New and Improved Sharkguard

[Paul Wunder]

While working with Lee Styron from Sharkguard on a modification to his design for the Craftsman Zipcode saws, he had a Eureka moment and redesigned the splitters for all Sharkguards and I was fortunate to become his guinea pig. The new splitters (they function like riving knives) now attach to the blade guard through a notched top, making it very easy to slide each different size in and out depending on the thickness of the wood you are cutting. Very slick! Previously you had to disassemble the guard's bracket to make the change. This is so new that Lee hasn't yet put it up on his web site. The bottom part of the splitters still attach to the saw by a simple and strong spring loaded plunger.

I just thought I would share. I have the Sharkguard with the 4" dust port and it is awesome in the amount of dust it collects (just about all!)

The other good news for those of us with Craftsman zipcode saws, looking for a Sharkguard, Lee has a newly designed bracket that will be a better fit especially with the blade at a 45 degree miter.

Paul

[Steve H Graham]

And of course, my obsolete Shark Guard has been used like 3 times.

[Paul McGaha]

Paul,

Any idea when they will be available?

PHM

[Paul Wunder]

Paul,

I certainly cannot speak for Lee, but I think he is going to use the new design immediately. Best to contact him at www. sharkguard.com. The new splitters can easily be used on existing Sharkguards, but I do not know his plans for offering an upgrade. All of this happened on Friday when I received a modified design for my Craftsman zipcode and he sent me his newly designed splitters to try. Lee is such a pleasure to work with.

Paul

[David Nelson1]

This is a better URL for Sharkguard products: http://www.leestyron.com/default.php

[Paul Wunder]

Thanks David. I get confused as to which links are allowed

[glenn bradley]

As a very satisfied 22124 owner I fond this quite encouraging. The only thing that might make me want to change saws is the addition of a riving knife. You say "(they function like riving knives)". Do you mean that they follow the curvature of the blade, raise and lower with it and become functional within about an 1/8" of the teeth? Or do they simply tilt along with the blade and engage well back of the teeth like the stock splitter? Lee has a reputation for making a fine product and a riving knife function on my current saw would probably make it my last saw.

[David Nelson1]

Thanks David. I get confused as to which links are allowed

Hmmm Ya know I forgot about that rule! I don't think the link is a violation since its not Ebay, a competing forum, or a personnel commercial advertisement.

[Paul Wunder]

Glenn,

A little "poetic license" in the term functions like a riving knife. The Sharkguard comes with three splitters, each of a
different height to accommodate different thickness of wood. They do not go up and down with the blade; rather they all connect directly to the saw's mounting plate with a neat spring loaded plunger. Therefore you can nearly duplicate the action of the riving knife by swapping out the various splitters as needed. Two of the splitters are used for through cuts and now connect at the top to the blade guard with three notched connectors (easy swap). The third, smaller splitter is used without the guard for wood of narrow height.

I am a safety freak, and wanted a riving knife also. I always used my oem blade guard but rather than go through the expense of a new saw, I think this is a good alternative to the riving knife since it it gives me three heights of splitters that are now easily exchanged. I actually bought the Sharkguard for dust control because I have diseased lungs and not only does it pick up just about all of the dust (including MDF) but I can actually now see my cut line before and during the cut which improves the safety of my work. Hope this helps.

Paul

[Paul Wunder]

Glenn:

http://www.leestyron.com/sharkcrman.php

Above is a link to the Craftsman Zipcode section of Lee's site. The splitters do sit in back of the blade, but much closer than the OEM version which is way in the rear. I like the arrangement much better than the OEM. I also ordered my SG with the usual pawls for $15 extra and I am comfortable. The splitters are available in three thicknesses according to the types of blades that are used. Most common is the .090.

[Kelly Colin Mark]

Hmmm Ya know I forgot about that rule! I don't think the link is a violation since its not Ebay, a competing forum, or a personnel commercial advertisement.
I thought the nominal rationale behind banning links was that they couldn't control what the content might be.