ARK Shark Guard from Leeway Workshop
A riving knife for old cabinet saws
Jul 25, 2017
I have a 1969 Delta Unisaw, and I use it all the time. It runs smoothly, cuts well, and has a great rip fence (the Unifence). I love it, but I’ve been saving up to replace it for several years. Why? Safety. When I bought it, the saw did not have a splitter and blade guard. At first I made do with shopmade splitters and then a Beisemeyer splitter. But even a good splitter can’t compete with a riving knife.
A riving knife follow’s the blade’s movement, tilting when it tilts, and changing height along with the blade. It is never more than a fraction of an inch away from the blade, which is why a riving knife is so effective at preventing kickback.
I’m happy to report that I can put off that new saw for a bit, because I just installed the ARK Shark Guard from Leeway Workshop. “ARK” stands for adjustable riving knife. Technically, it’s a splitter, but effectively, it’s a riving knife because you can adjust the height to follow the blade’s height. A quick turn of a ratchet handle loosens the knife so you can move it up or down. It takes less than 30 seconds. A great benefit of the adjustable height is that you can lower it to be under the blade’s crown and leave it in place for non-through cuts.
The ARK Shark Guard comes with a fantastic blade guard. It’s clear, so you can keep an eye on the workpiece as you cut, and it moves easily up and over the workpiece as it’s fed through the blade. There is a dust port on top of the guard that is available in several sizes to accommodate different hose diameters.
Installation requires installing a new bracket to the saw’s trunnions, but this was not difficult and took me less than 10 minutes. I was able to align the riving knife to the blade in about the same amount of time. To remove the knife completely, you must remove the ratchet handle and a second bolt. For most folks, this won’t be an issue, but if you ever use a blade thinner than a thin-kerf blade (I use a 71⁄4-in. circular-saw blade when making kumiko), it can be a hassle.
The ARK Shark Guard fits many older Delta Unisaws, some older Grizzly cabinet saws, and other saws that are clones of the Unisaw. It’s a great replacement for the factory splitter and blade guard, and a vast safety improvement over nothing at all.
Issue #263 Sep/Oct 2017
Comments
Quick question: do you think that will work on contractor's saws?
Will this work with a Craftsman model 315.228390 table saw?
Will this be available for the Powermatic 66?
It's hard to say what damlsaws this will work with. I've been aware of the original shark guard for some time and Lee has models for many different saws. Better than most splitters, but not a riving knife
I'd like to fix my earlier comment, I didn't intend it to be sent in that mangled state.
You should visit http://www.thesharkguard.com to learn more about specific saws. The earlier splitter version of the shark guard has been adapted for a wide variety of table saws, so there is Hope that Lee plans to expand the models the new guard will work with.
On the other hand the old model guard and supplier combination is very superior to any aftermarket guard/splitter I have seen so it is worth checking out in any case.
I bought one two years ago. I never used a guard before I got the shark guard. The original on my Unisaw was awful. I LOVE this product and now I use my guard religiously. It is clearly so much safer to operate my saw with this guard.
I have a contractor's saw and bought an ARK for my saw that works fine and is much more stable that the original. It also has a vacuum port that works well to control dust.
Well, I have to say this is worse than a complete bust. I ordered a riving knife set for my older Jet table saw early last September, 2019. In late September or early October they sent me on that did not fit, and Lee confessed they had made a mistake and said they'd send me the right one. I said I'd be patient. After several weeks, I inquired and after a long delay Lee apologized that he was busy. Still several weeks later I inquired again, and this time he finally responded that he'd been ill but would jump on it. No reply so in early December I inquired again. This was ignored. So in late December I sent them an e-mail asking for my money back and offering to send their mistaken one back. Completely ignored. So twice in January 2020 I've tried again, and again ignored. The most recent a letter that said I think they must be either out of business or were cheating me, so just send my money back. No response. I give up, and would not deal with these folks for anything again. $150 or so that I gave them is not coming back, nor is the right device. I'm not going to travel from Arizona across the country to try to collect it.
A pox on them.
Reply to user-217321: I read in another forum that Lee unexpectedly, and unfortunately, passed away in January 2020 or so. That would explain the lack of response. In that other forum thread, I understood that his son was taking over his business and was responding to inquiries and filling orders. I would try them again if you haven't already. From the sound of the family, they do try to make things right.
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