dust collection

[Travis Teichmann]

Ok, I have an old (1950's) Craftsman contractor table saw that I am in the process of building a cabinet for. I don't have a dust collector (yet), but would like to close off the back of the saw to help contain the dust into a box below. I have seen numerous articles on closing it off for 90* cuts but I can't figure out how to keep it closed when tilted. I thought I saw a thread last fall about a person that did this (possibly on a Delta?) but I can't find it anywhere. I have searched for about three days with no luck. Has anyone been sucessful with this or remember seeing the thread and point me in the right direction? Thanks for any assistance.
Travis

[Mark Bolton]

I dont have an article or images handy but I think your only option would be to make a rear cover out of ply with an arc slot cut in it for the belt. This slot would have to be wide enough to clear at min/max cutting depth and bevel. You could then install some brush material to help keep the suction at the blade/insert area.

We had DC on a contractor saw and to be honest, with a good sized dust collector just having a ply bottom in the saw with a 4" port in it helped a lot. Closing in the back would surely help but may not be totally necessary.

Mark

[Anthony Whitesell]

Ditto that. My first thought was to make some type of sliding attachment to the back of the trunnion. I can't wait to see what pictures and possibilities poeple have come up with.

[Rick Thom]

There is a cloth bag available that helps contain the dust and is large and flexible enough to accommodate changing the bevel on the motor.
They are generally available where table saw accessories like after-market fences and such are sold. Expect to pay $35-40 or so. The example shown is called 'the boot', but there will be others around, all performing the same function.. here's the link http://store.thesawshop.com/catalogue/product_info.php?cPath=6&products_id=88 to this particular product which is sold in Canada and I'm pretty sure they would ship to you if you couldn't easily find it elsewhere and of course it's priced in Canadian pesos.

[Bob Potter]

I have read where a man made a cover that covered the whole motor so that it could tilt freely. He also commented that there was enough ventilation so as not to over heat the motor.

Hope this helps, Bob

[Philip Giangarra]

Hi,

Yes, there was a discussion and pictures to allow for tilting the table saw. I didn't record the location of the thread, but I saved the pictures. Here they are:
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112375

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Phil Giangarra

[Travis Teichmann]

Thanks for all the ideas, that's whats so great about this forum!

Rick,
I saw that bag on someone's post and thought "that's a great idea", then realized I don't have belt guard, and the bag would only last about 2 seconds...but I could make a belt guard. Good idea.

Phil,
I think those are the pictures I was looking for. I don't know why I couldn't think about the same solution on my own...I have the major piece cut out of cardboard for a template, the second piece shouldn't have been rocket science. I always find a way to over-engineer and over-think a problem.

[Stephen Edwards]

Here's what I did on my Ridgid Contractor Saw. I've been using this set up for more than a year now. The one thing that I've done since posting this thread was to drill more holes in the box for increased air low. It has worked fine for me with no problems at all. I have some more photos if you'd care to see them.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=81095

[Gary McKown]

The slickest trick I remember seeing several years ago used a split rubber sheet to cover the tilt slot in a masonite panel. It apparently worked well for a standard belt - link belt might be a different story.