# Undecided..



## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

.....


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

About?


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

If I want it on.


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## _Ogre (Feb 1, 2013)

And people think kids are hard to understand 🤦‍♂️


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Keep the splitter plate "ON" and remove the blade cover. The splitter prevents kickbacks, the blade cover prevents "stupid mistakes" and prevents making narrow rips.
Stupid mistakes covers a lot, I know, so should you. Short of having a Saw Stop, you are responsible for "getting it right" every time you turn on the saw. 
I only use the splitter plate that came with mine, so I'm used to not having the plastic blade cover. I also use a push shoe, not push stick most of the time except when making narrow rips.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

It's on and set. If it becomes too much of an inconvenience I'll take it off unless I'm cutting sheet goods.


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## RichTaylor (Jun 15, 2017)

I hate that safety stuff. It just gets in the way. I started using my dad's DeWalt RAS (the green speckled one) almost 60 years ago when I was eight years old (with supervision), graduated to my own Delta UniSaw with no safety features, and still have all ten fingers.

Accidents can happen, but knowing what you're doing is key to safety.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Everybody is different. I no longer have to be productive, so I have no reason to skip safety. 

It shouldn't take but a few minutes to remove and put back in place. The hardest part was just installing to start with..


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

The guard/splitter on my saw mounts with two nuts right behind the blade and it does track nicely with the blade arbor. In the early days, I used it diligently, but it had one serious design "feature" that drove me nuts. The guard had anti-kickback pawls inside that scored many woods from the springs that kept them down on the surface. So the pawls and springs went bu bye. Then I obtained a stack dado set and the unit was spending almost as much time off the saw as on it. It wasn't long before I found another guard/splitter unit that cut down, rendered just a splitter the height of the blade and the original unit became relegated to the parts bin just in case I ever wanted the guard. OK, they were buried deep in the bin.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Two things right off bad about this setup.the shield on top, Its not adjustable. The Altendorf is on a vacuum system and will hold it self up if you desire. When cutting angles it want to follow the angle without going up to clear the work piece.

On the rest as far as splitter. It so deep you have to push about 12" past the blade..


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Jim Frye said:


> The guard/splitter on my saw mounts with two nuts right behind the blade and it does track nicely with the blade arbor. In the early days, I used it diligently, but it had one serious design "feature" that drove me nuts. The guard had anti-kickback pawls inside that scored many woods from the springs that kept them down on the surface. So the pawls and springs went bu bye. Then I obtained a stack dado set and the unit was spending almost as much time off the saw as on it. It wasn't long before I found another guard/splitter unit that cut down, rendered just a splitter the height of the blade and the original unit became relegated to the parts bin just in case I ever wanted the guard. OK, they were buried deep in the bin.


Perfect! That's what I did also, on a slightly different mounting type.
I ditched the plastic blade cover and the ant-kickback pawls, but kept the splitter plate. I haven't had a kickback in 20+ years.
I made a thin plywood sandwich that's a friction fit on a bolt so I can adjust to any angle from fully down to up and way out of the way even for thick stock:


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I had 1/4 to cut so it was either remove completely or take the assesories off.


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

There’s a reason you rarely see them used. On my old Jet the splitter was about 1/16“ wide. It was a totally useless contraption. With an outfeed tabke you had to crawl under to get the thing off.

The SawStop has a decent one and the dust collection is darn good too, but it has one serious design flaw - you have to remove the hose in order to lift to the up position. 😝

I used a Micro Jig splitter for a long time. I never use a blade guard unless I’m using the DC hood, pretty much for sheet goods, which is probably less than 10% of the cuts I make.

A blade guard without DC? The risk of dust inhalation greater than injury? Somebody who’s done it 30 years and still has all 10, but much dust has he inhaled? That could all change tomorrow…..


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

The amount a hobby woodworker inhales is nothing compared to a professsional. I worked in cabinet shops for 30 years, some with DC some without. I don't have anything other than a small case of COPD, but I smoked all those years. 

Saws have evolved. The unisaw is behind in the game. Professionals don't like all the safety equipment. This might change in the future , but there are still a lot of old shops still running like they did 30 years ago.


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

Its not just quantity, its what material & the shop environment. Not to mention people's lungs respond differently. MDF is the really bad stuff - dust + chemicals. Routers and MDF - 

I think a small climate controlled hobby shop used on weekends with inadequate air scrubbing is more dangerous than 40 hours/week in a large, well ventilated commercial shop with good DC.

I say if you're going to use a blade guard, at least use one with DC.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I wouldn't compare a hobby shop to a professional shop as far as dust.

DC below is enough for the saw...


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

Rebelwork said:


> I wouldn't compare a hobby shop to a professional shop as far as dust.
> 
> DC below is enough for the saw...


I would never expect you to 😆. You can disregard them, but my points about air quality have merit.

Rebel you should know whats spewing off the top of the blade is what matters. DC below the saw doesn't do much to help that.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

My saw was one of the first hybrid table saws with an enclosed blade under the table and a dust collection port as part of that enclosure. The OEM blade guard with its internal baffle made for really good dust/chip collection, but the guard got in the way a lot. I use zero clearance throat plates with 1/2" holes at each end of the kerf without the guard. With the saw cabinet all closed up (except for the front tilt quadrant and a small vent for the motor under the tables) nearly all dust from the blade top is drawn back into the cabinet.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

DrRobert said:


> I would never expect you to 😆. You can disregard them, but my points about air quality have merit.
> 
> Rebel you should know whats spewing off the top of the blade is what matters. DC below the saw doesn't do much to help that.


