 | Leeway Workshop, LLC | February 08, 2010 |
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Care and feeding of the Shark Guard for the Craftsman 22104, 22114 and 22124 and Steel City 35601, 35606, 35610, 35670, 35675 Hybrid saws. For starters, UNPLUG THE SAW! Then remove the throat plate. It's probably much easier to install this the first time by removing your OEM aluminum mounting bracket from the saw much like you see in the images below.
You remove the two OEM cap bolts (6mm hex head) that are holding that thin bent clip thing that the front of your OEM splitter slipped behind. This clip and these two screws aren't needed for the Shark installation. Now there is a roll pin in the top right corner. With a pair of needle nose pliers, you should be able to remove this. I think Rich said he just slid his back out of the way.
Then the new bracket mounts in the relief with the two new longer cap screws. Tighten this well. Now you have a smaller allen wrench. This fits the four adjustment set screws. You can back each of these off just a little.
 
There is a brass shim that fits between the splitters and the set screws on these brackets. This should make for easier installation. It helps to make it slide a lot easier and give a more even pressure than just the plain set screws. If you have ordered this package and don't yet have a brass shim, you can either make your own or contact me and I'll send you one out.
Now you should be able to slide any of the splitters down into the bracket. The spring plunger should lock it into place. When this is done, just barely snug the set screws to the splitter. When you pull the plunger, the splitter should lift out easily. Try all of the splitters. You may have to keep adjusting those set screws until the powder coating wears off a bit. Maybe not. If you notice that they have a little side to side play, That's when you can readjust. |       
A couple of guys have had to modify the original throat plate. This was done because the spring plunger would interfere with the ribs on the underside of the plate when tilted to 45 degrees for a bevel cut. I have included an image of such a mod by Matt L. Thanks.
Instead of modifying the throat plate, you may choose to drill a hole in your OEM aluminum bracket that will allow the sring plunger to fully seat in the splitters. This would be the preferred method. This would make it a stronger device for holding the splitters too.
You can use the PDF here to print out and place the hole or you can just apply some lipstick (with permission, of course) grease, graphite, crayon etc to the plunger end to mark where the pin would need to enter the OEM bracket.
Below you can see what completed installations should look like.
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Splitter Alignment | At this point of setup you will need to align or verify alignment of the splitter to the blade. Install your blade if you have removed it earlier. You will need to use a straight edge, steel ruler, framing square or something similar. The splitter needs to be completely in the shadow of the blade. If you looked from the front of the blade dead on at the blade while squinting, you should not see the splitter at the sides of the blade. It may take some time, but you must insure that the splitters are aligned and that once you reinstall the entire setup back into the saw, that all bolts are tight. On a couple occasions, the OEM aluminum bracket would not align so that the splitters were in the same path as the blade. In this case, guys have used that thin aluminum tape that is used for ducting behind this bracket on one side or the other depending on which way the bracket was out. This then straightens up the splitters to be in the same plane as the blade. |
Installing the 8.0 version and better Clamp | Here are a couple exploded diagrams of an 8.0 and better clamps. The larger bushings on an 8.4 go to the left side. The curves on the bottom of the clamp halves are at the front. Plain bronze bushings are on the rear bolts. Machined brass bushings are on the front bolt. It will be basically the same setup without pawls. |   |
The 6.0 and 7.0 Clamp | These clamps are made of thinner, but solid stock aluminum now. 3/8" by 1" aluminum bar stock. These have the ability to be adjusted so that the guard will ride closer to one side of the blade, thus allowing narrower rip cuts to be made. Loosen the 2 knobs a little. There are two or three steel pins in the left half of the clamp. These pins should be located in the two or three small holes at the top of the splitter. You won't need to remove the knobs completely for this. Just loosen them enough to pull the clamp apart and slip the clamp off the splitter. Likewise when installing it again. There are also two set screws in the other half of the clamp. These can be adjusted for the different thickness splitters. These are standoffs to keep from putting the bolt in a bind when tightening the clamp. For the most part, you won't need to adjust these. The 6.0 clamp has more brass bushings that allow this clamps position to be adjusted with regard to the guard. These illustrations show how the larger spacer bushings are relocated to one side for this adjustment. |   |
Splitter Usage Info  | Your package shipped with three or four different splitters. The tallest one is for use when you are cutting the thickest stock possible with the guard in place. If you received four splitters, then the next size down is for cutting two inch and thinner stock. Then there is a splitter for cutting one inch and thinner stock. If you received three splitters, then your middle sized one is for stock about 1.5" and thinner. The smallest splitter (Shorty Splitter) is for use when you can't use the guard because of the type of cut you are making. Changing between different splitters on this model of the Shark Guard is a snap. Pull the release pin on the mounting bracket and snap in a different splitter. |
Shark face decal application I have had two different styles of decals.
The first type is self adhesive type. The decals come in two parts. The mouth and the eye. If you are looking at the shark from the front, the decals go in on the left side. I like to use Windex (any glass cleaner) and a soft cotton cloth like a T-shirt to clean the guard first. It may help to look at a photo like this one below.
Remember, you are looking at the reverse side in this image. This was done so that you wouldn't have to handle the decal when moving the shark. It also gives is a nice appearance from the outside of the lexan.
Next I spray a little pool of Windex where the decal will go. Then I peel the backing off the decal (can be difficult at times) and place the decal on the Windex. I hold it in place and start gently pressing the windex and air bubbles out from under the decal. Once all the air bubbles are out, that one is done. Repeat for the other. If you need to position the decal, it is easy before it's stuck. You can lift a corner and apply more Windex. You should be able to reposition it then.
