTP, no guard. Anytime I am setting up for a cut, I ask myself:

It's 3000+ RPM. Do you know where your fingers are?

[bthere]

I keep all the guards on. I have two boys, ages 17 and 11, that work with me in the shop. We also have workshops for Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts from time to time. I want them to have the best/safest possible habits in the shop. We talk about the safest practices as we are setting up and testing our cuts before turning a machine on.

It's nice to see them automatically put on the safety glasses and earmuffs without having to be told. Hopefully, they'll share an interest in the hobby and stay healthy while they do it.

[ejs1097]

I still use the stock blade with the BT3100. It's a PITA but a even more PITA is missing a finger or 2. You might be ok not using the gaurd or riving knife 999 out of 1000 times, but it's like wearing you're seat belt. On that 1000th time you din't you could seriously hurt yourself and alter your life and wish you had used it.

Why take unnecessary chances?

[rja]

I used the stock guard for about a week until I impaled a finger on one of the pawls - ordered the Shark Guard and never looked back.

[Kristofor]

Yep, the ninja-knives (aka pawls) are still the only tool in my shop that has made me bleed. They were removed, and then later I purchased a shark.

Ejs, your heart's in the right place, and if the stock setup works, more power to you. However, If the seatbelts in cars were as poor as the stock blade guard I'm sure lots more folks would skip wearing them and/or there would be a boom in after-market replacement belts.

[drumpriest]

The stock bt guard isn't any worse than any other stock guard, which is a shame. With the riving knife setup, they had the opportunity to make it fantastic, and missed out. Perhaps a good portion of that is the price point. With Lee's work though, especially if he does the quick release RK setup, you can get a guard for the bt that is better than what I have on my pm2000, and it's well worth the investment.

It's a pet peave of mine, I suppose, I feel like yelling at those who remove the guard and don't use a splitter or guard at all. It's such an unnecessary risk. The expense of a good guard system shouldn't determine someone's saftey.

[gsmittle]

+ whatever on the Shark Guard. A fine piece of engineering, and the mouth decal reminds me what's under the guard.

MUCH better than the stock guard.

g.

[glencross]

wwho has kept their blade guard on?

When I got my 300 10 years ago I religously used the supplied guard. However, I found after a few uses that it was the biggest PITA I have ever encountered so I took it off and have never used it since.

I am of the opinion that if you are careful EACH time you use the saw, there should be no need for the guard.

Just ask many professional woodworking shops; they never use a guard BUT they are real careful EACH time.

This is only my opinion and should not be used by a beginner or anyone else as being the correct way to use this or any other saw.