Excalibur vs Shark Guard

[Gary Eneberg]

Which one would you buy for a new Craftsman 22124, a used Excalibur or a Shark Gaurd and why.

Any insite would be appreciated.

Thanks, Gary

[chris del]

One question that may help you decide is, do you want to use the TS wing extension to house a router table? If so, Excailbur is out....

[Gary Eneberg]

Nope, have a nice router station, so that's not an issue.

Gary

[Brad Townsend]

I suppose it would largely depend on the cost of the Excalibur. I have no experience with one, but I have a Shark Guard and am very happy with it. Dust collection is good, it's very well made and convenient to use in that it goes on and off very quickly.

[Gary Eneberg]

$125 dollars more for the Excalibur, plus I would need a splitter as well.

Gary

[Travis Porter]

I have an Excalibur. It has supports that go under the table for bracing which take up a bit of space. I think I would go with the shark guard.

[Jim Becker]

Travis, the Excalibur guard that was on my Jet saw for the past 4 years was installed without the use of the under-table supports--it was absolutely stable with no sagging. (The new owner will likely install it the same way so that the space under the table is still available for storage)

The key is to insure that the leg is secured to the saw structure at the bottom...in my case it was secured to the shelf on the mobile base that held the extension table legs as well as another cross piece about half way up. There are pictures on my web site in the Excalibur review. (click on my name to link to my web site)

[Travis Porter]

I hadn't thought of that. I have to rework my base anyway, so Iwill probably give it a shot.

[JayStPeter]

I have an older Excalibur guard, it looks just like the Exaktor. I'm thinking of either changing to the shark or trying to adapt a Felder guard to my saw. I already have a splitter, so that's not the issue. I just plain don't like the overhead guard.

[Mark Carlson]

Gary,

I looked at the Excal. but didnt want a boom arm. It looked like a nice piece of equipment though. I also have a router table on the right side with an incra positioner so it would have gotten in the way. I got the shark guard and I'm very happy with it.

~mark

[Jim Fox]

For those of your who have a Shark, how do you like the quick change? That's my biggest beef with the stock splitter. Would be nice if the shark would introduce a simple snap off or something, like the Merlin splitter.

[Brad Townsend]

For those of your who have a Shark, how do you like the quick change? That's my biggest beef with the stock splitter. Would be nice if the shark would introduce a simple snap off or something, like the Merlin splitter. I have the Shark Guard designed for the Delta removeable splitter. It takes me about ten seconds to remove the whole assembly. I don't know how easy or fast it would be on yours. You could email Lee Styron and ask him.

[Mark Carlson]

Jim,

To remove the blade guard on the shark you just lift it off the slitter. I have a hook on my ceiling that I hook the guard too when not in use. To remove the splitter, (it comes with 3 sizes), you remove your throat plate and loosen the bolt. Its one of those rachet types. Takes about 10 seconds to put on and take off.

~mark