The second type is water slide decals. Below are the instructions for those. These are the newer ones. They have a white opaque backing. You will only be needing to do step 5 and 6.
* Step #1: Design your decals using any graphic software program. (Use 8 1/2 " x 11" sheet INK JET Decal Paper or cut sheet into half if desired.)
* Step #2: Set your printer as follows: o Resolution = Best o Paper = Photo Gloss o (Print your decal on the glossy side of INK JET Decal Paper.)
* Step #3: Spray your printed sheet evenly with Krylon Acrylic Crystal Clear High Gloss spray until the sheet has a shine (2-3 coats). Allow 30 to 60 minutes to dry and set. (This product is available at any craft or hardware store such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Walmart, etc. Any acrylic clear coat spray will work.)
* Step #4: Cut out your image using a standard pair of sharp household scissors.
* Step #5: Place decal into a cup of clean water for 45-60 seconds and remove when the thin decal film begins to slip along backing. (Discard backing material after the decal has been removed)
* Step #6: Apply decal to clean surface; ceramic, glass, metal, plastic, soap, candles, mylar balloons, model trains, planes, cars, etc.
Here is a link to a PDF file that you can print out. It will help you get the proper placement for these. Just print page two. Lay the guard down on the image and then you will be able to place the decals on the inside where they should go. | | Decal placement file. |
The 8.4 model 4" dust port Shark Guard Here are some initial photo's of the 4" port model.
I have offset the port to the left side of the guard. I have also left the clamp where it was and extended the bushings on the left side to get the extra width. This guard is the same distance from the fence as the 8.0.
1" is the distance from the right side of the guard to the blade.
The guard in these photo's is actually longer than the typical guards for a 10" saw. The smaller of the two is the typical length. The bigger one is for a new line of 12" saws that I am just finishing up. The Grizzly 5959.
There will be an added $15 cost for these larger ports. More material and the 4" polycarbonate is not only much more costly, but also a heck of a lot harder to bend and install.
Now I tested this with some mdf and my dust collector. I wasn't really expecting to get that much better result. I typically get a few crumbs after a cut with the 2.5 inch port. I couldn't find ANY crumbs after 4 cuts with a 4" port. So, I guess bigger is better. After quite a few field trials now, some guys have stated that perhaps the dust collection may be too good. It likes to suck up everything including small offcuts. This can be bad because the offcut may want to rattle around inside the guard dancing on the blade. I suggest that if you do use the 4 inch port, you also employ a blast gate to this hose and close it off some if you anticipate having thin strips or small offcuts. Open it fully for larger parts.
Some guys have also had trouble getting the hose onto the port. The dust port is kinda confusing. The whole thing is welded in at an angle, but when I cut the top back parallel to the top of the shark, it looks straight again. It really isn't. I have made this illustration to show that you need to attach the hose to the port at an angle. Once the hose is over the port, then you can straighten it back up and install a clamp. It will be a tight fit. The port is welded in there pretty good and can take a little handling. See the illustration below. |               |
Tail Hook | Below are a few photo's of how the tail hooks work. They are fairly simply and serve to keep the guard from coming off when not wanted. Simply raise the hook to remove the guard. Lower it down onto the stud when installing it. |      |
Using the Shark Guard The Shark Guard has a horizontal hooked slot at the rear and a vertical slot further forward. These slots are the mounting slots for this guard. The hooked slots get hooked on the rear studs of the clamp. There is now a safety hook that slips down over the rear stud to keep the guard from coming off when not intended. You can see in this image that the guard can be left in the upward position by hooking only the rear slots and resting the guard on the front stud. This feature is beneficial when measuring between the fence and blade with a steel rule. The front slots just slip down over the front studs with care taken to use the smaller bearing surfaces. With this done and your red tail hook slide down into place, your blade guard is installed.
It will seem to some that the guard isn't clamped down anywhere and only rides or sits on these studs. Can that be right? Yes, the guard itself isn't really fastened to the clamp in the normal sense. What does happen is it's locked onto the studs when you feed stock under the guard or when the blade height is low. In either case the guard can't be lifted up enough to remove it from the clamp while in use.
Dust collection can be hooked up to the top of the guard or you can simply cap off the dust port. I suggest that something be done to the port though. If left open, you can get a fountain effect of sawdust right into your face. I will have caps that plug this port available soon. For a good fit with something that is readily available, spray paint tops will serve as a good cap for the dust port. You can even get color coordinated caps this way. Rockler, Woodcraft and other outlets sell a nice 2 1/2 inch clear flex hose that fits this dust port well. It is a fairly snug fit by itself, but can be clamped down as well. I like leaving mine as a slip fit, because I utilize the same overhead hose for my router table.
There are numerous ways the you can support the hose for the dust collection. On my Gallery page, you will see some photo's of different setups. On my Review page, you will find links to individual websites where some owners used varied methods of supporting this hose. |  |
Shark Guard configurations | Click on the image below to see the gallery and get an idea of some of the ways a Shark Guard has been mounted in the past by owners. | |
| I will continue to add more to this page as time permits, but this should get you set up and on your way to a safer sawing environment. Here are some operational pics of a prototype Shark Guard in action. |   |
If you have any questions about installation, setup or usage of this blade guard or parts associated with it, please don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks a bunch and I hope that you enjoy using your Shark Guard.
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