Band Saw Dust pick-up w/o Respirator

[Mac McQuinn]

I've owned a couple of Band saws in the past, a 60 year Craftsman/King Seely 3 wheel bench model & a Machinist built, homemade floor unit. Both were pretty inefficient at capturing wood dust particles. This was with a 6hp Vac attached at a single port below the table.

Is there a reasonably priced 14"-18" Band Saw which could provide 100% dust pick-up with with either a quality Vac/Dust Deputy set-up or a dedicated 110V 1-2hp dust collector at the BS? I'm in hopes of not having to wear a dust Respirator during use of the BS. I realize dust collection has come a long ways although is this even conceivable?

Mac

[Grant Wilkinson]

For my current band saw and my previous one, I made a dust pick up that fits between the bottom of the table and the top of the lower door, right next to the lower guides. I have it connected to a 2" to 4" adapter the feeds my dust collector. This picks up pretty much everything. When I open the bottom door, there is next to nothing there, even after a few hours of cutting.

I haven't seen any stock saw that does as well.

[Myk Rian]

My best luck at DC on a band saw is a box I built under the base top of my Delta 14".
I used foam pipe insulation to seal between the saw body/lower wheel cover, and the base.
I connect a 2 1/2" hose to it, but it could be made for 4".
No way am I going to cut a hole in the wheel cover.
I've tried pick-ups under the table at the lower guides, but this has worked so much nicer.

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[David Weaver]

I used to run a shop vac to the dust port on my saw. I think this is unnecessary now, unless you are running it all the time (as in like hours every day) and/or have some sort of sensitivity to the wood being cut.

I now run the saw with no dust collection attached. Once in a while, I open the bottom of the saw and scoop the dust out with a dust pan (maybe this is a less sensible alternative if you don't have one of the larger welded steel type saws that has empty space at the bottom). I think in the end, I have less dust blowing around than I did when I was trying to collect it.

[Mac McQuinn]

Myk,
Are you using a Vac to pull the dust through? Do you feel a dedicated Dust Collector w/ 4" or 5" would work better? Can you use your tilt mechanism w/ box in place? I'm not sure which would be more efficient, a Vac's higher velocity or a Dust Collector's increased CFM in this situation.
Thanks, Mac


My best luck at DC on a band saw is a box I built under the base top of my Delta 14".
I used foam pipe insulation to seal between the saw body/lower wheel cover, and the base.
I connect a 2 1/2" hose to it, but it could be made for 4".
No way am I going to cut a hole in the wheel cover.
I've tried pick-ups under the table at the lower guides, but this has worked so much nicer.

260224260225

[Jonathan Clement]

We have a Grizzly 513X2B. We have a 4" hose from our 1.5 HP Delta attached to the upper port and a shop vac attached to the lower port. We get some sawdust accumulation on the table primarily when re-sawing but none inside the machine.

[glenn bradley]

I get pretty excellent dust collection with a few minor mods. I haven't seen a stock saw that does as well but, they are a far cry from dust collection awareness in designs of the past. I blocked off the lower duct with a piece of magnetic sign as no dust makes it that far anymore. I added a throat plate which some euro saws come stock with (maybe some domestics too?). I built the little box for under the table collection and this is the thing that really makes the difference. There is still some spoil on top of the table for some cuts but, the percentage of collection is now quite high.

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[Myk Rian]

Myk,
Are you using a Vac to pull the dust through? Do you feel a dedicated Dust Collector w/ 4" or 5" would work better? Can you use your tilt mechanism w/ box in place? I'm not sure which would be more efficient, a Vac's higher velocity or a Dust Collector's increased CFM in this situation.
Thanks, Mac
I have it connected to the DC. 4" would probably work better, but this gets about all of the dust.
With no dust collection, I get a lot of it coming up the rear blade guard.
I can tilt the table as this is connected UNDER the saw base. Delta made an opening in these bases for other machines. There was also a dust chute option that fits under it.
In this pic you can see the pipe insulation under the lower wheel cover.

I did take a small piece of sheet aluminum to cover the gap between the table and lower wheel cover. The place you would normally put a DC connection below the table.
I'll get a picture of it. Held it on with the lower wheel cover mounting stud.

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[david brum]

+2 on a box around the lower guides. I've tried nearly every possible dust collection idea on bandsaws. For me, this works by far the best. I still get some big crumbs on the table top, but nearly no fine dust on or around the saw. Mine looks a lot like Glenn's, but the hose comes from behind the saw and I capped off the upper dust port.

[Dick Mahany]

I made a collection box out of polycarbonate and also added a port on the lower door of my Delta 14". They work great and probably get 90% + of the dust. The box has a removable section that allows for full table tilt. I have a fully dimensioned sketchup model if interested. I run a 4" hose to the box and cap off which ever side I'm not using. The port on the door is 2.5" and I'm going to enlarge it to 4" (someday).

