Adding vacuum hose to upper saw blade cover

[steverboss]

I want to add a vacuum hose attachment to my Mark 510 upper saw blade cover. But before I do, has anyone here done that? If so, any photos or information would be greatly appreciated.

[RFGuy]

I want to add a vacuum hose attachment to my Mark 510 upper saw blade cover. But before I do, has anyone here done that? If so, any photos or information would be greatly appreciated.

I am not aware of anyone that has modified a SS upper saw guard for this, but there is a company that sells these called Shark Guard. Several forum members have these on their SS equipment and rave about them. I believe the company sells versions or adapters for the Shark Guard to be used on most of the major tablesaw manufacturers and they have a SS kit as well. I haven't gotten one yet, but plan to in the future. You may want to check them out first:

https://www.thesharkguard.com/

[dusty]

I attempted and I believe one other member of this forum did. I'll let him comment if he chooses. My attempted was a total failure.

[steverboss]

I want to add a vacuum hose attachment to my Mark 510 upper saw blade cover. But before I do, has anyone here done that? If so, any photos or information would be greatly appreciated.

I am not aware of anyone that has modified a SS upper saw guard for this, but there is a company that sells these called Shark Guard. Several forum members have these on their SS equipment and rave about them. I believe the company sells versions or adapters for the Shark Guard to be used on most of the major tablesaw manufacturers and they have a SS kit as well. I haven't gotten one yet, but plan to in the future. You may want to check them out first:

https://www.thesharkguard.com/

I’m well aware of Shark Guard, but am unwilling (as many of you also are) to spend over $300 for a blade guard. Sorry, I don’t mind spending a little more for quality, but when I see a ridiculously over priced item like Shark Guard, I am totally turned off by a company that doesn’t do their marketing or reduce their production costs to bring their product into line with their competitors. Won’t do it.

[JPG]

" I am totally turned off by a company that doesn’t do their marketing or reduce their production costs to bring their product into line with their competitors."

I simply do not understand that attitude.

Low volume of multiple variations = high costs = high price.

To say nothing about constant product improvement.


Not everything is high production = economy of scale.

[steverboss]

" I am totally turned off by a company that doesn’t do their marketing or reduce their production costs to bring their product into line with their competitors."

I simply do not understand that attitude.

Low volume of multiple variations = high costs = high price.

To say nothing about constant product improvement.


Not everything is high production = economy of scale.

That’s ok, it’s not necessary that you understand my attitude. It’s MY attitude, I’m the only one who needs to understand it. What if Shark Guard was $1000? Then you’d understand my attitude. We just have different price levels at which that attitude kicks in, get it now?

[RFGuy]

I’m well aware of Shark Guard, but am unwilling (as many of you also are) to spend over $300 for a blade guard. Sorry, I don’t mind spending a little more for quality, but when I see a ridiculously over priced item like Shark Guard, I am totally turned off by a company that doesn’t do their marketing or reduce their production costs to bring their product into line with their competitors. Won’t do it.

If you don't mind, what competitors are you speaking of? I can understand your frustration on the price - I have been saying the same thing about Shopsmith prices for some time now. Price is partly why I haven't purchased a Shark Guard yet, but the last time I looked at them it cost around $250. I am curious what other competitors you have seen in this space though because I haven't found them. For traditional tablesaws, the Brett-Guard was one of the best, but they stopped manufacturing it unfortunately. It was a lot of steel and cost around $500, I believe, many years ago so with inflation it likely would be $1000 now. It was an overarm blade guard though, but would flip up out of the way when needed which was VERY nice. The SawStop upper saw guard, which has integrated dust collection, costs $160 for comparison and that is JUST the upper saw guard. SawStop also has an overarm saw guard, similar to the Brett-Gard, but not as good, that is over $500. My understanding is that Shark Guard is a small business (less than 10 employees and annual revenue of $1M-$5M) and everything is made in America. They have also engineered it to work on most tablesaws on the planet, including Shopsmith Mark V and above. Do you know how rare it is these days to find an aftermarket company that sells Shopsmith specific parts? Not trying to defend the price, but simply point out that for their size operation and in this economy this may be the best that they can do. Also it is fully OSHA compliant which I am sure has carried a significant cost burden and liability for them, so it is not like they are just selling something from their garage on Etsy. They even do up to a 4" dust port size if you have a beefy dust collector available for it. Also keep in mind this is a niche product with likely very low sales volume and without the volume it is hard to scale up and reduce the cost as you say. Without any competition in the marketplace, they have no reason to try to lower their prices and rarity breeds a high price on products usually. JMO. At the link below is a thread where I believe Dusty discussed and showed pics of modifying the SS upper saw guard to accommodate a dust hose fitting. Keep us updated on how it goes to create your own as we'll be curious to see what you come up with.

viewtopic.php?t=7643&start=10

BrettGuard.jpg (30.09 KiB) Viewed 1494 times

BrettGuard2.jpg (29.99 KiB) Viewed 1481 times

[dusty]

Even though I am not in the market for an upper saw guard - Shark Guard also turns me off.

How dare they not advertise one for a Shopsmith. What an attitude!!!

[RFGuy]

Even though I am not in the market for an upper saw guard - Shark Guard also turns me off.

How dare they not advertise one for a Shopsmith. What an attitude!!!

Dusty,

Yeah, I thought they had Shopsmith listed on their website before, but I could be mistaken. I was surprised to not see a separate entry for it on the website when I looked yesterday. I believe you have to select the "Original" model from them and they likely have a custom adapter to fit Shopsmith. On their webpage they make a point of saying they can make it work on ANY tablesaw and encourage customers to contact them about their particular setup. This is kind of my point, i.e. they are small enough that they will work directly with a customer to customize a solution for you so that you feel safe and are happy with their product. Not many companies do this these days. Customization costs more typically. Still though, I get your point.

What's the story on your upper saw guard dust collection effort? Is it worth trying to create one or better to buy it?

However, Shark Guard does advertise setups for the old Craftsman tablesaws though.

[JPG]

" I am totally turned off by a company that doesn’t do their marketing or reduce their production costs to bring their product into line with their competitors."

I simply do not understand that attitude.

Low volume of multiple variations = high costs = high price.

To say nothing about constant product improvement.


Not everything is high production = economy of scale.

That’s ok, it’s not necessary that you understand my attitude. It’s MY attitude, I’m the only one who needs to understand it. What if Shark Guard was $1000? Then you’d understand my attitude. We just have different price levels at which that attitude kicks in, get it now?

Thee totally missed the point.