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View Full Version : Shark Guard: A Brief Review



Frederick Skelly
12-29-2014, 6:04 PM
I bought one for my old Delta Contractor Saw. This is a nice product and the Proprietor (Lee Styron) treated me well throughout the process, from early questions, to getting a quote to after-delivery installation questions. He was a pleasure to work with.

Purchasing. His website gave me what I needed to confirm I had the right mounting points and OEM bracket. This was especially important, because I bought the saw used and there was no guard. I asked him a few "just in case" questions by email and he responded promptly. He accepted paypal when it was ready to build. IIRC, I paid $190, including shipping. When it was done he packed it well and it arrived very quickly.

Fit/finish. Nice finish on metal parts. Clear plastic parts had their edges rounded over nicely and were unscratched (as they should be). Parts all fit together well. The guard seems solid and well made.

Install. The package did not include instructions, but Lee steered me to the manual - it was on his website. I printed it out. Install was simple. But it did take some effort to get the splitter properly aligned with the blade - several iterations of "put it on, check alignment, take off the delta bracket and bend it a little bit, then reinstall and check." Turned out my OEM bracket wasnt quite square. But I got there.

Operation. This tool is a pleasure to use. I love the flexibility - it can be configured a variety of ways to support the work you are doing (see their website). I paid the extra $10 for antikickback pawls. I dont use them for every cut, but I do like having them. I love the way that I can easily see the work through the guard - the material is crystal clear and theres not a bunch of opaque structure in the way. And if I need to, I can easily raise the guard to align a board for a cut and then lower it to actually make the cut. I use it constantly and have only taken it off once, when I couldnt make the cut any other way. I feel safe using this guard. It included multiple splitter sizes too, though so far Ive only used the big one. Note: I dont use dust collection so I cant comment there - check the archives for opinions on that.

Bottom line. Id gladly buy this product again. I really like the thoughtful design and easy operation. It works just like their website says - no surprises.

Fred

Jim Andrew
12-29-2014, 6:27 PM
+1. Had mine several years. Did not get the pawls. The splitter is very important preventing kickback. Only kickbacks I have seen was when the splitter was removed.

Doug Ladendorf
12-29-2014, 6:39 PM
I have found Lee terrific to deal with, and the product is top notch.

David Kumm
12-29-2014, 9:01 PM
I have a couple and Lee is great to deal with. Broke mine ( my fault ) and when I called for parts he sent them free even though I protested. Don't see that often in life and still feel guilty. Dave

Frank Martin
12-29-2014, 9:35 PM
When I had a Unisaw I had one of these installed. Best guard in my opinion. I really liked the dust collection performance.

Todd Hyman
12-29-2014, 9:38 PM
+4. Had mine for five years and it's worked great. I had to get the washer (Shim) to help align the splitter to my blade. Mine is also a Delta contractors saw.

Ole Anderson
12-29-2014, 10:59 PM
I have the model with a 3" dust collection connection. It works great. I use it all of the time, except for narrow rips and dados. Only problem I have is that the attaching "nut" must be removed for a bevel cut over about 30 degrees or it hits the table. And removing it is a bit of a pain as you can only get about 120 degrees of turn before you need to reposition the short "handle".