Hiya,
It's just a Jet 1.5 horse contractor's saw. I was cutting the ends
off of a 2 in thick slab of cherry and maple (cutting board season).
Normally not a big deal. I was using my homemade crosscutting box
with my 1/4" lexan guard (similar design to Kelly Mehler's). Anyway,
I didn't notice but the cutoff (roughly 1/4" x 2"W x 11"L) had not
fallen by the wayside but instead ended up riding on top of the blade.
Before I could power down, the blade caught and threw this seemingly
miniscule piece. Well, that little piece of wood shattered my lexan
guard (the front piece that sits at 90 to the blade...see Kelly's
design) and there were splinters of wood and lexan flying all over the
place. Fortunately for me, I always wear a face shield so I survived
just fine. Checked out the saw blade, no missing teeth. I almost
shudder to think what a 3hp saw could do!!

So my question, is 1/4" lexan enough? After today, I don't think so.
I was looking at purchasing an Exaktor or Excalibur but from what I
saw today, I think I'll build my own that acts similarly to the Brett
guard (ie. guard does not ride up and over the workpiece...it actually
will hold the workpiece down). Not sure if I should go with 1/4" or
thicker on the lexan.

Cheers,
cc