Thinking about getting a Shark Guard

[Jason White]

I'm considering a Shark Guard for my left-tilt Unisaw, mostly for the dust collection. I already bought the 3-pack of splitters from Lee Styron awhile back and they work great!

I think I want the guard to have a 4" dust port to match the one at the base of the saw. If you have a Shark Guard like this, would you mind posting a picture of it mounted on your saw? I'm also wondering if the 4" hose gets in the way of your woodworking.

Thanks!

Jason White

[Jim Tobias]

Jason,
Below is an old post but pictures of my set up with the 4" Shark Guard are in my post(about the 5th post down in the list).
There are other set ups as well.
You will love the dust collection from the Shark Guard once you get it set up. I can rip a piece of MDF and get almost nothing!

Jim

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?151344-Show-me-your-Shark-Guard-DC&highlight=shark+guard

[Matt Meiser]

Here's the one on my old Unisaw. I was really happy with the SG. My Sawstop's factory hood is comparable--some improvements some things I miss. Definitely would do it again.

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[Paul Wunder]

Jason,

No pics, but the dust collection is excellent. I have an overhead 6" PVC Wye that feeds my top SharkGuard and my lower cabinet. The hose does not get in the way. Both ports are 4".

Any guard will pose some limits on narrow rip cuts so the real question is, "Is there any incremental difficulty with the SG on narrow cuts?"

I have not experienced any difficulties, but your projects may be different.

I would certainly buy the SG again.

[Roger Feeley]

There is an old saying that every shop has a dust collector. That would be the unused guard that comes with most table saws.

Any guard that you regularly use would be a winner in my book.

[James Baker SD]

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This is how I connected a sharkguard to a PM-66. Helped to have an Excalibur overhead guard that I did not like laying around. I never had a problem with the Excalibur support arm interfering, as I never did 52" rips and really long crosscuts were broken down on the miter saw.

[Jason White]

I didn't realize that was an old saying, but I do agree that dust collection is better with a stock guard mounted. It helps the sawdust get sucked back down into the cabinet through the throat plate (provided you have a dust collector connected to the cabinet port).

That said, most stock blade guards really suck (and not in a good way). :D


There is an old saying that every shop has a dust collector. That would be the unused guard that comes with most table saws.

Any guard that you regularly use would be a winner in my book.

[Frank Martin]

Shark Guard is one of my best woodworking purchases. I had the 2.5" dust port, and worked great. Significant improvement over the stock guard. I had it installed on my Unisaw and used it for several years (sparingly due to lack of time) before I sold it to upgrade to a euro combo machine. If I were to go back to a cabinet saw, I would buy one without hesitation.

By the way, there is no comparison between the dust collection with a guard without a dust port and one with. You will be pleasantly surprised how much more dust it captures in addition providing safety as a blade guard.

[Gary Radice]

Yes, I think you do want the 4" port if your DC system will support that and the cabinet port at the same time. I have a ClearVue 1800 and a 5" port on the cabinet plus 4" on the SharkGuard on my right tilt saw.

Any guard will get in the way from time to time. One nice feature of the SharkGuard is that it is easy to remove when you need to: no tools necessary. The width of the guard does make it difficult to rip narrow pieces, and when tilted 45 degrees the guard mount causes the blade insert to lift up. That might not be an issue on a left tilt saw.

Also, if you have small cutoffs that are the pieces you want, you need to remember to at least partially close the blast gate for the above-blade suction or those offcuts WILL end up in your dust bin! DAMHIKT.






I'm considering a Shark Guard for my left-tilt Unisaw, mostly for the dust collection. I already bought the 3-pack of splitters from Lee Styron awhile back and they work great!

I think I want the guard to have a 4" dust port to match the one at the base of the saw. If you have a Shark Guard like this, would you mind posting a picture of it mounted on your saw? I'm also wondering if the 4" hose gets in the way of your woodworking.

Thanks!

Jason White

[Michael W. Clark]

My guard just arrived last week. I went with the 3"duct and am doing 5" on the cabinet. I can combine these to a 6" duct. I read alot about people having to throttle back the 4" guards to prevent pickup of small pieces.

[James Baker SD]

My guard just arrived last week. I went with the 3"duct and am doing 5" on the cabinet. I can combine these to a 6" duct. I read alot about people having to throttle back the 4" guards to prevent pickup of small pieces.

I had that same problem (small cutoffs being sucked up) but did not want to reduce the airflow and miss more of the fine dust. So I installed a 1/2" square metal mesh wire screen on the inside of the shark, let the air flow through but trapped the small cutoffs.

[Ole Anderson]

I went with the 3" SG with a 5" hose at the bottom of the TS. Works fine. To my eye, the 4" on top is just a bit too big.

[Michael Dunn]

I'm still on the waiting list, but my DC system is ready and waiting. I plan to use about 36" of 4" flex hose from my CVC dual 4" blast gate above my TS/routing center.

That's my TS beneath the mess of RO moldings.

[Michael W. Clark]

I'm still on the waiting list..

There is/was quite a lead time. Ordered mine back in February, just got it last Friday. I think he is investing in some equipment or shop modifications to increase productivity. The modifications may be causing the longer delay. Check and see what the lead time is running and allow some extra time. Appears to be a well made product, though and can't wait to get it installed.

[Lloyd McKinlay]

4-5 months as of last week.


There is/was quite a lead time. Ordered mine back in February, just got it last Friday. I think he is investing in some equipment or shop modifications to increase productivity. The modifications may be causing the longer delay. Check and see what the lead time is running and allow some extra time. Appears to be a well made product, though and can't wait to get it installed.

[Gary Muto]

I have a Shark Guard with the smaller port (2-1/2" I think) I've had it for a few years and have been happy with it. It collects the vast majority of the dust. My DC is only 1-1/2 HP and I used 10' of flex hose each for the cabinet and guard hook ups. a better set up would surely improve the performance.