I am trying to move my shark guard from the riving knife mounted to overhead mount. I have the tailfin in hand. I am looking at using Unistrut or super strut.
Neither is available nearby so I need to figure out which parts are needed so I can order them. The setups I see illustrated on the Sharkguard web site shows the strut mounted from the ceiling with a knob and other piece of metal coming down from there. I am looking for suggestions on the knobs and the metal bar that goes inside the strut.
I've been thinking of doing this for my Uni. The over-arm guard support is designed to be bolted to the bottom of the table, and I've never mounted it due to restrictions of ripping sheet stock. I checked out the link you provided and it doesn't appear like like they've given much consideration to where it's mounted to the ceiling. In my mind, I think the mounting point has to be in front of the blade so the forces of a kick-back event would be directed towards lifting the ceiling vs. bending the top bracket using a 4' to 8' lever.
So, to your question; Have you considered pipe? One inch black iron pipe is quite strong, as are malleable fittings (vs. cast iron). I'm thinking a tee with three 1' nipples,( all horizontal at the ceiling), 6 or 8 two hole straps, and a 90* elbow for the "down-rod" (length to be determined on site). If you want vertical adjustment, 3/4" black iron pipe fits inside 1" sched. 40 with a few thousandths to spare. Drill and tap the 1" for set-screws, then file a "V" at your favorite locations. I'm sure you can figure out a way to mount you particular guard, which may be as simple as cutting a slot and drilling for a few through bolts. The only thing missing is a beefy diagonal brace to direct "kick-back forces" towards the ceiling pivot point.
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I mounted a guard on an inverted light stand that I hung from the joist above. It was very handy, but it was prone to twisting out of alignment with the blade and I took it down.
I'm sure that there is an answer to this issue somehow, but I was not sufficiently invested in the idea to solve the problem.
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(08-18-2021, 09:33 PM)MstrCarpenter Wrote: Not trying to hijack a thread, but has anyone seen an overhead guard support where the arm itself was the dust collection duct as well?
(08-18-2021, 09:33 PM)MstrCarpenter Wrote: Not trying to hijack a thread, but has anyone seen an overhead guard support where the arm itself was the dust collection duct as well?
Years ago I bought a plastic guard with an 1-1/2" or so nipple for dust collection. I use the guard when sawing mdf because of the dust created.
Penn State sold this with a contraption to hold the guard over the blade without interference . I only bought the guard and mounted it on a device from the bottom of a plywood box that holds a box fan and filters. I tried to find the guard I bought on their website. Apparently Penn State and MCLS a sister store do not carry this item anymore. You could make a saw guard from plexiglas sheet stock, probably least expensive. A search for joining plexglas will show you a simple way to do this. I have done this twice for display cases for old time model cars. Worked well.
Try a search for overhead saw guards, theirs plenty to choose from.
mike
Here's one I designed and built a few years ago. Modular so it could be mounted on the saw, ceiling or floor. Even lets you switch out the blade basket etc.
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