Shark Guard & ZCI - amazing

[Mike Sandman]

A few months ago I switched to a zero clearance insert on my table saw, and dust collection through the bottom chute was no longer very effective. There were a few suggested solutions on the forum, one of which was to get a Shark Guard for above the table dust collection. It arrived recently and it really works.

I have a 1-1/2HP dust collector and ordered the guard with a 4" connection to the hose. Here's a photo of the dust left after cutting 40 linear feet of 3/4" MDF, which usually creates a cloud of fine dust.

The photo is from the back of the saw, and that little bit of dust on the surface is the only dust that escaped the Shark Guard. None on the floor in front of the saw; not enough in the air to smell. Amazing, IMHO.

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The saw is a Jet Xacta Deluxe, which has a riving knife (similar to the PM 2000). Jet's design uses a tall knife that has a fitting to attach the guard. If you want to do a cut that doesn't go all the way through, you need to remove both the guard and riving knife and insert a shorter knive. The Shark Guard is mounted on a short knife with flat top, so it doesn't have to be removed to make a partial cut. You just remove the metal mounting bracket that holds the Lexan guard to the knife. (You can see two pin holes in the knife where the metal fitting attaches.)

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There's one small disadvantage to that design. When the guard is mounted, you can't fully lower the blade. But the bracket for the guard comes off quickly by turnng the thumb screws, so it's not a big deal, and overall the design is more convenient that the Jet setup because you don't have to take out the insert and swap the short and tall riving knives.

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[Cary Falk]

Sweet. I can't wait to get mine.

[Bruce Page]

That's cool. Do you have a pic of how the 4" dc hose is mounted? Is it coming off an arm or the ceiling?

[Larry Marley]

I just installed my Shark Guard on an older Jet contractor saw yesterday.

The saw does not have a riving knife, but I am still happy with the set up.
The factory version was very cumbersome and was frequently misaligned. Now with a narrow rip I still have the splitter.

Still need to make a drop for dust collection to the guard. I purchased this set up based on the comments here at SMC thanks.

Larry

http://www.marleyturned.com/9ce4bf80.jpg

[glenn bradley]

Another tip I picked up somewhere on ZCI's was to open up the rear part of the slot. This seemed backwards to me so I tried it on one that was due for replacement; it really did help on my saw. I also run a blade hood collection point.

[Mike Sandman]

I mounted the DC hose on the ceiling. I'll take a photo next weekend and post it, but basically the hose runs along the ceiling to a point almost directly over the table saw blade. Then it drops to the port on the Shark Guard.

I hung a length of 1" wide, flat aluminum bar from the ceiling, too. The bar is on swivel up at the ceiling, and there's a hook on the end that hangs down. The DC hose is tied to the bar with long wire ties.

So if I want to get the hose out of the way I just push it up above my head and put the hook into an eyebolt that's screwed into the ceiling directly above where the bar ends when it's pushed up horizontally. It's not elegant but it's secure and it works. By the way, the hose hanging down a few inches over the blade helps to pull dust up when I'm using a crosscut sled.

A picture's worth a lot words; I'll post a couple of photos next Sunday.

[Matt Stiegler]

Another tip I picked up somewhere on ZCI's was to open up the rear part of the slot. This seemed backwards to me so I tried it on one that was due for replacement; it really did help on my saw. I also run a blade hood collection point.

Glenn, when you say "open up the rear part of the slot," you mean to widen the ZCI back where the riving knife/splitter is, so that there is a gap there?

[Rick Moyer]

I mounted the DC hose on the ceiling. I'll take a photo next weekend and post it, ....

A picture's worth a lot words; I'll post a couple of photos next Sunday.

Hey Mike. any pics yet????

[Mike Sandman]

Hey Mike. any pics yet????

Yes but... they're on a computer 110 miles from where I am this weekend. Sorry -- will get them up in two weeks when I'm back there.

Mike

[glenn bradley]

Glenn, when you say "open up the rear part of the slot," you mean to widen the ZCI back where the riving knife/splitter is, so that there is a gap there?

The gap is actually where the rear teeth exit the cabinet.

[Mike Sandman]

Here are the photos promised a few weeks ago showing how I connected the Shark Guard to my dust collection system. It's a quick & dirty method using two short pieces of flat aluminum bar and one longer piece.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/msandman/3998841823/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/msandman/3998841823/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/msandman/3999605578/in/photostream/


http://www.flickr.com/photos/msandman/3999605578/in/photostream/

The two short bars ones are secured to the ceiling joists by a bracket. The longer one is attached to the point where the two short lengths come together using a nut & bolt that's loosely threaded. That allows the long bar to be swiveled up and out of the way, where it's hung by a hook from a U bold in the ceiling. Then I cut a length of extensible 4" hose so that it fits with a bit of slack, allowing it to be moved up and out of the way when necessary. The hose is held onto the bar by long plastic wire ties. I leave the guard connected to the end of the hose when I hook the assembly to the ceiling.

Not at all elegant but easy to do. Just measure carefully so you get the pivot point over the center of the Shark Guard, and measure the long bar so it drops to a few inches above the dust port on the guard.