| Lets start with the Shark Splitter, since this is the heart of this guard system and will be used most often. I suggest you apply some Johnson's Paste wax or Minwax Paste wax to the Splitters. This should be done periodically to clean the splitters and to slick up the surfaces to reduce friction. Disconnect the power source. Never count on your switch alone to control the power when working on machinery. They can fail. Currently, these splitters are designed to mount very much like your OEM blade guard. You can find the original splitter mounting instructions in this PDF on pages 36 and 37. The shark splitter utilizes the mounting bracket at the rear of the saw. Your original blade guard/splitter mount to this triangular aluminum bracket using 2 screws and nuts. These splitters were not bent at a 90 degree angle. They were off some. For this reason, I have 4 set screws in the rear shark bracket. These are used to align the splitters to 90 degrees to the blade. You will only have to align these once. Once set @ 90, it should maintain this setting. The two larger splitters are for use with the guard. The one you would use most I think is the middle sized one. This is for use when cutting stuff like plywood and material that is less than 1.5 inches thick. The taller splitter should only be used when cutting stock thicker than 1.5 inches. Caution! It has been brought to my attention that when you use the middle sized splitter, if you raise the blade fully, there is a chance that the blade will cut the front plastic rod on the guard. There is no real reason to do this, so just be aware that guard damage could occur. |
| The images below are from the original beta test models, so these will look slightly different than what you receive now. The exploded image above more closely resembles these packages. |
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| 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. Alignment can be accomplished a couple different ways. There are two slots in the rear of each splitter. These slip into the new shark bracket at the rear. Tighten the two knobs well. You may have to loosen and rotate the screw some, but you want the knobs to tighten so that the wings on the knob are in the same plane as the table top. This way they will not interfere with cutting. |
| These come installed already, but if you need to remove or reinstall or otherwise work on them, here is some information an images that should help you do that. Installation for anti-kickback pawls. |
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| 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 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. | |
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