DIY Over-Arm Blade Guard Ceiling Mount

[theminor]

Well I'm tired of removing the full riving knife assembly every time I want to cut dados. Inspired by the guard featured in the latest issue of shopnotes (pic here), I'm considering getting or making one of the new shark guard whales. I don't have a mount for one of these, and I really don't want to spend $200 on something like this. Plus I think it would be the most useful if mounted it to the ceiling. It seems like something that would be fairly easy to make, but I need to figure out the best material with which to make it and the best way to mount it, limiting side-to side action as much as possible. I'd like to be able to swing it out of the way if possible too.

Has anyone made such a thing? If so, I'd love to see some pics or ideas as to how to make it!

[MBG]

I went to the dark-side about 3-years ago so I don't remember the BT's workings exactly, but, even with an overhead guard don't you still have to remove the splitter for dados?

I had a Shark on my BT and loved it so much it has followed me on my new saw. I don't think you can do any better as far as safety, dust collection, and speed of removal than a Shark.

(Hopefully you are not considering removing the riving knife permanently)


Mike

[rlah]

I had a Shark on my BT and loved it so much it has followed me on my new saw. I don't think you can do any better as far as safety, dust collection, and speed of removal than a Shark.

Another incredible recommendation for the Shark... I've thought about ordering this thing a month ago... guess I'm going to have research this thing again and look at the woodworking budget. I think I had questions then about kerf width, etc.

rlah

[theminor]

even with an overhead guard don't you still have to remove the splitter for dados? ... (Hopefully you are not considering removing the riving knife permanently)

Hmm - good point - I didn't think about it, but I guess since my dado blade is only 6", I'll still have to remove the splitter even with an overhead guard. My plan was to use a shark splitter (or just make my own from the stock splitter) and the overhead guard.

What is the advantage of the overhead guard, then?

Also, another related question: how does everyone deal with the width of the guard in the over-arm version? That thing is 4 or 4.5" wide, so when using the rip fence, it will get in the way if you are ripping, say 3" from the blade, right?

[Stytooner]

I doubt you'll get much response on the width of the Whale. There are only about 8 or so of them in the wild. Most of the overarm mounts have an adjustment to be able to slide the cover to the left and to the right and some even forward or backward. The whale shark is the width it is to cover the blade for the widest applications and mounting systems. Here are a couple images of it on a Minimax 12" saw with RK.

http://leestyron.com/cover/psi/mm12whale1.jpg

http://leestyron.com/cover/psi/mm12whale2.jpg

You can see he has the cover slid over to one side. It can even get closer for narrower cuts. This width covers the blade when it's tilted as well. It covers the widest variety of aftermarket splitters without the need for modification.
The Whale is a little cheaper if you already have your overarm, but if not, then the Shark Guard is a better solution. Thats just personal preference.

[theminor]

The Whale is a little cheaper if you already have your overarm, but if not, then the Shark Guard is a better solution. Thats just personal preference.

Thanks, Lee - I think I'm starting to agree with you. On my BT3100, I'm starting to think the shark guard would be better than an over-arm assembly, and now that you have a 4" dust port version, I guess there is no real reason why the overarm assembly would collect more dust or provide any more safety. I can't think of any other reason to get an over-arm.

[RodKirby]

I installed mine (bought), only for stopping saw dust flying into my face.

This is a view from the BACK...