Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Jan 06, 2004 04:57am | #1

   I've got my eye on the one from Penn State Industries, $199.95.  Click here for web page.  It's come up in a couple threads, no complaints seem to arise.

   forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

1. 
   Jeff | Jan 07, 2004 02:01am | #8

   FG

   I bought the Penn State when it first came out.

   It's pretty good for the price.

   It has it's faults, but I have managed to change or modify things to work for me.

   I use it on my Grizzly with a Beisemeyer splitter (which I like).

   One of the Boxes it comes in has a great color picture on the front, which is almost better then the instructions (which on all Penn State stuff could use improving).

   The extra parts are for ceiling mounting, but come with it for no extra.  I might actually do that in the future.

   The biggest thing I hate (not only Penn State) is walking into the sticking out arm.

   Jeff

1. 
   forestgirl | Jan 07, 2004 02:15am | #9

   Jeff, could you specify the "faults" and give us a little info on how you overcame them?  I'm 99% sure this is the guard I'm going to get, would love some tips here.  Thanks!

   Jamie on Snowy Bainbridgeforestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

1. 
   Jeff | Jan 07, 2004 04:34am | #10

    Hi again

   I mounted the guard on the left of my saw, not the right side like most people.

   This keeps it out of the way of my router mounted in the table on the right side.

   The first problem was that the plastic blade guard has a piece of "T" track to mount it to the support.

   I found this placement wasn't great for the dust pipe coming out.

   I mounted a longer piece of track, so I could also put the support pipe further back then it was designed for and clear the pipe output better.

   The top cross arm supporting the guard is again designed for the right side, so really overhangs on the left.

   I shortened it and added a counter weight to balance the pipe better (I would do that on the right side also, so it was necessary). (And I really hate walking into it.)

   The mount on the table is ok, but the bottom of the upright could be better built.

   I mounted a pipe flange (plumbing supply) to a piece of plywood and attached that to my floor and cabinet so it's rock solid.

   The last problem is the pipe can rotate if you don't winch down on the knobs, which I can do (I'm 6'3", 210 lbs), but added a few holes to hold it in place better.

   None of the fixes are hard or outragious.  I like the guard well enough to order one for my other saw.

   Hope that helps, yell if you have any other questions.

   Jeff

1. 
   forestgirl | Jan 07, 2004 04:54am | #11

   Thanks, Jeff.  I bookmarked your response, and printed it out.forestgirl Another proud member of the  "I Rocked With ToolDoc Club" .... :>)  you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)

2. 
   duckfarmer | Jan 07, 2004 05:05am | #12

   Jeff -

        Not to hijack this thread, BUT - you appear to have the answer to a question I was going to ask.  Which Grizzly saw do you have, and how much trouble was it to install the Beisemeyer splitter on it?  I would like to do the same to the 1023Z that I have.

        Dale

2. 
   RandMCapozzi | Jan 06, 2004 05:42pm | #2

   spkr,

   I found the following article at FWW helpful when trying to decide on an overhead blade guard.  http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00130.asp

   Good luck!

   --Rob

3. 
   BOBABEUI | Jan 06, 2004 06:53pm | #3

   I hate to hijack this thread, but does anyone own the blade guard sold by Penn State Industries referenced by Forrestgirl?

   I had been considering the Beismeyer... but $200 for the Penn State guard sure looks intersting

4. 
   tyler | Jan 06, 2004 07:10pm | #4

   I just got the Excalibur from Santa. Very nice unit. Some assembly required ;-).

   No spitting, coughing or cleaning chips out of my hair and beard.

   Really like it.

   TJH 

5. 
   ownersrep | Jan 06, 2004 07:40pm | #5

   After reading of one of the recent table saw accidents in the forum (4 lost fingers), I read the reviews including the one by Kelly Maher that FG recommended.  I've had a couple kick backs and was lucky to get away with just bruises.  I decided I'd pushed my luck more than enough.

   I decided to go with the Biesmeyer (Kelly's favorite).  It comes with a Biesmeyer splitter but not their top of the line one.  I've got it installed and am very satisfied.  I don't approach the table saw with the same nervousness as before.

   Jim

6. 
   CRAIGCONEY_M | Jan 06, 2004 08:09pm | #6

   There is a similar one to the excaliber made by another company started by the person who claims to have designed the excaliber ( I may be wrong on this point, but I think this is what I read on their literature ).  It is about a $100 savings from the excaliber unit.     Sorry, I can't recall the name of the company off hand. 

7. 
   lefky | Jan 06, 2004 08:31pm | #7

   I have been using the blade guard from Penn State for about a month on a Bridgewood Left Tilt Cabinet Saw. The saw and extension table are on a mobile base which I was able to modify slightly to install the guard, so everything moves together as a unit. All in all I am well satisfied with it. It dramatically reduces the amount of saw dust coming off the blade -- probably gets more than 90%. Additionally, since I can't get too close to the blade it forces me to work safer -- I've had to make a 6 inch wide sled for ripping narrow stock that allows me to move the fence far enough to the right of the guard to work. That in combination with a featherboard on the left side of the stock make for a very safe operation.

   I haven't been using a splitter, but the guard can accomodate one by replacing the back enclosure with one that is half width (the hardware is provided). I imagine this would adversely affect the dust control somewhat.

   For operations using very tall stock (like using a tenoning jig) you can move the guard out of the way entirely.

   I also purchased the accessory kit which provides everything you need to hook up the guard and the table saw to your dust contol system.

   The manual is very poor so it took some time to figure out how to assemble everything. There were even extra parts left over which manual didn't mention and for which I can't determine any apparent use -- possibly for use in a ceiling mount installation.

   Lefky