Overhead Guard for Table saw

[Doug Garson]

I'm thinking of installing the Woodsmith style overhead guard mentioned in another thread on my General 350 with a different twist. Since I have a router table built in to the right extension wing, locating the support post on that side would sometimes get in the way. I rarely if ever expect to rip sheet goods so I'm thinking of mounting the support post to the left of the blade. I'd make it easily removable just in case. The advantages would be it wouldn't interfere with the router station and the length on the support pipe would be shorter. Anyone tried this or think of a reason why this wouldn't work?

[Bill Dufour]

Why not mount to the ceiling?
Bill D

[Matt Day]

I’m not sure but I’d highly recommend Shark Guard. I have overhead DC pipe and have a drop at each table saw to the guard.

[Doug Garson]

Mounting to the ceiling would be a challenge since the saw is on a mobile base and so it's not always in the same spot. I've heard good things about Shark Guard but I'm cheap and I like DIY. Here's the splitter I made yesterday in a few hours. 497749497750

[Brian Tymchak]

I often cut pieces of hardwood longer than the table is wide with a miter gauge for dadoes, etc. Maybe it would work if you position the post off the back left corner of the table?

[Doug Garson]

I often cut pieces of hardwood longer than the table is wide with a miter gauge for dadoes, etc. Maybe it would work if you position the post off the back left corner of the table?
That's where I was thinking of putting it. I usually cross cut long pieces on my RAS. I also plan on designing it so I can completely remove it by taking out one or two bolts.

[Matt Day]

The splitter is pretty easy, the guard and DC isn’t. I bought mine primarily for the dust collection, but appreciate the added safety of the splitter.

[Doug Garson]

The splitter is pretty easy, the guard and DC isn’t. I bought mine primarily for the dust collection, but appreciate the added safety of the splitter.
Time will tell of course, I have the full plans with drawings and instructions so that helps. While the guard may look complicated, it's made up of relatively easy to make pieces. I made my own overhead guard for my old saw. It was more complicated than this as it included some bending of the acrylic while this one has straight acrylic sides, the wooden parts are a bit more complicated but if I screw one up I'll just toss it and start over. Of course I work slow and we have a three week vacation coming up soon so it will likely be months before I get it done. Right now I'm just doing the research.

[Paul Haus]

Doug
I made my own overhead arm guard for the saw a number of years back. I made up plans so it was like a big erector set. Mount it to the ceiling, either side of the saw on the floor, either side of the saw, pretty much any way you want it. I used a Whale Shark guard cover but the system was designed to allow pretty much any guard you can rig a mount to, should work on it. The other thing is that while the guard in my case is on the right side of the saw, pull a single pin and the whole thing will swing out of the way or could be lifted of.
This is what I've been using and it's worked out well for me.
Hope that gives you some ideas.

[Andrew More]

I've done a similar mount. Never ran into issues with it getting in the way on the left hand side. Making it easy to remove addresses the few times it might be in the way.

[Rob Cunningham]

Mike Farrington on YouTube has a good video of his overhead blade guard.

[Doug Garson]

Thanks for the input guys, I've started building and incorporated a few of the ideas posted. Looking at it further I've decided to mount it on the right side after all, when I post some pictures later you'll see why.

[Jason White]

Grizzly sells a floor-mounted one.

[Michael Drew]

I cut the base off of the Grizzly and mounted it directly to my base and infeed filler. If you use it as shipped, just standing on its own, it's pretty flimsy and I can't imagine using it daily, pushing the guard up or away from the blade when needed.

I'm still trying to like an overhead guard. It's been a struggle. When used with some types of wood, of specific sizes it works great. But, when ripping or cutting others, I find myself fighting the damn thing. I find it more of a compromise than a great solution...... But I have not given up on it, at least not yet.

498266

[Greg Parrish]

The grizzly has the same problem as the sawstop. I've had both and they both require you to mount them in the center line with the blade. For the OP, this is a problem due to the router table he has to the right of the blade. The dust tube would block access to the router. I have the same problem now with my current sawstop version so I've had to mount my new router table on the left side of blade, which I didn't really want.