For those who aren't aware, or just don't care, Bill Pentz's site " B Assumptions, second paragraph" states that hazards of home shops that vent inside, like most all do, are far worse than an industrial setting:





Dust Collection Research - Beginner's Corner


This site helps small shop workers understand the risks from fine dust exposure and how to effectively protect themselves and those close to them from airborne dust hazards. Fine dust is so extensively studied that researchers call it PM short for particle material. A Google search on PM Health...



billpentz.com




This is simply because the filters whether bag or cannister, aren't totally effective and the entire system becomes a "dust pump" releasing the smallest particles back into the shop, bags being the worst offender!
A good dust mask should be worn while working in the shop and even after the machines are shut down.
An overhead air filtration should run for a minimum of 45 minutes afterwards also.
Truth be told, I don't do either all the time.
We all remember during the height of the Covid pandemic we were all wearing masks of various efficiencies, from simple paper dusts maks to cloth medical grade types with better filtration. Now it's a rare occasion when you see someone in a restaurant wearing a mask. Turns out, masking was not all that effective in curtailing the spread of the disease despite all the dire warnings and threats.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

DrRobert said:


> I would never expect you to 😆. You can disregard them, but my points about air quality have merit.
> 
> Rebel you should know whats spewing off the top of the blade is what matters. DC below the saw doesn't do much to help that.


The bottom is taking almost all of it..

The small percentage of the top isn't bothering me..

Matters how? I could care less about..

I've had DC on my tools for almost 20 years. I'm happy,


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

My small 12'x22' shop has a shop built ambient air filter that passes the volume of the shop every three minutes (every 1 1/2 minutes on high). It sweeps diagonally overhead and around the floor into a computer room pleated filter. It probably doesn't get all of the airborne dust, but from what's in the pleats, it gets a lot. I also have ceiling mounted exhaust fan that pumps air outside the basement, but that's mostly for finishing fumes removal so stink doesn't go upstairs to the living quarters.


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I've a Delta air system above the work tabbe. Originally I put it in to cut down the air born dust drop sanding cabinet doors.it loads pretty quick. I found filters at Menards for a few bucks.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

Jim Frye said:


> My saw was one of the first hybrid table saws with an enclosed blade under the table and a dust collection port as part of that enclosure. The OEM blade guard with its internal baffle made for really good dust/chip collection, but the guard got in the way a lot. I use zero clearance throat plates with 1/2" holes at each end of the kerf without the guard. With the saw cabinet all closed up (except for the front tilt quadrant and a small vent for the motor under the tables) nearly all dust from the blade top is drawn back into the cabinet.


Finally, the saw manufactures saw the light" or were pressured into improving their dust collection!
By the time the dust settles to the bottom of the cabinet, it will just barely get sucked into the port. 
It must be "airborne" to get sucked out of the cabinet.
You will notice how a beautiful gently sloped area of sawdust forms where the dust port is.
Some of my early table saw photos show the experiments I made with over the blade collection with a separate shop vac for that system.
It worked fairly well and was quite inexpensive being made of 2" PVC:


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

Mine has an angled bottom and it slides most of the rime to the 4" DC port unless a small piece gets caught and doesn't allow it to. Best to just take compressed air at the end of the day and blow it to the DC port.


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## Jim Frye (Aug 24, 2016)

The batteries bottom of the cabinet was originally completely open, but I thought it reduced air flow around the saw shroud, given the collection port is for a 2 1/2" vac hose. I enclosed it with "belly pan" to seal off that part and force airflow higher up by the blade. The pan does have a vac port also to ease cleaning when it does collect enough to warrant cleaning.









Dust collection belly pan for table saw, bottom view...







www.woodworkingtalk.com


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## Biotec (Mar 14, 2021)

they are finding links to kidney disease from wood working. this is close to for myself as a coworker now has it.
he the wood shop master.

Wood dust exposure is the oldest and commonest occupational exposures, which is considered harmful by inducing several health challenges such as irritation to the skin, eyes, nose or throat, respiratory defects and others. This study examined the kidney function in carpenters exposed to wood dust in Port-Harcourt. A total of 180 apparently healthy male subjects were used for the study, out of which 90 subjects were carpenters (tests), while the other 90 subjects were non-carpenters (controls). Relevant information was collected using a structured questionnaire, and blood samples collected and analysed for creatinine and urea, and the eGFR calculated. Creatinine was analysed using Jaffe`s Method, while the Urea was analysed using Diacetyl-Monoxime Method (DAM). The eGFR was calculated using the Cockcroft-Gault equation. The results showed significantly higher (p<0.05) serum levels of creatinine and urea in the test as compared to controls, and a significantly lower (p<0.05) eGFR in the test compared to the control subjects. These results suggest that occupational exposure to wood dust may predispose carpenters and other wood workers to nephrotoxicity, and thus the health hazards induced by wood dust exposure, as well as the safety measures should be made known through proper awareness. 

link to the article https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326740806_ASSESSMENT_OF_KIDNEY_FUNCTION_IN_CARPENTERS_EXPOSED_TO_WOOD_DUST_IN_PORT-HARCOURT

CONCLUSION
Occupational exposure of carpenters to wood dusts may induce nephrotoxicity, specifically at the glomeruli, as shown by the elevated levels of serum creatinine and urea, and a decrease in the eGFR. These effects may partially be attributed to the non-use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by the carpenters. Therefore, use of appropriate PPE such as dust masks, hand gloves, and regular renal health checks in these artisans are highly recommended.

Nephrotoxicity is defining as *rapid deterioration in the kidney function due to toxic effect of chemicals in wood and other substance's.*


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## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I have PKD..


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## Biotec (Mar 14, 2021)

most run in the family line

PKD for those who do not know








Polycystic kidney disease - Symptoms and causes







www.mayoclinic.org


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