How effective are blade dust collectors

[Rick Reinsma]

I have a General 350 table saw and also have a 1200 cfm dust collector. The d.collector has 2 -4" outlets coming off it . Presently I have my dust collector hooked up to the saw and I've noticed quite a bit of dust coming from the blade.My question is ,should I run 2 seperate runs to the saw 1 for the base cabinet outlet and 1 for a blade dust collector or just tap into the one run and connect both outlets this way? Do you think a line off a shop vac would work as a blade dust collector? ....Thanks guys

[JayStPeter]

You're probably best off connecting one inlet to each DC port on the TS. But IMO, cabinet saws are still in the dark ages with respect to DC. Plenty still gets by, even with an overhead blade guard collection port.
As long as they are redesigning for riving knives, might as well add a dust shroud also ... yeah right :rolleyes:

Jay

[Kyle Rosenberger]

I have a Biesemeyer overarm blade guard with a dust collection port at the blade on my saw. I have a 4" duct running to the cabinet & a 2" duct running to the blade guard hood. The blade guard not only protects my hands it also picks up alot of saw dust.

[Jeff Sudmeier]

I have a 4 inch line split for my TS cabinet and blade guard. The only time there is dust on the table top is when I am ripping off just a very little bit from the edge of the board.

[Matt Meiser]

I have the Biesemeyer guard with their dust collection. I found that with a 6" run to the bottom of my saw open and their 2" hose, I couldn't get decent collection from the blade guard. I purchased a small shop vac and wired it to turn on with my saw (I have a magnetic starter with a spare contact I could use.) Now the blade guard gets most of what goes above the table, except when ripping thin strips. Then there is too much open area and a lot of the debris gets thrown out from under the guard before the vac has a chance to get it.

[Jim Becker]

My overarm guard works well...when I use it...especially since upgrading my cyclone to a much larger system last year. My drop is 5" split to 4" to the saw and 3" to the overarm guard, but the 5-4-3 lateral wye comes right at the end of a 6" branch. If I find I need a little more collection "up top", I just shut down the saw cabinet partially. But my system, for the most part, develops enough velocity and air flow to handle both ports simultaneously.

As to my comment about "when I use it"...that's usually when working with sheet goods, especially MDF, or other wide material. I do not use the guard when ripping as it interferes with using a push block. (The splitter is on the saw for 100% of the through cuts, however)