Customer Reviews

HTC 10A-L Brett-Guard Table Saw Guard

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

 

 

I first saw this product in the "Mastering Your Table Saw" DVD (which is a great DVD). If you get this DVD, you'll see it being used all the time. I purchased it for my Dewalt DW746 table saw.

The guard is clear so you can see the cutting action, and easily and quickly slides in and out on two steel support rods. Once you have its mounting plate attached to your table, you can remove the entire guard assembly with the twist of a knob. Very nice.

I see so many people using their saws without any guard at all (mostly because the stock guards are so bad). That's just not an option for me, because I know someday I'll make a mistake. Hopefully, the HTC guard system will keep me safe when that happens.

Note: If you purchase the left hand mount version and have a deep left hand extension table (like the Bench Dog router table), you might need the 30" support rods (my unit came with the 24" rods, which are fine for most applications). If you do need the longer rods, contact HTC directly [...]. They swapped my 24" rods out for 30" rods. Awesome customer service.

After replacing the Powermatic 66 standard blade guard and anti-kick back with an after market Biesemeyer T-Square Anti-Kickback Snap-In Spreader, I quickly realized that I needed some additional protection from the blade and the wood chips flying in my face. After doing some research I came up with 3 possible options:1) Biesemeyer T-Square Table Saw BladeGuard System, 2) HTC 10A-M50 Brett-Guard Table Saw Guard or 3) HTC 10A-L Brett-Guard Table Saw Guard. As it happens I have a router table on the right side of my saw which eliminated the first 2 options. I went with HTC 10A-L Brett-Guard Table Saw Guard which is mounted on the left of the blade screwed to the extension wing.

Here are some of the good points:
1) Easy to install once you figure out the directions, which were not very clear.
2) Easy to mount and unmount from the table.
3) Easy to use during cuts
4) Nice suction hole on top for dust extraction (this option is the model with a "P" in the model number such as HTC 10A-LP<<<
5) No more dust/chips in my face
6) Hands are forced to stay clear of blade

Not so good points of the blade guard and installation:
1) Instructions not very clear even after 3 readings
2) Missing parts (screws to mount dust cover to bars and screws to mount to saw extension)
3) Needed to file the holes in the mounting base plate to receive the positioning pins, because the pins were slightly out of alignment.

In summary, the HTC 10A-LP Brett-Guard Table Saw Guard is a very good product that will keep your fingers safe and saw dust and chips out of your face. Instructions could be better, but if you spend some time with them you will figure it out. Finally make sure you have all the parts, before you start to assemble, otherwise you will be making an unscheduled trip to the home center.

I bought this guard after experiencing a kickback on my 1.5 HP Delta contractors saw. I did a lot of research, and decided that the 10A-L was what I wanted, on the gamble that I could make it fit my set up. It's OSHA certified, and easy to remove and reinstall--just a turn of the knob, and maybe a little loosening and retightening of the nut that governs the fit of the housing to the mounting plate.

I read the other review here regarding compatibility with the Benchdog ProMax table, which I have on the left side of my saw. When I got the guard, I set to work on installing it. It was a little bit more work than I'd hoped, but I'm glad for the experience, I guess. Part of it was my being a novice, part of it was HTC.

Based on the only review here right now, I sent an email to HTC asking for the 30" rods, instead of the 24" rods, in order to fit the ProMax. I got a confused response the next day asking what I intended to use the guard for. I sent a very clear reply (with links to the Benchdog Promax product page), and got no response. Perhaps this was because it was the holidays.

I then called, and got a better response, but not perfect. I asked for the 30" rods and the thin kerf splitter. I got the rods in the mail three days later, which was great, but no splitter. I called again, and got the best response to date (this time they gave me a ticket #) and the thin kerf splitter is supposedly on the way.

I needed to drill and tap the holes to attach the guard to the cast iron promax. I had never done that before, but it's a piece of cake. Don't use cutting oil, cast iron is self-lubricating. I used a center punch as a first step with no problems (some web-based statements advise against center punching cast iron). Start with a small drill bit, like 1/8", and work your way up slowly. It drills very easily. Tap and drill tables are all over the web, so it's easy to find what size drill and tap bits you need. Make sure you get both the diameter and the thread count per inch right on the tap drill.

The threads for one of the rod-tightening knobs were not clear, so I had to get a tap for that as well. Easy to fix.

Also, I either lost four screws or they were missing in the package. I had everything else, and can't see how I would lose all four screws, so I think they were omitted.

All the same, I assume my experience was probably worse than average. The parts are rock solid. There's a smidge of give in the guard, as any angle on the end of a 30" rod will show, but the guard is great peace of mind, and is doing the job. It's a great feeling knowing that it will be hard to stick my hand in the blade, no matter what stupid thing I may do.

THE BRETT GUARD WAS INEXPENSIVE AND EASY TO INSTALL. IT PROVIDES TWO

ESSENTIALS FOR TABLE SAW SAFETY. 1. YOU CAN EASILY MOVE IT OUT OF THE WAY FOR MEASUREMENTS AND 2. EASILY MOVE IT OVER THE BLADE TO PROTECT YOUR FINGERS FROM BEING INJURED. A MUST FOR HOME SHOP WORK.

The guard is a great safety device that protects you from the blade but is not hard to remove,raise or lower.

It stands head and shoulders above a stock blade guard.

The anti kickback device is a bit lame with only two points to hold down the workpiece.

You will need to drill holes in your saw table to mount the blade guard's raising and lowering device.

I ordered a thin kerf splitter that cost over $20. A rip off.

I ended up building my own splitter from hard wood.

The guard is pricey at ~$200.

Overall, the guard (even with it's shortcomings) is an excellent safety device.

This blade guard is absolutely top quality. I am not giving this product 5 stars because the directions are absolutely laugh out loud funny. You are completely on your own. Good luck. I might call the company and complain about the directions for installing this.

Upon receiving my original style Brett-Guard I was very pleased at the sturdy construction. It is increasingly rare these days to purchase a product that is made of industrial strength materials. The assembly instructions were followed without any difficulty. Unfortunately, the pre-drilled holes in the mounting plate did not permit the crank housing to seat completely, which I did not notice until after I had installed the mounting plate on my contractor saw.

I called HTC Products Customer Service and got through without any trouble. A nice rep named Keith put one of their product engineers on the phone so that I could describe the problem. Being the cynical type, I kind of expected them to try to talk me into performing some kind of do-it-yourself repair. However, I was pleasantly surprised when they insisted on exchanging the crank housing and mounting plate at no charge. I just finished installing my replacement parts and the whole thing works great. I would heartily recommend this product to anybody.

This Item is as good a guard as one can find. However, one needs to be clairvoyant to mount it on ones saw. Being a machinist helps. The instructions are ludicrous. It's better to wing it.
Holes need to be drilled in the saw table and threaded. I used 4 5/16 bolts. The mounting platform is not 90 degrees and needs to be. To compensate for the wobble and lack of level I installed an adjustment screw through the mount plate and into the base of the lift. Once that was accomplished the guard works well.
Good luck

You are totally on your own with these directions. Some of the assembly is intuitive; some is not. It just takes persistence--lots of it. Mounting this guard to your table is an epic. Once in place, which requires a machinist's skills, it works fine.