Euro Blade Guard on MiniMax CU310

[john lawson]

I just finished most of the work on this blade guard/dust shroud for my MiniMax CU310. I am not completely finished with it but I wanted to post this since there was some recent discussion about on here and I wanted to share what I have learned to date. I did a search and could not find the relevant thread so sorry if I missed something obvious. If there is interest I can go into detail on some of this but here is what I have learned to date,

1. Search youtube, there are some good threads and my inspiration was a guy who made one for a table saw.
2. I found some telescoping legs on Ebay that are for a telescope, they work very well, cost about $25 shipped.
3. Plexiglass is expensive. I never found a cheap source, though I did see some on Facebook marketplace after I bought it.
4. Plexiglass does not tap well, I wound up using a 10/24 size that works okay.
5. Plexiglass solvent/glue works good, not cheap though.
6. I made mine about 6" wide, would make it 5" or maybe 4 1/2" if I were doing it again.
7. The brush is a garage floor sweep, works good, you can buy it in lengths, make sure you calculate what you need very carefully.
8. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to attach the guard to the telescoping overhead "rod". It was time well spent as it works well.
9. I have a 5 hp clearvue dust collector with two 4" drops, it works well enough that I dont have to have the brush hard against the wood to collect the dust.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments welcome.

[Mark e Kessler]

looks nice and clean, “plexiglass” or polycarbonate? I ask because plexiglass is sometimes used as a general term, polycarbonate is much more impact resistant, may or may not matter



I just finished most of the work on this blade guard/dust shroud for my MiniMax CU310. I am not completely finished with it but I wanted to post this since there was some recent discussion about on here and I wanted to share what I have learned to date. I did a search and could not find the relevant thread so sorry if I missed something obvious. If there is interest I can go into detail on some of this but here is what I have learned to date,

1. Search youtube, there are some good threads and my inspiration was a guy who made one for a table saw.
2. I found some telescoping legs on Ebay that are for a telescope, they work very well, cost about $25 shipped.
3. Plexiglass is expensive. I never found a cheap source, though I did see some on Facebook marketplace after I bought it.
4. Plexiglass does not tap well, I wound up using a 10/24 size that works okay.
5. Plexiglass solvent/glue works good, not cheap though.
6. I made mine about 6" wide, would make it 5" or maybe 4 1/2" if I were doing it again.
7. The brush is a garage floor sweep, works good, you can buy it in lengths, make sure you calculate what you need very carefully.
8. I spent a lot of time figuring out how to attach the guard to the telescoping overhead "rod". It was time well spent as it works well.
9. I have a 5 hp clearvue dust collector with two 4" drops, it works well enough that I dont have to have the brush hard against the wood to collect the dust.

Let me know if you have any questions, comments welcome.

[john lawson]

Thanks, it's plexiglass, or acrylic, the polycarbonate was quite a bit more expensive.

[Dave Sabo]

Did you consider a SharkGuard before building yours ?

[Rick Potter]

Very nice work John.

You have given me some great ideas to incorporate in mine (CU300) when I finally get to it. Love the extension strut.

First thing for me though is making a zero clearance insert, like Carl Beckett's. Those thin cutoffs are driving me nuts.

[Greg Parrish]

I have one of the grizzly overarm deals that I converted to hang from the ceiling. It uses a 3” hose and like you mentioned with my Oneida dust collector suction is very strong. In fact if I’m doing small cut off pieces I can’t use it or it will pull them through. In those cases I use the original Felder blade guard which doesn’t collect quite as well.

[Carl Beckett]

It looks great and I am sure is a big improvement for dust collection!

As mentioned, consider adding a ZCI. The combo of the guard and ZCI made a big difference for me. I made a temporary one out of wood but am staring at a piece of phenolic that just arrived and will get added this weekend: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HO3PM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Believe I can get multiple ZCI from this sheet. Turns out all you need to do is cut to width/length. Then rout a shoulder on one edge. Transfer your holes, countersink, and bolt it in. Easier than making a traditional cabinet saw insert. (oh, sorry, the hard part is routing a slot for the riving knife but this is just a simple slot that can be done on the router table).

I see you are bringing the drop from the ceiling all the way to the back of the saw for under blade collection port. Be careful this doesnt get in the way of a cut, interfere with the board, and cause a kickback. I think for this reason I will modify mine to go across the floor with hard pvc, to the wall then up. This way the entire top surface of the saw will be free/clear.

(I am not sure about acrylic as a blade guard... polycarb is much less brittle so doesnt fragment/shatter the same as acrylic. But I am not an expert on this)

[Mark e Kessler]

Phenolic for a ZCI is great but not really necessary, bb works just as well also you can easily extend the slot for the riving knife on the saw by just using the fence and extending the slot.

417871



It looks great and I am sure is a big improvement for dust collection!

As mentioned, consider adding a ZCI. The combo of the guard and ZCI made a big difference for me. I made a temporary one out of wood but am staring at a piece of phenolic that just arrived and will get added this weekend: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0013HO3PM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Believe I can get multiple ZCI from this sheet. Turns out all you need to do is cut to width/length. Then rout a shoulder on one edge. Transfer your holes, countersink, and bolt it in. Easier than making a traditional cabinet saw insert. (oh, sorry, the hard part is routing a slot for the riving knife but this is just a simple slot that can be done on the router table).

I see you are bringing the drop from the ceiling all the way to the back of the saw for under blade collection port. Be careful this doesnt get in the way of a cut, interfere with the board, and cause a kickback. I think for this reason I will modify mine to go across the floor with hard pvc, to the wall then up. This way the entire top surface of the saw will be free/clear.

(I am not sure about acrylic as a blade guard... polycarb is much less brittle so doesnt fragment/shatter the same as acrylic. But I am not an expert on this)

[Jim Becker]

Thanks, it's plexiglass, or acrylic, the polycarbonate was quite a bit more expensive.
Keep in mind that Plexiglas can shatter; Lexan is normally used for this kind of thing because it doesn't have that property.

That all said, that's a nice overhead guard setup. Well done!

[john lawson]

Keep in mind that Plexiglas can shatter; Lexan is normally used for this kind of thing because it doesn't have that property.

That all said, that's a nice overhead guard setup. Well done!

Thanks and yes, I considered Lexan but the cost was quite a bit higher, and I really feel that the plexiglass is okay in this application. We'll see overtime. I already have a zero clearance insert but it is all one thickness so I may make another like the one showed. Not a priority now but goes on the list.