Shopsmith new Euro guard

[Dave Lehnert]

This just came out today. A new guard for the Shopsmith.

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/specials/images/Animated_Guard.gif

[J. Z. Guest]

Looks like an solution to a problem we didn't have to me.

What do you think Dave? When I had a Shopsmith, I never missed something like this.

[Dave Lehnert]

Looks like an solution to a problem we didn't have to me.

What do you think Dave? When I had a Shopsmith, I never missed something like this.

I don't see much use for the drill press as shown But used with the router chuck would be valuable. Also would keep sawdust from a drum sander flying your way. (Maybe??)

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
Sometimes, I think I've died and gone to hell...:(
That thing is so far beyond useless it's annoying.

[Rod Sheridan]

Interesting guard for the drill press. The High School shop that my turning guild meets in, has those guards on the drill press. They work very well, you can see through them to line up the bit, and they telescope as the quill moves. Simple and effective.

I use a guard/extraction hood on my drill press at home when drilling 35mm holes for hinges. It isn't anything fancy, however it collects the chips very well.

The hood is made out of scrap 1/2" particle board and 1/8" hardboard. Since the drill press has a fence and stops, I don't need to see anything while drilling.

In addition to not having to swallow particle board dust, the hood keeps my body parts out of the drill.

Regards, Rod.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Rod,

The High School shop that my turning guild meets in, has those guards on the drill press. They work very well, you can see through them to line up the bit, and they telescope as the quill moves.
W/all due respect, I don't think to ones you see @ the High School shop are the same or the shop built one you use either for that matter.

That *thing* in the picture is clearly not designed to do anyhting - other than add to the cost of the tool.
(Well, that and spur me to go out and buy a floor mounted DP before the silly thing becomes "mandatory" on one)

When the guard is fully down to it's lowest point, there's still what appears to be 2 to 3 inches of drill bit exposed.
How in the world is that going to work?

A half wrap dust/chip deflector, with that much free space at the bottom doesn't work either - been there done that -on the DP and router table.
Neither does dust/chip removal from the top.
Been there done that a week ago drilling shelf pin holes. The "stuff" that accumulated on the underside of the board was a constant problem.

Would I use somthing like that, that worked?
In a heartbeat.

OTOH - that contraption in the picture is clearly a device dreamed up by someone that never used a drill press at the behest of someone that also never used a drill press.
It's made for the land that banned the dado blade. (Euro)
Silliness under the guise of "safety".
And yes - I find that extremely annoying.
There's enough dangerous things in the world without having to tun something that isn't into something that is.

(& I'll stop there since it's getting close to - if not leaning over the lines of TOS.)

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Rich, you are correct, when I looked at the photo again I realized that the telescoping guard didn't go all the way to the bottom of the bit. The guards at the schol shop do, and therefore cover all of the spinning parts.

Thanks for pointing that out to me.

As to the dado blade being banned in the EU, I believe it is due to the inability to brake a dado blade in under 6 seconds due to the arbour nut coming unscrewed.

Saw blades on those machines have dowels to transmit the torque, the arbour nut simply keeps them on the shaft. They are able to decelerate fast enough to meet the 6 second rule.

I believe a solid body grooving cutter is allowed if it has dowels to transmit the forces to the arbour. These cutters have both scoring and hogging cutters, similar to a shaper rebate cutter. They make a splinter free, flat bottomed groove, unlike most dado cutters. These cutters are also adjustable for width, although not over as wide a range as a stacked dado cutter.

(you might need to buy two to have the same range as a stacked dado cutter).

If someone with in depth knowledge of the EU regulations could comment on my understanding of the rules, it would be appreciated.

I think part of the misunderstanding of EU rules in North America is due to the fact that we expect a table saw to perfom operations it wasn't designed for, such as rebating and grooving, and molding operations.

Those operations are best left to a spindle molder, which is designed to guard the required cutters, have a fence assembly that can accept the required horizontal and vertical forces, and use a stock feeder, or other adequate guards.

regards, Rod.

[Greg Hines, MD]

One of these came with my Supershop when I got it several years ago. And it has hung on a hook or been in a drawer ever since. I have never used it, even with a drum sander, as I have always preferred to use the front of the drum and not the back. I guess it would be useful for a drum sander if it were encased in a fence.

To me the problem with it is that the wingnuts on the sides, instead of some other way to adjust it during use. Some kind of spring that allowed it to fully extend, and then automatically adjust as you use it, would greatly help it. Making it static makes it useless.

Doc

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Rod,

As to the dado blade being banned in the EU, I believe it is due to the inability to brake a dado blade in under 6 seconds due to the arbour nut coming unscrewed.

LOL!
A 6 second rule?!?!
LOL! It sure sounds a lot like some nut over there, not necessarily an arbor one - came unscrewed already :D

OMG - that is so funny!

[Mike K Wenzloff]

The braking safety requirement extends to all powered tooling (by various methods) in EU countries. It's not a bad thing. And it will happen here in the US at some point. We wouldn't be on the cusp of true riving knives being mandetory on table saws here if it wasn't for Eurpopean safety rules.

It is true that dado blades cannot be stopped quickly at this time using current braking technology. However, braking isn't the only reason dado blades cannot be used in commercial establishments in the EU. It is also due to lack of a usable riving knife for dado blades.

Even without dado blades in the EU for commercial makers, they seem to be able to make stuff. Better be thinking about how you will because sooner or later it will apply in the US as regards commercial establishments.

Take care, Mike

[Rod Sheridan]

Although blade braking may appear humourous to some people, a substantial number of accidents in industry are due to coasting machinery.

When I worked in industry we had two such accidents on the swing saws, and accident where an operator got tangled in the infeed drive of a 36 inch planer.

Electrical or mechanical braking of the drive would have prevented the above accidents.

I know, so would waiting for everything to coast to a stop, however people are impatient, and the object is to design machinery that's safer for people.

I received info from another woodworker that the braking rule is 10 seconds under EU regulations.

Regards, Rod.

[Ed Blough]

The braking safety requirement extends to all powered tooling (by various methods) in EU countries. It's not a bad thing. And it will happen here in the US at some point. We wouldn't be on the cusp of true riving knives being mandetory on table saws here if it wasn't for Eurpopean safety rules.

It is true that dado blades cannot be stopped quickly at this time using current braking technology. However, braking isn't the only reason dado blades cannot be used in commercial establishments in the EU. It is also due to lack of a usable riving knife for dado blades.

Even without dado blades in the EU for commercial makers, they seem to be able to make stuff. Better be thinking about how you will because sooner or later it will apply in the US as regards commercial establishments.

Take care, Mike

Mike your absolutely right. The guided tools systems Festool/Ezguide/Makita/Dewalt are showing up in more and more commercial shops due to insurance, OSHA and environmental concerns. I know of a few shops that got significant decreases in their liability and health insurance cost by changing to guided tools systems. One shop was considering moving to a Sawstop system and found they could even greater savings going to the guided tool system.

I will bet most of today's woodworkers will not be able to recognize a shop 50 years into the future, due to changes safety and health concerns will cause.

[Rick Potter]

I know this is a really old thread, but I had to comment on it. I don't know why they put a picture of a drill press on there, but I do know that the SuperShop (like Shopsmith) shows it as a guard for when the overarm router is used. In that guise, I think it is pretty well designed. I just saw it on YouTube today.

Rick Potter