Dado Safety Guard Shocker

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Philly

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Hi All
I have been going mad cutting tenons on the table saw using my mitre gauge and dado set. Now before you all go mad and burn me at the stake I thought I'd show you a guard I've trumped together.......
dado%20guard1.jpg

It' made from a piece of timber, some perspex and a couple of clamps. Took all of 2 minutes to put together and the clamps really hold it on tight.
dado%20guard2.jpg

Obviously this is only suitable for certain cuts but it does keep my hands away from the blade, stops debris being thrown up at me and , if i should faint whilst using it ( :roll: ) should stop me falling into the blade. I can vary its postion by moving the fence-in the pics it is just right for use with the mitre gauge. My hands and the gauge are clear but the blade is safe.
dado%20guard3.jpg

In this pic it looks like my hand is a bit close but the right hand is on the mitre gauge handle (so no letting go of that one!) and my left is holding the workpiece against the fence, at least 8 inches away.
I'm sure it is possible to pick holes in this guard (and its application) but I think you must agree-it is easy to knock up simple jigs to make your woodworking safer (regardless of what tools or methods you are using).
I'm interested to hear what you all think,
regards
Philly-Ten-Fingers :D
 
Phil, I'm rather disappointed.....where's the tenoning jig for the first cut? And then the dado wouldn't be needed in this instance. Personally I hardly ever cut tenons with a dado. The jig is far easier.
The guard? Not sure it would protect a hand falling on it but it'll certainly stop the odd chip or knot flying up.
I'll not ask how you cut the rebate on the timber clamped to the fence. ......
Good effort anyway.
Noel
 
Philly,

What?! No safety glasses?! :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: What would Norm say? :cry:

Better than nowt, certainly. Don't know enough about these things really, but one thing does strike me: maybe round those sharp corners or you could easily catch yourself on them and still end up bleeding - a little bit, anyway. :wink:

Cheers, Alf
 
Philly,

I'd be grateful if you could remove the guard for clarity. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tim
 
Hi All
Thanks for your comments! Glad I got a Thumbs up there.
Noely-the tenon vary a fair bit on this project, so the "one at a time" method is easier this way.
Alf
you're right about the safety glasses-have given myself a ticking off....
sharp edges were knocked off with a file-so don't worry too much :wink:

Chris
The plastic I've used came from a job at work. This was from a guard that had been in place for a few years and was pretty much indestructable so am happy that this wont shatter. It definitely is not poly, anyway!
Tim
You are naughty.....

John
Apologies for the pine-it was used for setting up (honest!! :roll: )

For the future I will be looking to make a few of these for various machines/cuts.
regards
Philly :D
 
And stick one on your CC sled.

Noel
 
nice one philly , you can use pine for test cuts :wink: .i have just made two panel cutting sleds so all my panels will be square and the smaller one will replace the chop saw . :D :D
 
Gotta be honest Chaps-since I got the Osborne I don't use my cc sleds. It really is that good!! The shoulders on the tenons are spot on all round-its a joy to use.
Cheers
Philly :D
 
What about tear out without a backer? That's where a sled beats a mitre gauge hands down.(Accu or Osborne). Total zero clearance. Of course you may not have reached the skill level where Frank and I loftily reside.........

Noel, he,he...
 
Philly
I think I prefer the toggle clamps with the red handles... But otherwise it looks just fine, for a pine prototype :wink:
Waterhead's warning sounds a bit concerning though. Hmm, choose between lots of shattered perspex flying at ya, or some chips of wood :?
 
pilly just paint the handles red and dont hit the perspex with the hammer when adjusting the blade ,if you want me to do a review of the osbourn mitre gauge please send it in a plain brown box ,if you or any one else on this forum wishes to keep all there fingers why not invest in a nice pair of steel mesh gloves as worn by butchers of meat, well karl says he will butcher anything. :wink:
 
I'm sure the Perspex will be ok in this application. Although it's well known that acrylic will shatter under extreme conditions. The thicker the material (and Philly's looks 6 or 8 mm) the less chance of anything happening. It'll take something like a pronounced whack with a sledge hammer to shatter that piece. Sure a polycarbonate like Lexan would be better.

Noel
 
It's not really a problem anyway - even when the teeth do start to blunt a bit. Just back it up!
 
It is nice to see someone in this country that isn't scared stiff to use a dado blade, I personally think that the British idea to make saws available here with arbours to short to accomodate dado's was taking the michael.

What do they think we are more stupid than the Americans and therefore need protecting from ourselves? Surely it's a personal choice and should have remained that way?... :evil:
 
Yeah so on any european produced machine, is it impossible to put a dado blade.

The only TS you can put one on are from the states, or there abouts
 
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