Cabinet Saw DC Quandary...

[Derek Arita]

I was thinking about doing what other people have done to try and increase the DC efficiency in my cabinet saw by sealing off the bottom of the cabinet. Then I started thinking, wouldn't that tend to starve the DC system? I've got the rear blade guard slot sealed and half of the motor cover vents sealed. When the work piece goes over the blade, the blade slot gets closed off. That mostly leaves the motor cover vents and the cabinet bottom open for air flow. What exactly should be sealed off and what should be left open for optimum dust collection???

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I sealed the gap between the sides and bottom of my Jet, mainly to keep the sawdust from falling through the crack. There are still two large holes where the height and bevel adjustment knobs stick out of the cabinet. Also, the top is not a solid piece of cast iron. The underside has a series of ridges which add strength to the top and creates a gap between the top of the cabinet and bottom of the top which allows a lot of air to flow.

[Derek Arita]

Dennis,
Did sealing the bottom improve dust collection in the cabinet?

[Paul Kunkel]

Originally posted by Derek Arita
I was thinking about doing what other people have done to try and increase the DC efficiency in my cabinet saw by sealing off the bottom of the cabinet. Then I started thinking, wouldn't that tend to starve the DC system? I've got the rear blade guard slot sealed and half of the motor cover vents sealed. When the work piece goes over the blade, the blade slot gets closed off. That mostly leaves the motor cover vents and the cabinet bottom open for air flow. What exactly should be sealed off and what should be left open for optimum dust collection???
I don't know about starving the collector because I usually have the mitersaw open at the same time, but there's enough leaks on a cabinet saw to equal at least my 5" port and I have a piece of magnetic sign material over the miter slot:D

[Terry Hatfield]

Derek,

I have done some extra sealing on my Griz 1023 and it really helped. Basically I sealed up everything except the tilt slot and the blade guard hole in the back. Just make sure that you leave enough openings to equal the area of the duct size you have going to the cabinet.

Terry

[Dennis McDonaugh]

Derek, it does help some, but the best benefit is no dust falls outside the cabinet anymore. The bottom of my saw is tilted toward the 4" dust port, but I'm not sure that is much benefit because once the dust is not suspended in the air (falls to the bottom) it isn't sucked up. I end up with a 6" cirular clear space in front of the port and dust 3-4" deep on the other side. I think this is equilibrium for my saw. What I really need to do is buy an overarm blade guard/dust collector because more dust shoots off the front of the saw than falls inside.

[Derek Arita]

Thanks for the help. I have the same 3" of build up at the bottom of the cabinet. I guess I'll try sealing things off with duct tape first and try it out. If there's an improvement, I'll do things more permanently. Thanks.