For the OP, you really only have a few options outside of your left mount idea (in my opinion):
> Ceiling mount the assembly as mentioned above. Then it doesn't block either side but you are limited on where the saw has to sit.
> Rig up an off-set mount kind of like the Harvey Alpha series. Would still somewhat block router access, but gets tube further away from saw table and to the extreme rear right point. Still blocks router access too much in my opinion though.
> Left side mount your router table like I've done. Down side is that you can't mount other items on left of saw like a sliding table accessory or the like.
> Turn your router table around. Leave it on the right end of your saw, but rotate your router/plate 180 degrees. This way the dust tube runs behind the router fence. I've considered this on mine, but it would make some of the router access awkward.
> Turn your router table 90 degrees. Rework your table (unless its cast iron of course). If you rework your router table to sit to right of blade but at 90 degrees to your blade, you can access and the dust tube can possibly be out of the way.
> Lastly, move router to stand alone cabinet.

Good luck what ever your solution.

[Doug Garson]

Reasonable options Greg, but you missed the option I'm going to try. I'm mounting the post for the support near the back left corner with the top of the fixed post below the table top, the upper part of the post can be rotated horizontally out of the way by loosening one bolt or completely removed by removing the bolt. Here's some progress pictures, next step is connecting the pipe to the post. 498291498292

[Doug Garson]

I'm way overdue to update this thread with the finished (for now) guard. Finished it about two months ago so I've had time to decide what works and what needs improvement. It does an excellent job as both an overarm guard and overarm dust collection. It can be swung right out of the way by loosening one knob and removing the other or completely removed by removing both knobs in under a minute. When it is removed there is nothing above the table top to interfere with using the router table. What I don't like and will likely change is the horizontal pipe supporting the guard is too low and gets in the way meaning I have to swing it out of the way too often.

505619 505620505621505622

[brent stanley]

There are some European options that are built to very high standards.

https://www.scosarg.com/suva-s91-narrow-circular-saw-guard-complete-59632

B

[Patty Hann]

There are some European options that are built to very high standards.

https://www.scosarg.com/suva-s91-narrow-circular-saw-guard-complete-59632

B
For $1500+ they had better be built to stratospherically high standards.

[Jason White]

Grizzly sells a floor mounted one. Might be worth a look.

[Tom Trees]

Having planned on building one for the last few years, I was kinda hoping someone else would do the hard work,
but I haven't seen anyone aim to build something very similar to any design what's out there...

So I've recently been trying to glean as much as I can regarding various overhead floating guards,
and was kinda sold on the Harvey s12, until I researched some more, hmm?...

Across the Atlantic, we have true riving knives which also feature a mountable crown guard.
The local straw grasper on the UK forum mentioned if kickback were to occur, then most of these guards would lift, and thus give little protection.
but just to entertain that thought for a bit, he gave links to the SUVA floating guard, on the Scott&Sargeant website.
(download the brochure freely to see it in as much detail as you likely will find on the web)

What I've been pondering is, whether this is possible to lift the stock freely during such an occurrence with the SUVA design,
as to me it looks like it would take quite a bit of force to do, since it's got a big dumper truck lever on it, I'm guessing not.

Thinking about the ergonomics of the big lever made me think again at the Harvey, or other,
and I like the fact you're not having to fight something what might be in close proximity to the blade, yes I know we shouldn't do that,
but in an unforeseen circumstance, should it happen, I was thinking the Harvey looked smoother than the Excalibur style.

Even with the smooth action of the gas strut, it appears still more awkward to position something compared to the lever of the SUVA,
but this is all armchair speculation on my part, as I've not used one before.
Here is some piccies of the Harvey as seen on hooked on wood.

Seems to me a bit more awkard to use your right hand for the job
505771

And the SUVA
505772505773505774

Here is a video cut to the Altendorf crown guard being set for a cut, which looks a wee bit of a fight to me if I'm being honest
https://youtu.be/6LXQcz613U4?t=326


Would love to know more about the SUVA guard, but it seems they don't do advertising?

Has the lever a cam lock, or detent system?
I've been trying find the answer to that since I saw the thing.

Cheers
Tom

[George Yetka]

I dont love the sawstop 4" one I have. I actually posted it for sale. Its too large and not functional enough. The dust that accumulates without it is not that much worse than with it. It picks up about 50 % for me. I still have to clean up. But for that 50% I lose clear space above the tablesaw, it blocks my view of the blade and with anything narrow that means I have to get my hands squished between it and the fence or worse, I also dont always get the best contact between the piece and the fence.

