"Dave Jackson" wrote in message
hlink.net...
I've never used a guard, but I bought a new saw recently and thought I'd
at
least try using the guard. Well, after two cuts or so, the guard was
removed, and there it sits. As in the past, I felt more comfortable
without
it.
That said, I really want to find a blade guard that works. It seems there
are so many different styles of guard out there, that one shouldn't have
any
excuse why they're not using something! Anyway, I recently acquired an
Excalibur overhead guard and just got it installed yesterday. I haven't
tried it out in use yet, but I do like that the guard can be moved out of
the way and returned easily without removing it from the saw. This is a
step in the right direction for me - being able to keep the guard attached
to the saw means I'm more likely to use it! --dave



Likewise, I've never owned a table saw with a guard, so I don't use a guard.
That said, my miter saw came with a guard and I have no philosophical or
practical problem with it in place. Since I've never had a blade guard,
I've come to look at my table saw in the same manner that I look at my chain
saw or my circular saw. All of them have exposed business ends and require
a certain attention on the part of the operator.

Contrary to the alarmist voices, it is no more a matter of "when" than any
other equally harmful accident is. The presence or absence of a guard in no
way affects "when" anything will happen. In fact assuming that the guard
affects "when" is probably a more dangerous position. Pay attention to the
irrevocable laws about saw safety as they relate to the physics of things
and you are far more likely to avoid an accident than by relying on the
false security of a guard. A guard will not protect against bad cutting
practices and trusting in devices like this may well be the very downfall of
what one trusts as a safe program.

I would not have any philosophical or practical issue with a guard on my
table saw, if it had one. As it is, I have always known a table saw to be a
tool with a pretty significant business end and have approached the use of
it as a tool accordingly - just like my chainsaw and my circular saw. It
becomes the way you view the tool. You approach it with more than respect,
you approach it with a knowldege and a certainty of what the blade can do.
It's simply the way it is.

--

-Mike-