Contractor table Saw Dust Collection

[Jerome Hanby]

Printed out an article from FWW on dust proofing any table saw and started adapting the techniques to my table saw. Built panels to cover the front and back of my stand (back with a 4" dust port) when I realized that the front cover was supposed to be much shorter and have a ramp connecting it to the back panel. Before I popped the front off and re-sized it, I decided to take a closer look at the article and compare it to my saw. My fence back rail and the bracket that comes looping out the back from underneath to hold the blade guard are going to make boxing in the motor problematic. After a little looking around, I found a product made from some flexible material (maybe some kind of cloth) that attaches around the edges of the back opening then cinches around the belt guard and motor mounts leaving the motor exposed. The material is flexible enough to move with the motor when tilted. Sounds like a better solution than boxing the motor or having pieces that need to be moved/removed when tilting the saw. I'm now pretty set on buying on of those gizmos and buying a Shark Guard (Lee straightened me out on which model to order). That leave the underneath collection. My question, would a ramp that slants from just under the saw's main box in front to the top of the bottom cross brace in back (with left and right boxed in) work better than just mounting a bottom piece of plywood with a 14" table saw dust extraction fitting to cover the bottom of the main saw box and piping that out the back?

Basically like this:202265202264
Instead of like this:202266

The boot on the back looks like this: 202270

[Joseph Tarantino]

in theory, the slanted collector should work better. it would allow less horizontal surface onto which dust could accumulate. however, having 2 emerson electric built contrctor table saws (one-craftsman, the other, ridgid), one with a flat collector and the other with a slanted collector, the marginal difference in collected material is of such an amount that, IMHO, it really doesn't matter which way you go. i find that it is still necessary, at roughly the same intervals, to open up the saws to clean them out.

[Jerome Hanby]

That's the kind of feedback I was looking for, thanks!

[Curt Harms]

I wish I had pics of a contractor's mobile base I sold years ago but I don't. Similar idea to the sloped floor but I made the sides tapered as well so sides came together just wider than the hose connection. Excellent dust collection and not many places for sawdust to accumulate. I based my idea on what I've heard called gravity boxes used to haul grain. The bottom is sloped on 3 sides and they all come together at the door. Same idea.

[Will Boulware]

Joseph, I'm about to add this same dust port to my Emerson-made craftsman. Thanks for the info. Very helpful!

[Jerome Hanby]

The main box of the table saw (I keep using that term, but I don't know how else to describe it. It's the part that houses all the goodies like the arbor) has a lip along the bottom. I'm sure that's to add rigidity to the chassis. Seems like no matter how I set things up, that ledge will always be a catching point. I guess I could make tiny hard board ramps to cover those ledges. Maybe I could work out some kind of internal ramp that would still let the works swing clear when I tilt to make beveled cuts. If I could get a "V" shaped trough in place, I could pretty much funnel directly to the dust port.

[Tom Hargrove]

I've got a Ridgid contractor saw - model 3650 IIRC. I enclosed the bottom of the saw cabinet with a piece of plywood and mounted an HVAC register boot (4" x 10") right below the blade shroud outlet port. The boot is oriented such that it is directly below the blade shroud dust port if the blade is anywhere between vertical and full 45 degree tilt. The dust collector hose (4") connects to the boot. I have run the saw both with and without a cover over the motor opening, and both with and without the other openings in the cabinet plugged or covered. The result is the same: the majority of the sawdust is collected, but some of it ends up on the plywood. I periodically clean it out with a shop vac which takes less than five minutes.

I have considered installing a ramped bottom similar to the drawing above, but don't think the dust collection would ultimately be any better, and might be more difficult to clean out with the shop vac. I am convinced a bigger (6"; 1000 CFM+) collector would work better, but that I would still find sawdust on the plywood. A bigger collector will come when the kids are done with college.

When I orignally bought the saw, I had a shop vac hose hooked directly to the port on the bottom of the blade shroud. The dust collection was probably better than what I have now, but I spent too much time emptying the vac tub and cleaning the filter. The hassle of constant cleaning coupled with the annoying whine of the vacuum, (even with ear protection), pushed me to what I have now.

I have thought about splitting the 4" line into two 2 1/2" lines, with one going directly on the shrould port and the other mounted to collect stray dust from inside the cabinet. However, since this is not a high priority for me, it sits on my "to-do" list. I have seen this done on router cabinets. Has anyone tried something like this on a saw?

[Jerome Hanby]

My saw has, what in my mind, is half a shroud and port. Looks like you took a complete shroud and sliced in half leaving front and back halves and tossed the front half. Even has what looks like half a fitting where a hose might attach. I guess that leaves the front half unobstructed for blade changes. I considered attaching a short piece of flexible hose there to try and catch dust and chips closer to the source, just not sure it's worth the effort. In the grand scheme I'll eventually get time to refurb my old Unisaw and I'll spend some effort getting it decent at dust collecting and this contractor saw will find a new home.

[Alan Bienlein]

This is what I did to my Ridgid TS3650. I have 6" duct going to the cabinet and will eventually have a 4" going to a overhead collection. I don't ever have to clean mine out and if I use the saw without the cyclone then the next time I turn it on it sucks out whatever was in there.
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