[Jim Becker]

Grizzly sells a floor mounted one. Might be worth a look.
If I ever decide to implement one, that's actually the one I will likely buy. It's the right size and the right color (white) to fit into my shop.

[Joe Calhoon]

Tom,
I used the Suva guard on my restored T17. It’s a great overhead guard and picks up sawdust almost 100%. That is my motivation for these more than safety. Two downsides, I had to have my own frame work for it fabricated which made it expense and the mounting requires a 25 mm round stock bar. This was welded on to the support arm. They don’t sell the mounting setup shown in the advertisement.

When figuring this out I looked at the Felder overhead guard and also the one Panhans germany sells. The Felder one is nice but would have required much modification to fit my saw. The Panhans one was very expensive with shipping. The Grizzly one is the least expensive but after looking at one I wanted better. I did not know about the Harvey guard at the time but would have gone with that. They are nice, I checked one out at the Vegas show and they are well engineered. Only downside for that one is it’s geared for 10 or 12” blades. I sometimes run 14 and 18” blades in the T17.
505783
505784
505785

[Doug Garson]

Grizzly sells a floor mounted one. Might be worth a look.
Don't really have the room for a floor mounted one plus the saw is on casters so if it moves I want the guard support to move with it. Thanks for the reply anyway.

[Tom Trees]

Tom,
I used the Suva guard on my restored T17. It’s a great overhead guard and picks up sawdust almost 100%. That is my motivation for these more than safety. Two downsides, I had to have my own frame work for it fabricated which made it expense and the mounting requires a 25 mm round stock bar. This was welded on to the support arm. They don’t sell the mounting setup shown in the advertisement.

When figuring this out I looked at the Felder overhead guard and also the one Panhans germany sells. The Felder one is nice but would have required much modification to fit my saw. The Panhans one was very expensive with shipping. The Grizzly one is the least expensive but after looking at one I wanted better. I did not know about the Harvey guard at the time but would have gone with that. They are nice, I checked one out at the Vegas show and they are well engineered. Only downside for that one is it’s geared for 10 or 12” blades. I sometimes run 14 and 18” blades in the T17.
505783
505784
505785
How wonderful that someone has one, it's almost like they're tryin to keep them a secret! :confused:
I'd certainly love to know more about these, as in can the unit be lifted up with possible kickback,
or if there is some sort of system to stop this.

Apologies if your pictures explains what I'm asking,
but to my eyes, it appears like some sort of cam system which somewhat locks it in place?

Going to try replicating it somewhat, as it seems the best design to me,
Interesting to know your thoughts on the Harvey system, as I would'a thought the lever on the SUVA would be very comfortable to use,
especially as you seemingly wouldn't have to cross your arms,
but whatta I know, I've never used one...

Perhaps you would prefer to have a long board held with the left hand to brace the stock against the fence,
on your fairly traditional Martin machine...
Compared to holding it otherwise, with perhaps hip involvement when adjusting it before starting the machine up?

No bothers with the mounting, as I'll be making me own adjustable boom for fun.
Nearly stuck from doing other work on the machine, (bar remaking a fitting cabinet for the VFD)
as awaiting until I can get me some hefty 100x60 box iron.
Some more of that salvaged box iron will be used for an outfeed also, which will also likely be mounted to the add on, once I can afford it.
505793

505795505796
P.S Found you elsewhere, quite the arsenal of cast iron you have!
Dang google is getting worse, how did I not find this thread before.

Was thinking of doing the exact same thing with your telescopic boom, lol.
Cheers
Tom

[Joe Calhoon]

Tom,
The guard is under spring tension and moves with little effort. It stays where you set it but would lift up with a kick back. These will not prevent kickback. I usually set mine slightly higher than the stock. You can set them lower than the stock and they will ride up as the workpiece goes through. Suva is cutting edge with safety devices but this is an old design of theirs. The newer Martin, Felder, Altendorf, SCM etc have more convenient overhead guards. Google the Panhans safety catalog they have nice ones.

[Terry Wawro]

I'm way overdue to update this thread with the finished (for now) guard. Finished it about two months ago so I've had time to decide what works and what needs improvement. It does an excellent job as both an overarm guard and overarm dust collection. It can be swung right out of the way by loosening one knob and removing the other or completely removed by removing both knobs in under a minute. When it is removed there is nothing above the table top to interfere with using the router table. What I don't like and will likely change is the horizontal pipe supporting the guard is too low and gets in the way meaning I have to swing it out of the way too often.

