Innovative Table Saw Guard and Splitter

May 4

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I came across a mention of Lee Styron’s “Shark Guard” product on an Internet forum a few months ago and was intrigued.  Here was a guy that was putting out an easily removable splitter and guard that would fit a variety of table saws.  He was doing it inexpensively and making them in his home-shop.  I had not been able to find a commercial product to do the same thing for my saw.

I was sceptical, but after reading other user’s positive reviews on the web, I decided to contact Lee about a Shark Guard for my Dewalt 746 table saw (which I love).   He had come up with a design for the 746, but only had a beta model currently produced.  He had a new design for the 746 that worked better than the beta, and he told me he could get me one in a few weeks.  He got it to me in about three weeks.

The product was excellent. Design was well thought-out and worked perfectly.  Fit and finish were as professional (more so) than a commercial shop….plus it looks cool on the saw.  You get to pick your color too, since he makes them custom for each order.

Installation of the new splitter bracket into my saw took about 5 minutes and required no tools other than the wrench that I always use to remove the factory splitter.  Once the bracket is installed, removal of the splitter and guard (or re-installation) take about 5 seconds and no tools forever after.

Additionally, my Shark Guard came with four different sized splitters that can be placed into the same bracket depending on your needs at the time.  For instance, if you are not taking a through-cut, use the small splitter like a European saw would do with an integral riving knife.  I have not seen any other guards/splitters that fit the Dewalt that can do this at any price.

The easily removable splitter is the reason that I like the Shark Guard so well.  I will use the actual “Guard” component itself from time to time, but I never see going without a splitter again.   The splitter bracket and interchangeable splitters are the real value to me, as they remove any excuse for not re-attaching the splitter.

Lee’s photo’s on his Dewalt 746 page of his website are actually of my saw.  I sent them to Lee soon after installing my Shark Guard.

Great product Lee!

About mattsanf

Matt Sanfilippo is the Chief Partnership Officer (CPO) for the College of Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Co-Director of its Engineering Research Accelerator. In this role, Matt coordinates and enables strategic and sponsored research opportunities across the college, and stewards the development of proposals for major research opportunities along strategic themes. Additionally, he enables collaboration among the college's research institute/center executive directors, and industrial and government relations personnel in the pursuit of opportunities with industry, federal and state governments. Before becoming CPO for the College, Matt was the Senior Executive Director for Research Initiatives, the Executive Director of CMU's SII (Smart Infrastructure Institute) and ICES (Institute for Complex Engineered Systems), and Associate Director of PITA (Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance) and RAMP (Research for Advanced Manufacturing in Pennsylvania). Before CMU, Matt was Managing Director of Applied Technology for Michael Baker Corporation, an engineering and energy services firm. Matt managed Baker's technology division including Geographic Information System (GIS), software and web development, multimedia, virtual reality, visualization, Global Positioning System (GPS), mapping and surveying services. Before joining Baker, Matt was an Innovation Director for Redleaf Group, a Venture Capital/Operating Company focused on information security, supply chain and mobility solutions. While at Redleaf, Matt managed technical due diligence for seed-stage investments and coordinated relationships between Redleaf and their partner companies. Prior to Redleaf, Matt was CIO of GZA GeoEnvironmental Technologies, an infrastructure engineering firm, and operations manager for their Internet start-up that focused on web-technologies for health and safety and manufacturing metrics. Matt is on the board of Larson Design Group (LDG), past Chairman of the Board for the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden, current board member of the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation (PHLF), current Vice President of the Sewickley Heights Gun Club (SHGC) and former member of the Information Sciences and Technology Advisory Board for the Pennsylvania State University Beaver. Matt is also former Vice President of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Association of Internet Professionals and former Vice President of the Board of Trustees for Baker Combined Charity of Pennsylvania.

Posted on May 4, 2005, in Tools and Shop, Woodworking. Bookmark the permalink. Comments Off on Innovative Table Saw Guard and Splitter.

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