Customer Reviews

Biesemeyer 78-960 T-Square Table Saw BladeGuard System for 50-Inch and 52-Inch Fences

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Biesemeyer BladeGuard System is very well designed.
It comes packaged in 4 major pieces.
Overall, the installation span was an unhurried and calm 1 hour
with liberal coffee breaks. The time to perform specific
assembly operations are described below.

The splitter is a primary piece of safety equipment that is
extremely convenient to use. The initial installation takes
about 5-10 minutes. Once installed, installation/removal of
the splitter is fast (5-10 seconds)and is accomplished by
turning a knurled nut. The nut itself is captured on a shaft
and held inplace with a snap ring. So, you don't have to worry
about it falling off at anytime.

The arm and clear shield, are composed of 3 seperate pieces.
The first is a fixed (or stationary)and solidly mounts to the saw.
It is the only peice of hardware that actually requires any
effort to install. (15 minutes to drill and install)
The fixed peice of the arm mounts to the steel rear rail and

requires drilling 6 bolt holes through it.
I used a high quality bit with low RPM and oil lubricant.
I found it to be no problem to actually drill the holes and
install the 6 bolts. There are 4 additional screws used in the
atthachment. The install effort is insignificant. (2 minutes)

The second piece of the arm slides into the fixed piece of the
arm. (5 minutes to install)
It provides left/right translation/positioning of the guard over
the blade. It attaches to the fixed peice of the arm via an
all-thread rod (part of the fixed arm assembly).
You simply turn a crank on the all-thread rod and the second
piece of the arm screws into the first.
I was dreading having to turn a crank forever to move the guard
out of the way for blade changes.
But, the design has a nice feature that enables the operator to
quickly (3 seconds) disengage the rod and translate the shield
about 12" to the right of the blade.
The design allows the operator to finely position the shield
over the blade via a hand crank or quickly move it out of the way.

The last peice of the BladeGuard System is the clear blade guard
and counter balance. It simply slips into the translating piece
of the arm and is held in place with a large hand screw.
(1 minute to install, only because I had to drink some coffee)

This is well designed, easy to install, and simple to use.
Because it is so quick to use, I no longer have to dread
swapping blades or removing the splitter to perform a dado or
tenon cuts. Since it is so convenient to use, it's always on
my saw. I use it and I feel much safer because of it.

It is expensive but worth it.

I was tired of taking the standard splitter/guard assembly off my Unisaw. I did the usual research and made a trip to a distant retail woodworking store to check them out in person. I liked the Biesemeyer blade guard system much better than any of the others.

I placed my order with Amazon and the FedEx lady showed up with it in only a few days. I have a Biesemeyer fence/table board on my Unisaw so I was hoping it would be a simple bolt on operation. Nope..I had to drill five (the instructions call for six holes but a cross brace on the Biesemeyer table board obstructed the hole position) holes in the hard Biesemeyer rails. It took less than five minutes to drill the holes and mount the base. Hint: Tighten the bolts down gradually and watch the vertical arm of the base assembly to make sure you don't get it cocked over at an angle. It doesn't effect how it works just looks funny if it canted over a tad.

The rest of the assembly went painlessly. The overall fit and finish was very good. One minor complaint was that the sliding arm was rusted at the unpainted portion where it slides into the
base assembly arm. Only took a minute to clean it up with a wire brush and smear some grease on it.

One pleasant surprise was the inclusion of the dust pickup on the guard assembly! This is usually part of a hundred dollar kit! I figure I can get some 2" plastic hose at a local hardware store for a few dollars and get it hooked up to my
Shop Vac I store under the table board of my Unisaw.