505619 505620505621505622

I built mine using the exact same dust shroud plans but my extension arm is different. Overall I like the design but I've found that when ripping thin strips it gets in the way. Also, it's so thin that if there is a little deflection in the arm, it's easy to push the dust shroud into the blade. DAMHIK. If and when I remake one, it will be of a different design.

[Tom Trees]

Thanks Joe
I was thinking the lever must've had something, as I've seen one before (which I can't find since) which had a rather tough to use and loudly clacking detent system,
without a lever I might add. (I'll try finding this later again)
I was thinking it might be designed like a socket wrench

Once again, very revealing to hear your comment about the system not designed for kickback elimination, in the sense of not wanting the guard to lift up
that is...for someone not having a paddle switch, and having to get close to the line of fire.

I was thinking there might have been some adjustment of the spring tension, and to match, some belliville/domed washers to make adjustments more rigid,
or smoother, or in-between Goldilocks setting, the impression I'm getting is that's the done thing.

I must delve further into those suggestions you've mentioned, as it appears you rate them better than what you have,
Unsure if by convenience, you mean mounting options, that be for others sake,
or if you're meaning performance thereafter, which I guess you are.

I don't see much missing from the SUVA, apart from those wheels.
If so, then thanks for your thoughts on that, I've asked that question elsewhere more than once, and got nuffin.

Cheers
Tom

[Doug Garson]

I built mine using the exact same dust shroud plans but my extension arm is different. Overall I like the design but I've found that when ripping thin strips it gets in the way. Also, it's so thin that if there is a little deflection in the arm, it's easy to push the dust shroud into the blade. DAMHIK. If and when I remake one, it will be of a different design.
How is your extension arm different? My extension arm is very stiff partly because I filled the 1 1/2" PVC pipe with solid hardwood so the pipe itself doesn't deflect and I don't think the dust shroud could come in contact with the blade. I did add spacers to increase the width of the shroud to about 1 1/2" wide outside as I was concerned about that. The anchor end of the extension arm is secured by two 3/8" threaded rods and when they are snugged down the guard can only be deflected about 1/8" with considerable force. When you say different design do you mean the shroud design or extension arm design? I don't think there is a design out there that doesn't get in the way when cutting thin strips, at least not one I've seen.

[Tom Trees]

Been looking at more table and panel saws, but not found the ratcheting guard I seen yet... but I did find another,
the one on the Robland panelsaw, and to me looks very stout, has a lever, and appears to be stout enough to keep something held down just about enough
to keep the work from climbing, should some occurrence like so happen.

Someone on the UKworkshop mentioned the rigid designs of old Wadkin's seemed a better idea, since your hand couldn't get under a wheel,
but to me, I'm wishing to treat the guard as the blade, hence my liking of the SUVA guard.

A fellow islander gives a tour of the Robland Z320 panel saw (I've timestamped the link to the overhead guard "tire kickin")
https://youtu.be/jiuFDUyPe_s?t=359

I'd like to hear what Joe's impressions are of this contender. :cool:

Lookin' round at some other machines, but they all appear to be very similar, bar springs, vs gas struts, which along with the wheels, seem to be taking over,
though I'm not done searching yet, and I suspect I need to be looking not just at models, but periods aswell.
For instance Cosmas Bauer's Panhans guard which has some features worth looking at, i.e straight forward construction.

Will try to find the video mentioned, in attempt to get a better understanding of what's preferable, or indeed which might be more preferable on a 12" machine.
Tom

[Joe Calhoon]

Tom,
here are some close up pictures of the guard. The spring tension is adjustable. As I said these will not prevent kick back. I don’t think they would prevent the workpiece riding up unless you kept pressure on the handle. That would be a very bad idea while ripping. Best way to prevent kick back is riving knife, slight lead out on fence and fence pulled back to center or end of blade. See last picture.

505874
505875
505876
505877

[Michael Drew]

If I ever decide to implement one, that's actually the one I will likely buy. It's the right size and the right color (white) to fit into my shop.

I have the Grizzly. I think you'll be disappointed with it. Especially if you do not secure the base. I find myself fighting with mine more than using it. If only cutting sheet goods, then it works fine.

