Sawstop Dust collection.

[Jerome Sidley]

I'm in the process of hooking up my new to me 5hp Oneida high vacuum dust collector. I would like to run a 6" to the saw and a 4" to the overarm. I do have an issue that the saw uses a 4" flex inside the saw to the blade and what I think is 1.5 to their over arm. Here is my idea cut a 6" hole in the bottom of the saw (the saw is on the second floor and the DC is downstairs) and just drop the bottom of the 4" into the pipe this would also keep the cabinet clean as dust does gather in it. 391245391246
I will also run a 4" up the wall and over to the over arm which would also be suspended from above and transition down to the existing guard. does this make sense?391247
Of course, I would put a plate over the existing hole.391248

[Larry Frank]

That is one check of a dust collector with a 16.5" impeller and terrific performance (and $$$$). The performance curve is very impressive.

If it were me, I would hook up your saw with the standard ports and see how it works. With that dust collector, I think you might get 900-1000 cfm. I think it is worth a try. If it doesn't work well enough for you the modify the ports. My Sawstop PCS does pretty well with my 5 hp Oneida DC. However, I have only a 15" impeller.

[glenn bradley]

Even with the small stock port sizes my collection with a 2HP cyclone is very good. I would test things a bit before I started cutting into things or running large hose supports. If the stock cabinet port proves inadequate, you can always cut it larger.

The overarm gets praise, I think, for working as well as it does despite the wimpy hose size. It is certainly not a stellar performer but, good for what it is. I ran a 2-1/2" hose to mine but, the improvement was minimal. I did not enlarge the guard's port so this certainly contributed to my limited improvement. I went back to the stock hose.

A 4" hose with a modified port on the guard is another story. You should see some real improvement with that. this will vary with how you use the saw but, a 4" hose would be clumsy in my one man shop. The 2-1/2" was tolerable. If the guard stays on this is probably moot. :)

[Jerome Sidley]

My problem is if I run to the existing 4" I would have to put a 4" hole in the floor and would have to do a 180 to come in from the back. If I then want to go to a 6" I would have to cut another hole and fill the 4". but I would only have a 90 to deal with. I could cut a 4" hole in the saw base for the existing hole and a hole for the existing overarm hose, and maybe a small hole to collect any dust from the cabinet.

[Larry Frank]

I would run 6" close to the saw and then reduce to 4" as a trial.

It sounds like your real goal is to have the dust collection come through the bottom of the saw.

I do not care about some dust in the cabinet. Only concerned about dust in the air.

[Peter Christensen]

I think you should try it. Even though the 4" sitting inside the 6" isn't the best as it will make some turbulence, the cyclone is powerful enough to make up for a little inefficiency. Should you find it doesn't work as well as you want you can put a wye just below the saw and put a second hole in the floor. Put the hose on it and reduce the 6" inch hole to a 4". Basically have a pair of 4's into the bottom.

[Cliff Polubinsky]

You'll probably discover one issue with putting a hole through the bottom of the saw the first time you drop the arbor nut while changing the blade.
Cliff

[Nick Decker]

You'll probably discover one issue with putting a hole through the bottom of the saw the first time you drop the arbor nut while changing the blade.
Cliff

+1. Bad enough having to take the hose off the back to find the damn thing.

[Randy Heinemann]

I agree that I’d try to use the existing before cutting holes in the saw body. Overall Sawstop collection is very good for me even with a much less powerful DC and no port on the blade guard. With your dust collector and the overarm I’d bet it will be great.

[J.R. Rutter]

I would go 6" as you have planned. Even with a 15 HP cyclone, the cabinet on mine packs in with dust and has to be cleaned out periodically. Not a deal-breaker, but a minor annoyance. The blade tilt stops seem to get dusty as well and need blown off to maintain settings.

[mreza Salav]

I have a CV with 5" run to the saw (4" bottom and 3" top), with a over-the blade guard that accepts 3" hose.
I have posted somewhere that there are times having too much suction at the blade can be dangerous. In a few occasions small off-cuts got sucked up and then shot back (kick-back) by the blade, once hitting me.
So having too much air movement at the blade is not necessarily a good thing (unlike other situations that people say you can't have too much DC).
For the bottom of the saw I agree a larger than 4" hole would have been better but the current setup I have works really well. It's just once every few months I vacuum inside the cabinet. There is little dust escaping the blade guard.

[Warren Lake]

im still doing set ups and for first cuts no dust collection on this SCM. Next day I walked in and noticed dust was six or seven feet behind the saw. What a difference where internals are made to funnel the dust, it just shoots out the back of the saw. 95 percent of the dust went out the back and not above the table. With a 14" blade and likely blade size has an affect on dust collection as well filling the area better likely works better. Hooked up a 2HP on a 5" duct and it works excellent even with the cheap dust collector.

Mo thats odd about suction at the blade, i have some inserts that have holes cut in them. Saddly done tons with no dust collection, times i could not tilt my saw only to find it was full up to the motor.

[John C Bush]

I added the internal dust shroud accessory(fits on top of the existing shroud and wraps around the front of the blade to the bottom of the insert) to my ICS and it has helped reduce top of saw dust and greatly reduced cabinet dust build-up. I have tried using the stock blade guard but it is a nuisance with the trim/narrow cuts I mostly do. I get lots of saw top dust and am considering the Shark Guard with 3" hose connection. Any users with experience/opinions on efficacy and "is it worth it" comments. Thanks. JCB

[glenn bradley]

My problem is if I run to the existing 4" I would have to put a 4" hole in the floor and would have to do a 180 to come in from the back. If I then want to go to a 6" I would have to cut another hole and fill the 4". but I would only have a 90 to deal with. I could cut a 4" hole in the saw base for the existing hole and a hole for the existing overarm hose, and maybe a small hole to collect any dust from the cabinet.


I would run 6" close to the saw and then reduce to 4" as a trial.

I should have mentioned that this is what I do. I use a very short 4" hose as a flexible whip from rigid 6" pipe.

[Joe Chritz]

I run a 3 HP oneida system to a sawstop and I just have a 6" hose sitting on the port, not even sized down properly yet (It's been 18 months, I am getting to it) and it does very well. The overarm gets the vast majority of dust on the top unless the cut is just clipping and edge. Overall I am happy as it is set up.

[Larry Frank]

Sometimes, people's expectations are very different. It seems like some expect/want to have a collection system that gets every speck of dust and have none in the cabinet.

I am happy to get as much as possible. Depending on the cut, I can get all most all of the dust on top of the saw or with a slim trim cut get quite a bit escape. I am not bothered by a little dust in the cabinet and clean it out every few months.

The approach you take is very dependent on your expectations and your dust collector.