Is track saw splinter guard useful for only on depth of cut?

[chavezja03]

Sorry if this has been posted before, but here goes.  I got to thinking about the splinter guard's purpose and was wondering if it was only good for the first cut, which is what cuts the splinter guard.  Just to clarify, I'm talking about the splinter guard on the saw.  If I set my depth of cut to 1", is that the only depth of cut I can make that will allow the splinter guard to do it's job?  What if I increase the depth of cut to 1 1/2", make some cuts and then go back down to 1"?  Is the splinter guard not doing it's job anymore because now the gap from the blade to the splinter guard has increased?  Just wondering if I need to purchase more splinter guards and mark them with different depths of cut. 

 

[bkharman]

Good question. It really shouldn't matter as the cut (right) side of the splinter guard, is the part that is catching the upcut of the blade and stopping the splintering.

As long as the blade kerf isn't changing, the depth shouldn't matter.

Cheers. Bryan.

 

[Colonel Panic]

The splinter guard on the saw should be set to touch the wood during the cut. If the track is on the saw it will stick down further than if you are not using the track. The splinter guard is designed for the TS55. You have to do some mods to make it work correctly with the TS75. See half inch shy's website for the mod details.

 

[wow]

Link, in case you don't have time or are SEC (Search Engine Challenged):

http://www.halfinchshy.com/search?q=splinter+guard

[big grin]

 

[chavezja03]

Good question. It really shouldn't matter as the cut (right) side of the splinter guard, is the part that is catching the upcut of the blade and stopping the splintering.

As long as the blade kerf isn't changing, the depth shouldn't matter.

Cheers. Bryan.

Correct, which is why I asked the question.  If you cut the splinter guard with only a depth of cut of 3/4", the blade and the splinter guard are almost touching each other.  If you make a deeper cut, say 1 1/2", now you have cut more of the splinter guard off, so when you go back to 3/4 of an inch, there is a gap from the edge of the blade to the cut of the splinter guard.  Make sense?

 

[tallgrass]

Well it is an interesting issue. What I think you are noticing is the toe in on the blade. The question is if the tangential issue caused by this toe in going to be a problem for you. With a little math you can decide what tolerance is acceptable.  This is coming from a mechanical engineer who dwells on this kind of stuff. It is an unavoidable condition of saws with a toe in configuration. You may be able to set this up to minimized to your standard. However I think you have to have the toe in with a circular saw. [embarassed]

 

[chavezja03]

The splinter guard on the saw should be set to touch the wood during the cut. If the track is on the saw it will stick down further than if you are not using the track. The splinter guard is designed for the TS55. You have to do some mods to make it work correctly with the TS75. See half inch shy's website for the mod details.

My apologies, I failed to mention that I have the TS-55. 

 

[chavezja03]

Well it is an interesting issue. What I think you are noticing is the toe in on the blade. The question is if the tangential issue caused by this toe in going to be a problem for you. With a little math you can decide what tolerance is acceptable.  This is coming from a mechanical engineer who dwells on this kind of stuff. It is an unavoidable condition of saws with a toe in configuration. You may be able to set this up to minimized to your standard. However I think you have to have the toe in with a circular saw. [embarassed]

???  I'm not sure I'm explaining this well enough.  I will take some pictures and post them.  Hopefully I don't have to have 20 posts before I can upload some pictures.

 

[tbellemare]

You are correct, Sir...

The deeper you cut the on-board splinter guard, the more it changes. The deeper the cut, the more is cut off the guard.

It is not uncommon for shops to have right-side splinter guards specifically for different material thickness and marked as such.

Tom

 

[chavezja03]

Yes!!!  Someone understand what I'm trying to explain.  I'll post the pics anyway.  This picture shows the splinter guard in the down position, yes I had it against the wood, and at 22mm depth of cut.  I had the saw set up earlier to cut a little deeper, I can't remember what the depth was.  I returned it to 22mm and noticed the gap.  This is what prompted me to ask the question.

 

[chavezja03]

This next picture shows the splinter guard and blade almost touching.  Again the blade depth is set at 22mm.  This is the depth I had it set to when I added the new splinter guard.

 

[chavezja03]

You are correct, Sir...

The deeper you cut the on-board splinter guard, the more it changes. The deeper the cut, the more is cut off the guard.

It is not uncommon for shops to have right-side splinter guards specifically for different material thickness and marked as such.

Tom

Thanks for understanding me!!  We fellow Texans think alike!

 

[hopper]

From what I can understand according to your pics, you are worried about tear out at the front of the tooth because the distance from the tooth front to the splinter guard changes as the depth changes.  Personally,  I am more concern with tear out on the side of the tooth, in which case, depth doesn't matter because the splinter guard is always against the side of the blade unless you use a blade with a smaller kerf.

 

[chavezja03]

From what I can understand according to your pics, you are worried about tear out at the front of the tooth because the distance from the tooth front to the splinter guard changes as the depth changes.  Personally,  I am more concern with tear out on the side of the tooth, in which case, depth doesn't matter because the splinter guard is always against the side of the blade unless you use a blade with a smaller kerf.

I didn't pay any attention to the side of the blade!  I guess my question should be revoked. I don't know why I was fixated with the front of the blade. Hey, I'm a rookie woodworker!  Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[iamnothim]

Excellent Q & A
I was wondering when the splinter guard should be replaced.  Now it makes sense to me that you should have different guards for different depth of cut.
Sadly I was just cutting some ply at 22mm.  During the run I had to make a deep plunge.  Now that splinter guard is not as effective for the 22mm cuts.
This thread provided some very useful information.

Now.  Assuming you label a guard for 22mm and don't change depth, how long should that guard last?