I had to move the spring to the third hole so the guard would stay up in position. The counterbalance weight seems a little light to do much..but the guard stays up nicely when you want to move it up a tad. There is also a handy mechanical latch that is very easy to use to latch it up and out of the way

I had already seen the Biesemeyer splitter that comes with this unit and had already ordered the one Biesemeyer sells as an upgrade for the Unisaw. Contrary to an earlier post these are NOT the same parts! The one that comes with the Biesemeyer guard is a much less impressive unit (came in a Delta box marked made in Taiwan BTW) than the Biesemeyer accessory splitter. I wish Biesemeyer sold the guard without a splitter but having seen the splitter I don't think it would change the price much if it were left out or made an option.

All in all I'm very, very happy with the guard. It wasn't what I'd call cheap, but then keeping all ten fingers intact and avoiding 200mph flying hardwood boards isn't cheap to get fixed either.

Buy one...it will be some of the best woodworking money you'll ever spend.

I purchased a Delta Unisaw in January of 2003. Completing the installation I ripped several pieces of wood and immediately disliked the factory bladeguard and splitter that came with the saw. I used the saw for about 8 months with no problem without a splitter or bladeguard. One afternoon as I was trimming drawer bottoms to size, I had my first and only encounter with kick back. It took my breath away. The saw blade picked up the drawer bottom and hurled it at me. The drawer bottom glanced off my hip and lodged in a hollow core door, even poking through the other side.

I stopped what I was doing, got on the internet and began researching bladeguards and splitters. After reading reviews and even the "Table Saw Book", I decided to order the Biesemeyer Bladeguard from Amazon.

It arrived about several days later in one large box. I was expecting some shipping damage because the box looked battered but upon opening the box, everything was in good shape. The packaging was first rate.

The bladeguard was very easy to install. I had the job completed in less than an hour. My only complaint was that the basket was cloudy and very sticky. I took it apart and used some househould cleaner to remove the blotches. After the cleaning it was crystal clear and smooth to the touch.

I installed the splitter that was included also. It is simple and quick to remove when using a dado blade etc.

The fit and finish of the bladeguard is first rate. The instructions were concise and clear. Using the bladeguard and splitter isn't a problem like the factory guard. The adjustments are easy to make and the basket can be locked in place above the blade when not needed.

I certainly feel that I am working safer now with this equipment installed and my wife is a lot happier also.

I looked at every overarm blade guard system for my Unisaw (Excalibur, Delta, etc.) before buying this one. The packaging was first rate and everything was in perfect condition except the plexiglass blade guard housing which was completely clouded over. I called Biesemeyer and they immediately shipped me a new housing, telling me it was a known problem but only occurred intermittently. (They believe it might be a chemical reaction with the foam packaging, but are not sure yet.) In any event, Biesemeyer has GREAT customer service.

Installation is pretty much what you would expect ... I dutifully attached the extension arm to the threaded rod and cranked it in until it was correctly adjusted. I was a little taken aback by how long it took to move the arm out of the way to cut tenons on tall stock. After using the crank handle a couple of times to accompish this task, I decided to remove the treaded rod alltogether and simply slide the extension arm into the tube and lock it with the knob provided. It works perfectly. I can remove the assembly in seconds and put it back in the same amount of time. I don't really understand why Biesemeyer designed the guard this way, but I'm very happy with it in it's "diminished" form. This is the best blade guard out there. I'm completely comfortable with it.

If you are not using a splitter (I didn't use the splitter that came with the blade guard because I had already installed Biesemeyer's higher-quality version) and a blade guard, you are playing Russian Roulette with your hands. I've had only one kickback in years of woodworking, but I came very, very close to running my hand through the blade. (I could feel the wind from the carbide tips...) Buy this now and install it. You won't be sorry.

I'm glad I bought this guard. I almost never used to use the stock guard because it was more hassle than it was worth, and got in the way all the time. This Biesemeyer guard is 100 times better. I have a Biesemeyer rip fence, and installation was easy, although boring holes in the metal angle in the rear took some time. The guard gives a great view of the blade, unlike the stock guard, and easily pulls up when you want it out of the way. The splitter is also much better than the one that is built into the stock guard. It can easily be removed without tools when doing non-thru cutting, but the guard can still stay in place for doing dados, tennons, etc. Although it is expensive, I highly recommend this guard. Besides, Amazon is the cheapest place I have ever found this!