[Jim Becker]

I have the Grizzly. I think you'll be disappointed with it. Especially if you do not secure the base. I find myself fighting with mine more than using it. If only cutting sheet goods, then it works fine.
Good to know, Michael. I doubt I'll add one anyway, but it was a thought. I do so many ad hoc things that an overarm guard would be in the way "just because". That was one reason I never had one at the old shop, either. For the cabinet saw I had prior to a slider (early 2000s) I had the Excalibur which was easy to swing out of the way, however.

[Tom Trees]

Tom,
here are some close up pictures of the guard. The spring tension is adjustable. As I said these will not prevent kick back. I don’t think they would prevent the workpiece riding up unless you kept pressure on the handle. That would be a very bad idea while ripping. Best way to prevent kick back is riving knife, slight lead out on fence and fence pulled back to center or end of blade. See last picture.


Thanks for posting pictures Joe, that's very kind, I surely will have my work cut out for me if I ever get my stuff together and join this place.
I was thinking you could get a lot of torque with that lever, hence my guess that it was either a detent sorta system, if even nearly as rudimentary
as what you might see on a cement mixer,
or what I was thinking more likely, some sorta cam system, but the answer I'm getting is neither.

Kinda sounds like you can adjust your guard to be as stiff as Tom's Robland design, which to me, looks like it might stop something fairly hefty catapulting
though not spears or fillets...
There's a story of someone loosing their thumb on the UKforum, because of a spear shot out from the machine, hence my "line of fire" comment, alongside
some hinting of the use of the paddle switch, which can be used on either side of the danger.

Judging from your postings, I'm guessing that you aren't to fussed about the potential benefits of having a guard which won't raise on its own (within reason)
and I can't say I've heard of a rigid guard "saving the day" either,
Not to mention, seemingly all? of the new designs are more true to the phrase "floating".

Seems that could be a red herring, not sure yet, I think it would be nice to have a choice on either setting,
but getting the impression, you might reckon Tom's Robland looks a real fight compared to the way you have your SUVA guard
setup?

What question I haven't got an answer to yet... What makes the roller blade that much better than the shoe...
as to my mind, yanking on the guard is asking for a fight also, compared to moving the whole guard further up the linkages.

Where's the benefit there I ask?

Is it simply the fact that you can "bottom out" the guard on the timber without stooping.
If so, then why wouldn't ya just weld up some brackets for some wheels...
or does the system not allow for that,
when two wheels, a welding rod or two, and whatever fixings would be suited are placed on top of the guard.

I could go on about ergonomics like the preference between levers on the SUVA, compared to the seemingly optional handed Robland,
(which I might add is an old design, and they too have gone with the usual design)

Finally, I hear ya regarding safe use of the machine, as per Roy Sutton.
It's proving to be an interesting challenge to design a sliding fence for my machine, as it's too damp in my shed to have plywood abutments, though I suppose I could
make some from the hardwoods I have, I'd rather not, especially since I've got some nice materials.
Though that's for another day. :)

Cheers
Tom

505900

[Joe Calhoon]

Tom, my 24 year old full format slider has a fairly stiff overhead guard that is motorized. Still not intended to be any kind of anti kickback device. Martin only did this for a few years. I think the kind that move up and down effortlessly are more “convenient”. Key thing with any of these is to be able to move out of the way quickly when doing operations like haunching.
I do use this one close on top of the material when working thin material to keep it from buckling up. The Suva will do the same thing minus the wheel.

The splitter with attached overhead like stubby fingers Roy is using are totally a pain. Any time you need a non through cut the entire mechanism has to be removed.
505925
505926
505927

[Tom Trees]

Thanks Joe, apologies for not responding sooner in regards to your insightful commentary.
I just wanted to review your thoughts again, as I'll bet your sorry you even mentioned you had the SUVA floating crown guard now, lol!.

I'll not lie, and say I'm clear about your preferences, as I simply cannot understand why you'd have gone with the Harvey guard on your Martin tablesaw...
Nice colour it is too, I might add.

I could speculate on cost or effort involved... but I'm getting hints of reasoning in regards to performance, in your reply to my specific queries.

It reads to me that you don't value the lever being useful at all, and I'm guessing you might have cracked your head against it... more than once,
as I haven't read of any hints of nice things to say about it.
I'd imagine you'd have mentioned if it were some shoulder injury or whatever influencing matters.

You mention doing haunches, and seems like the SUVA might be reluctant to be moved out of the way,
Whether that be up or across, I am none the wiser?

Maybe I'm just honing in too much on the guard and linkages above, and not looking at the full picture.

