DeWalt Planer / Thicknesser without a guard

[madmango]

I picked up this beauty for a very reasonable price, it needs some TLC - new blades, new rollers, but most importantly, it's missing a blade guard.

I was considering going with a pork chop style guard, seems easier to DIY something like this, but I've never used a planer before, and I'm going to feel a bit safer with the cutter completely covered for now.

It came from the factory with this style of guard:

There are a couple of videos of this model, but none of them had the guard installed, not sure how good the factory guard was.
I saw other P/Ts with a similar type of guard on a sprung arm, and at least on the cheaper end of the spectrum, they all seemed a bit.. floppy?
I'm leaning towards finding a used guard from a Sedgwick or a Wadkin and fitting that. The kind that is installed to the side and can raised, lowered and moved to the side for jointing.

I think I could mount/weld a piece of metal to those bars that remain from the mortising attachment.

I could drill that piece of metal and insert the bar holding the guard.

Alternatively, there is some room in the round bit that houses the mounting points for the cutter block.

I could drill it from top and bottom, where the bar for the guard would be inserted, then tap from the sides for some bolts to hold the bar in place.

The second option feels less elegant, but this way the guard is not off to the side.

The guard being offset might not be a problem though, depending on what spare I'm able to find, for example this Wadkin had an offset:

I think both could work, but not sure if I should attempt this or stick with the original sprung design, I'd love some advice from people who used both.

Thanks,
Mat

 

[Orraloon]

This may be an idea.
Plywood & Aluminium Jointer Guard - YouTube
Regards
John

 

[Fitzroy]

I picked up this beauty for a very reasonable price, it needs some TLC - new blades, new rollers, but most importantly, it's missing a blade guard.

View attachment 193250

I was considering going with a pork chop style guard, seems easier to DIY something like this, but I've never used a planer before, and I'm going to feel a bit safer with the cutter completely covered for now.

It came from the factory with this style of guard:

View attachment 193249

There are a couple of videos of this model, but none of them had the guard installed, not sure how good the factory guard was.
I saw other P/Ts with a similar type of guard on a sprung arm, and at least on the cheaper end of the spectrum, they all seemed a bit.. floppy?
I'm leaning towards finding a used guard from a Sedgwick or a Wadkin and fitting that. The kind that is installed to the side and can raised, lowered and moved to the side for jointing.

I think I could mount/weld a piece of metal to those bars that remain from the mortising attachment.

View attachment 193251

I could drill that piece of metal and insert the bar holding the guard.

Alternatively, there is some room in the round bit that houses the mounting points for the cutter block.

View attachment 193252

I could drill it from top and bottom, where the bar for the guard would be inserted, then tap from the sides for some bolts to hold the bar in place.

The second option feels less elegant, but this way the guard is not off to the side.

The guard being offset might not be a problem though, depending on what spare I'm able to find, for example this Wadkin had an offset:

View attachment 193253

I think both could work, but not sure if I should attempt this or stick with the original sprung design, I'd love some advice from people who used both.

Thanks,
Mat

I have that machine with the guard. I’ve taken the tables off as I only use it as a thicknesser now, it I can take some photos and video of the guard if you would like.

 

[madmango]

This may be an idea.
Plywood & Aluminium Jointer Guard - YouTube
Regards
John

Huh, that looks really good, the idea of fixing the guard to the base hasn't occurred to me.

I have that machine with the guard. I’ve taken the tables off as I only use it as a thicknesser now, it I can take some photos and video of the guard if you would like.

That'd be great, thanks! Have you used it in planing mode with this fence? I wonder if you have any thoughts on how well it works?

 

[Sideways]

As someone new to the PT, you are prioritising the right thing. The guard needs to be there, needs to be easy to adjust so that you always set it properly, and needs to be robust / rigid enough that if you trip, lose balance and push on it while the block is spinning, you don't lose your fingers.

I don't like pork chop guards.
I would look to fabricate something in steel, in the style of a sedgwick guard, but with the rise and fall based on those two steel bars. That had the potential to be better than what Sedgwick do and better than the dewalt original.

Check out this thread Post #70 onwards for some ideas. This was someone's replacement of a factory Sedgwick guard and I think it is better than the original. There is a photo which includes the guard back at the start of the thread too.
https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/sedgwick-mb-planer-thicknesser-full-refurbishment.136008/page-4

The yellow piece could certainly be made from thick aluminium.