I purchased this item to replace the stock guard and splitter on my Unisaw w/50" Biesemeyer T-Square fence.

While not mentioned in the item description, the kit includes a replacement splitter (with anti-kickback pawls) that once installed, is easy to pop in and out of the saw. Remove the table insert, turn a knurled nut a few times, and pop in (or pull out) the splitter, tighten the nut, and replace the insert --- takes about 20 seconds.

Installation was quick and easy: A few minutes to review the parts list and instructions; 5 minutes to remove the stock guard and splitter; 5 minutes to install the new splitter; and about 20 minutes to install the guard itself. The most difficult part was drilling the required 6 holes in the back fence rail.

The fit and finish is excellent. Perfectly counterbalanced so that the guard cage lifts effortlessly as stock slides underneath. In the cases where you need it (changing blades, etc.), you can lock the guard in the up position.

The number one rule of thumb in woodworking is to end the day with as many thumbs as you started. This blade guard goes a long way towards insuring this. I did a considerable amount of research prior to purchasing this guard and, while no guard is perfect, this one came the closest. It is relatively unobtrusive, easy to install and very easy to move. Early models had no way of quickly moving the guard, rather, you had to crank and crank and crank. The newer models now have a catch which allows the guard to be quickly moved out of the way for blade changes. By far, the best thing about this guard is the item least advertised - the splitter. Although not mentioned in the packaging, the guard comes with a very high quality splitter that is easy to attach and very quick and easy to remove. This splitter has already proven its worth in my shop, not once allowing a board to kick back. While a few hundred dollars is a lot to spend on a blade guard, this product is clearly worth it. My fingers, thumbs and the "nether region" most likely injured during kickback are worth more to me than a few hundred dollars. Buy this blade guard and you will not be disappointed.

Thanks for the quick delivery and great price Amazon.

I opened the box and was surprised to see the "Jet" color rather than my Delta Gray. There were six hex nuts missing, the logo on the T-Bar is noticeably crooked and the blade guard isn't clear. It had some sort of sticky residue that so far hasn't come off. The blade guard was also mounted crooked to the balance mechanism. I called Biesemeyer, got a friendly help desk operator and was assured that the splitter that was included indeed was the 78-961 splitter. The reason I called and asked was because I couldn't see how the included splitter I received could possibly be in the $$$ range. It is NOT the solid, quick detachable Biesemeyer splitter!

So far the entire system works as expected and advertised, however, I am only slightly more than two-thirds satisfied.

I probably should not admit this but I bought this guard for my left tilt Jet cabinet saw a few years ago after reading a review on guards in Fine Woodworking. At that time they were for Delta saws only and as far as I can tell still are. I knew going in that where would be fit problems but I like the way it functioned and thought I would take a chance. To mount the guard I had to remove the bottom part of the piece of angle iron that secures the table extension to the saw about 10" so the bracket from the guard that bolts to the table would be low enough for wood to pass over it. Not too bad and once that was done I drilled the required holes and bolted the guard to the table. Next I removed the long screw because I wanted to be able to move the guard rapidly which is hard to do with the screw in place. Now I had a very functional guard. I next paid the extra $100 for the dust collection kit. This is way overpriced but it did go on quickly and allows me to capture the dust that comes off the top of the blade. With my shop dust collection system sucking dust out of the bottom of the saw and the shop vac catching what comes out the top, my table saw is now a reasonably clean operation. Now about that splitter. I looked at the splitter and my saw and decided to give it a try. First the bracket was not an exact match but it did bolt up I felt securely with only one bolt hole not being used. When I slipped the splitter in it was out of align with the blade by around 1/8". The next move was to the vice where with the use of a hammer I made some carefully placed bends. This time when I slipped the splitter in and sited down the blade I had alignment. I have been using this setup for several years now without a glitch.

Best investment for the tablesaw. Easy to install and square up. Dead on accuracy.