blade guard support for ELU ETS3151

[Anonymous]

Hi Everybody,

I've finally assembled my ELU3151 tablesaw that I bought from ebay and am missing the rear support for the blade guard. (I knew it was missing when I bought it). So at the moment, I can only run the saw without the blade guard :!: . From the manuals, it looks like a large vertical "fin" sitting behind the riving knife.

Does anybody know where I might source a replacement from, or have the sizes/spec so I can get my local sheet metal fabricator to make me a new one?

 

[Charley]

Hi Chris,

I've just done a google search and found http://www.sparesontheweb.com/

Hope this helps

 

[sawdustalley]

:twisted: Who needs a blade guard :twisted:

Well I don't use mine(Yeah I know I should). I did at first but I got annoyed with it. And it kept binding on the wood etc...

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry for the delayed response, I was on vacation.

thanks for the info, I'll try and get a new guard from these guys. Left to myself, I would probably not bother replacing the guard, but

• 
  my wife isn't happy about it - she must actually care
  
  I have a 7 year old "helper" and without the guard, I will not even plug the saw in if she is around, so it limits when I can do some serious cutting

 

[Anonymous]

just ordered a new one from Isaac Lord in High Wycombe. Got their details from a web search & rang them up. They were very helpful.

Isaac Lord Web site

 

[Anonymous]

James,

It's pretty macho to use the tablesaw unprotected, but there are too many woodworkers with missing fingers for me to chance my luck. Interesting also that you're really nervous about getting a blowback from your compressor - the safety aspects of all the workshop machines is worth studying to avoid nasty surprises :shock:

By coincidence, Fine Woodworking have an article on fitting aftermarket blade guards and riving knives to tablesaws http://www.taunton.com/finewoodworking/pages/w00130.asp

What I thought was interesting is that the land of Norm considers European style guards to be the bees knees, and they'll spend hundreds of $$'s upgrading their saws to be safer to use. Anyway, I'll get off my soap box and wish you all the best with your ambitions of becoming a cabinetmaker - looks like you're off to great start with the work you've got displayed on your site.

Cheers,

AG (in a slightly grumpy but concerned mood :wink: )[/url]

 

[Woody]

Hi Chris,

The "support" for the blade guard is the riving knife. The americans call it a splitter, and that is what it does. It stops the wood closing up and pinching the blade causing undue strain on the motor or even jaming altogether. It is advisable to fit one. The Law (H&SE at work act) states that a saw gaurd must be in place, so in my commercial situation I have to comply - I don't have to agree :!:

For what it's worth, I feel a seven year old, gaurd or not, should not be in the same space as a table saw

Woody

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Chris,

The "support" for the blade guard is the riving knife. The americans call it a splitter, and that is what it does. It stops the wood closing up and pinching the blade causing undue strain on the motor or even jaming altogether. It is advisable to fit one. The Law (H&SE at work act) states that a saw gaurd must be in place, so in my commercial situation I have to comply - I don't have to agree :!:

For what it's worth, I feel a seven year old, guard or not, should not be in the same space as a table saw

Woody

Hi Woody, sorry to disagree but on the ETS3151, the blade guard is a separate fixture that sits behind the riving knife. I have the riving knife and it is fixed very slightly lower than the top of the saw blade. This arrangement allows the saw to be used without a guard to cut dados, rabbets etc etc. My bench top combi table/chop saw has a combined riving knife & blade guard support and this makes the riving knife sit higher than the top of the saw blade. Thus I can not rip grooves with it. The ETS3151 allows me to remove the guard to gut grooves/tenons etc. Its sometimes more convenient than setting up the router table or stowing the tablesaw and getting out the bandsaw. I am a private individual and can choose not to follow H&SE guidance, I fully appreciate your different position as a commercial enterprise.

I would never use a table saw without a riving knife as I know all too well how a long cut can release tension in the wood and close the cut. That effect just cost me a new bandsaw blade. I can imagine the dangers inherent in jamming a tablesaw blade

As to the seven year old, try stopping her "helping" me; you know what kids are like :roll: . That's why I won't even use the saw if she's around, and I am very "religious" about unplugging each power tool as I stop using them and also tripping the electrical circuit so the plugs can not be used at all. I have built a cut out circuit with a set of mushroom switches that can be pressed to cut-off the power. Restoring power is by pressing a button on a black box mounted high on the shed wall out of the way of little fingers.

However you raise an interesting topic regarding shop safety & children. I would rather let my 7 year old niece "help" me in a controlled manner whilst teaching here about the dangers of woodworking tools (hand & power) as well as how to use them properly. She is never unsupervised. Her help generally consists of her sweeping & cleaning the floor and then drawing shapes on a few offcuts that I then cut out for her on the bandsaw and glue/nail/screw together in the requested postions to build whatever she is imagining. Or else she simply watches what I'm doing, asking questions every 10 seconds as kids do.

Last week she made her own "hammer" & "tenon saw" out of softwood offcuts & 1/2" ply.

 

[Anonymous]

Chris

Does your splitter have those annoying spring loaded fingers (pawls?) on the back??

They are present on mine, but I find that they tend to leave marks in the wood, and if it's a particularly thick piece, it makes it difficult to get the wood going through when starting the cut.

Any body else have these problems??

Should I take the risk and remove them :!: :!: :!:

(The Fine Woodworking article doen't think much of them either )

 

[Anonymous]

Nope, no pawls. My riving knife is simply a 3mm thick "shark fin". I assume that the blade guard support that I've ordered is also 3mm thick as it extends to the end of the table

 

[Woody]

elvch01,

I just looked up your saw in the old Elu catalogue, I see what you mean. The support for the blade guard is usually thinner than the riving knife on that style of saw - although I have not been that close to a ETS3151.

I'm glad to hear about your seven year old niece, but if you read your original post it sounded like you would be happy for her to help you if the saw had a guard, I now know different, and apologise if I came across a bit off hand.

Woody

 

[Anonymous]

elvch01,
I'm glad to hear about your seven year old niece, but if you read your original post it sounded like you would be happy for her to help you if the saw had a guard, I now know different, and apologise if I came across a bit off hand.
Woody

Hi Woody, no problem, your concern is understandable and appreciated for what it is. My definition of a "helper" could have been clearer .

My niece does not even come near most of my power tools and luckily, she is frightened of the noise etc. I will let her guide something through my bandsaw provided my hands are alongside hers, but that's about the limit. Once I have the blade guard fitted, I will at least be able to contemplate using the table saw with her in the same room (but out the way). I will not even consider doing so at the moment.