Is it the swinging arm design vs telescopic arm what I'm missing?
i.e Could this be the case of the job looks so neat that t'would be a shame to change things as they are?.
Or am I barking up the wrong tree again, and it's the blade cover in which the issues lie, guessing not, seeing as I'm wishing to build something of the same ilk.

One last hurdle of confusion, which reverts back to that big ol'lever.
Working thin material and it buckling, which I would have worded exactly as such, had I thought.
This is more the kinda thing I was mentioning, a scenario what could lead to a kickback, even with a close fitting riving knife,
and is pretty much the basis of my subconscious telling me the lever is a better design.
(so we will have to agree to disagree with each other there regarding the intentions of the guard on your other machine)

I don't get the impression the Harvey guard would be very nice to use, if indeed it is possible to stiffen up some grub screws on the sliding linear rail, to effectively perform under that circumstance reliably.

Thanks again for your thoughts.
Tom

[Joe Calhoon]

Tom, the lever is not a problem at all. The Suva is a little stiff and the lever makes it easy to move up and down. I think all these guards would prevent buckling to a certain degree but they all are designed to go up and down easily. I think the Suva raises 8” or so. Beyond that I have to release a lever and slide it back into the tube. Or remove it totally. It’s important for these to be able to move out of the way when not needed.
some operations you just need to see what happening at the blade. Like I said before my main motive here was dust collection.
I think the Harvey is a nice setup because it mounts like a power feeder and can be swung out of the way when not needed. I talking the $800 one. My T17 has a large cast iron table and would have been easy to mount. Only drawback is it’s designed for 10 and 12” blades.
my Suva ended up costing more than twice that with the custom made support arm. I played with the Harvey at the Vegas show and it is substantial for the price.

[Kevin Jenness]

My thinking aligns with Joe's. An overhead guard needs to keep your hands away from the blade, collect dust and be easily moveable. I don't want a guard that has to be pushed up from the table by the stock and I don't expect it to suppress kickback. A wheel at the toe that would press panels down on the scoring saw might be nice but would require a very rigid and easily set mounting. I have used guards that locked at a set height and spring loaded ones that can be pushed up easily and am fine with both. I would not want a guard mounted on the riving knife that has to be unbolted for narrow and partial thickness cuts, or a floor-mounted unit that was not bolted to the floor.

The stock guard on my Paoloni is spring-loaded and easily raised up to 10" or so, and can be slid aside about 20" by loosening a Kipp lever - simple and effective, though the dust collection is not 100%. I have also used the old Excalibur swing-away guard and a couple of shop-built ceiling-mounted guards that slid up and down on a post that was hinged at the top. They all worked well for me.

I think a hands-free kill switch is a must. My current saw has one on the side panel that can be hit with the thigh, and I made kick-paddles hinged above the starter control box for a Unisaw and a Powermatic 66.

Aside from dust collection, I think an overhead guard is not nearly as important a feature as a proper riving knife and paying attention.

[Tom Trees]

Thanks again Joe, and also to Kevin.
I was getting the impression that the performance of the SUVA guard, or indeed similar designs with levers were less desirable,
(wheels or no wheels) which it seems not.
I think your last sentence says it all, I didn't grasp that your thoughts were general statements about it, and thought there were issues with it's performance compared,
money/time no object kinda thing.

Still getting "hints" or impressions that the swing away arm system is handier than the telescopic approach,
but I have plans for an overhead router on the movable post I've drawn, so can still get full capacity of the saw, with the benefit of being more compact,
and I am happy to plough ahead with that tradeoff, if indeed that might have been suggested.

Cheers again
Tom

[Terry Wawro]

How is your extension arm different? My extension arm is very stiff partly because I filled the 1 1/2" PVC pipe with solid hardwood so the pipe itself doesn't deflect and I don't think the dust shroud could come in contact with the blade. I did add spacers to increase the width of the shroud to about 1 1/2" wide outside as I was concerned about that. The anchor end of the extension arm is secured by two 3/8" threaded rods and when they are snugged down the guard can only be deflected about 1/8" with considerable force. When you say different design do you mean the shroud design or extension arm design? I don't think there is a design out there that doesn't get in the way when cutting thin strips, at least not one I've seen.

Yes, my extension arm is just wood, no metal or pipe installed. The "flex" come not from the extension arm but from the up-right that it's connected too.