contractor / cabinet and dust; Sawstop in particular

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I was recently looking at Sawstop saws. Someone stated that the dust collection with the contractor saw and the cabinet saw would be exactly the same. I poked around a bit and found some posts:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?136728-Sawstop-dust-collection
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?89832-Sawstop-dust-collection

Do you feel that it is true that the dust collection will be roughly equivalent for both saws when outfitted similarly (ie, with / without over head dust collection).

I had expected that a cabinet saw would in general capture more of the dust in the cabinet and then I also have the bonus that the motor is encapsulated, which will make it slightly safer.

On my Ridgid 3650, I don't like the motor sticking out the back, and I always have a bunch of dust under the saw.

[Alan Lightstone]

I have modified my SawStop Contractor's Saw by building it into a custom cabinet to improve dust collection. It now has 6" ducting, is hooked up to a 5HP cyclone, and the rear area was significantly closed in. Despite that, some dust is liberated from the front and back of the saw, thought not nearly as much as unmodified.

I think there is no question that the cabinet saws have better dust collection. You can modify the contractor's saw to improve it's dust collection, and it is pretty good, but nothing beats a well designed cabinet saw for dust collection.

[Larry Frank]

I have a Sawstop PCS and it is hooked up to a 2 HP dust collection system. It performs well in pulling the dust out of the cabinet. However, I am not really satisfied with the above table collection. Sawstop makes a nice looking dust collector/guard to go over the blade and it does work well collecting dust. However, I do not use it as much as I should. The currves on the guard makes it really difficult to see and line up a cross cut accurately. I would think that a shark guard with the flat plastic would be much easier to see through.

[Alan Lightstone]

Oh, no question the dust collector / guard adds significantly to the dust collection. On cuts where you can't use it, dust does get liberated above the saw. It is a very nice design, though I haven't used any of the aftermarket blade guard / dust collectors for comparison.

[Philip Rodriquez]

I have the ICS, an excalibur BG, and a cyclone. The combo gets almost everything. IMHO, a cabinet saw will capture more dust because the base is closed off. This means that any dust that does not get captured by your DC will settle in the bottom of the cabinet.

An overarm BG will GREATLY reduce the amount of dust in the air. Personally, I was completely amazed when I hooke mine up. Unfortunately, you also have to have a DC system that will handle two ports. A 1.5 HP unit would get you started... but a 2 HP single stage would be a lot better.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

With the sawstop I can easily get one. Seems that I could also get an overhead for my Ridgid (shark guard). Wonder how easily that would go on and come off for that saw.....