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[Mac McQuinn]

Thanks for the clarification, I understand now.
Mac



I have it connected to the DC. 4" would probably work better, but this gets about all of the dust.
With no dust collection, I get a lot of it coming up the rear blade guard.
I can tilt the table as this is connected UNDER the saw base. Delta made an opening in these bases for other machines. There was also a dust chute option that fits under it.
In this pic you can see the pipe insulation under the lower wheel cover.

I did take a small piece of sheet aluminum to cover the gap between the table and lower wheel cover. The place you would normally put a DC connection below the table.
I'll get a picture of it. Held it on with the lower wheel cover mounting stud.

260236 260252

[Mac McQuinn]

Glenn,
What brand and model saw is this? (Grizzly GO457?) Looks like a well thought out, although simple system.
What size DC system are you using?
Thanks,
Mac



I get pretty excellent dust collection with a few minor mods. I haven't seen a stock saw that does as well but, they are a far cry from dust collection awareness in designs of the past. I blocked off the lower duct with a piece of magnetic sign as no dust makes it that far anymore. I added a throat plate which some euro saws come stock with (maybe some domestics too?). I built the little box for under the table collection and this is the thing that really makes the difference. There is still some spoil on top of the table for some cuts but, the percentage of collection is now quite high.

260234 . 260235

260230 . 260231

260233 . 260232

260228 . 260229

[jim gossage]

I have done the low tech version of what several others have done, namely, to bridge the gap between the underside of the table and the lower wheel guard system. It doesn't need to be air tight or fancy to make a significant difference. The lower port shown in the figure was stock on my 16" minimax, but it was nearly worthless for dust collection. I took a spare 4" dust collection hood for a jointer (the black piece that the upper hose is attached to) and attached it to the guard that covers the lower guides. I then scavenged two pieces of plastic from a square 1/2 gallon tub of mini cream puffs (it was hard work emptying that tub!) and filled in most of the gaps between the hood and the underside of the table (these are the white pieces attached to the upper corner of the black dust hood). The plastic is flexible enough that moves out of the way when you open the small guard that covers the lower guides. The two 4" hoses connect to a 6" pipe that goes to a 3hp cyclone. Since using this set up, there is essentially no dust anywhere when sawing including the top of the table. I think it’s shameful that a bunch of woodworkers can do a much better job with dust collection fabrication using wood and plastic than the engineers and fabricators who build these nice bandsaws.

[Mac McQuinn]

Jim,
Can you tilt your table with your enclosure in place? Do you feel the power of a 3HP Cyclone enhances your modification or is it just the enclosure which makes the difference?
I fully agree, these machines regardless of price, should come with a efficient method of providing a path to the DC/Vac system.
Mac




I have done the low tech version of what several others have done, namely, to bridge the gap between the underside of the table and the lower wheel guard system. It doesn't need to be air tight or fancy to make a significant difference. The lower port shown in the figure was stock on my 16" minimax, but it was nearly worthless for dust collection. I took a spare 4" dust collection hood for a jointer (the black piece that the upper hose is attached to) and attached it to the guard that covers the lower guides. I then scavenged two pieces of plastic from a square 1/2 gallon tub of mini cream puffs (it was hard work emptying that tub!) and filled in most of the gaps between the hood and the underside of the table (these are the white pieces attached to the upper corner of the black dust hood). The plastic is flexible enough that moves out of the way when you open the small guard that covers the lower guides. The two 4" hoses connect to a 6" pipe that goes to a 3hp cyclone. Since using this set up, there is essentially no dust anywhere when sawing including the top of the table. I think it’s shameful that a bunch of woodworkers can do a much better job with dust collection fabrication using wood and plastic than the engineers and fabricators who build these nice bandsaws.

[Jim Matthews]

If you're using the BS indoors, there's always some escapees from the asylum floating around.

I would use the stock ports, and run an air filtration unit in the same room.
My bandsaw is confined to the garage, with the DC parked outside when I'm cutting.

I still sweep out a pound or two when I change a blade.

You can make yourself crazy, going after dust from machines.

[glenn bradley]

Glenn,
What brand and model saw is this? (Grizzly GO457?) Looks like a well thought out, although simple system.
What size DC system are you using?
Thanks,
Mac




G0513X. I run a 2HP cyclone which also happens to be a Grizzly.

[Mac McQuinn]

Glenn,
thanks for the verification and info. I don't believe the GO513X is still available, looks like a nice saw though.
Mac



G0513X. I run a 2HP cyclone which also happens to be a Grizzly.

[jim gossage]

Mac,
I can loosen the black knob to the left of the upper port and this will allow me to lower the guide guard, which allows me to tilt the table, though I'm not quite sure how much I can tilt it, perhaps 15-20 degrees. I really can't comment on the 3 hr collector, but in general you need a good 2-3 hp in order to adequately pull through two 4" hoses.

[Mac McQuinn]

Jim,
Good info, thanks.
Mac


Mac,
I can loosen the black knob to the left of the upper port and this will allow me to lower the guide guard, which allows me to tilt the table, though I'm not quite sure how much I can tilt it, perhaps 15-20 degrees. I really can't comment on the 3 hr collector, but in general you need a good 2-3 hp in order to adequately pull through two 4" hoses.