I realize that this topic has been covered multiple times but I thought I would ask a quick question.

I have no room in my 180 square foot shop for a real dust collection system so I make do with a shop vac and various fittings. My table saw is a cheap but reasonably powerful Taiwanese knock-off of an old Delta design. About 40 years old. How I ended up with it is long story that involves a crazy friend. Not a great tool but with plenty of filing, shimming, and modifications I make it work. It has no shroud or dust port. I made a shroud with plexiglass and baltic birch and a vacuum fitting. It doesn't work for many reasons, mostly it seems that the vacuum intake is not close to the blade (about 2" away), and the vacuum is sucking in air from around the base and sides of the shroud. I have enclosed the base and the only problem is the fine dust kicked up from the back of the blade. A dust mask and a Shop Vac dust filter overhead keep the fine dust out of my lungs, but there is still a fine coat of dust everywhere else.

The question - should I continue experimenting or give up on the idea of using a shop vac on the table saw? Given the dynamics of dust generation, it seems that a shop vac just doesn't have enough power or air flow to effectively collect dust.

(The shop vac works great with a similar setup on my shop-made router table, where the router bit hurls the chips directly into the vacuum intake)