Dust Control In a Contractor's Saw

[Howard Rosenberg]

Hi all -
I realize this is an ancient issue, but....

Does it (however theoretically) make sense that one could
- create a cone that is +/- 11" at the top that tapers down to whatever your DC's duct size is - 4", 5" or 6"
- suspend the cone inside the saw (somehow) just around and under the blade
- connect the hose to the cone's outlet

My logic is the cone has no corners so dust couldn't sit and pack up.
The trick would be to figure out:
- how to suspend the cone inside the saw
- the height of the cone.

Could one use a HVAC boot from HD?
Could one create a sloping, funneled, reverse pyramid out of hardboard?
I realize the above two have corners.

I must admit, this cone idea terminating in a round port to feed one's DC hose has got me thinking.....

Thank you for all your input.
Howard

[Dean Baumgartner]

Howard,
The cone is a neat idea but sounds like it might be difficult in execution.

I recall seeing that some contractor saws had a half circle dust shroud around the blade mounted to the trunion so that it tipped with the blade. Probably more than you want to try to tackle unless you have access to some good sheet metal tools.

On my old Delta motorized saw, the bottom was open front and back with sheet metal sides on the base. I installed an inclined bottom at about 45 degrees sloping from front to back and then added a back panel with a purchased plastic dust shroud that filled part of the panel. The rest of the panel was hardboard as was the bottom. There was some buildup at the sides but not bad and I had the back set into a rabbit so I could slide it out for cleaning. Didn't work all that bad. Actually it ended up much like the dust pickup built into most cabinet saws. When I get home I can take a couple of pics of this if you're interested.

Dean

[Howard Rosenberg]

Dean - That'd be great! Thank you. DC overall is driving me crazy & I wanna get this done on my CS ASAP. How's that for acrnyms/ Howard

[Dean Baumgartner]

Dean - That'd be great! Thank you. DC overall is driving me crazy & I wanna get this done on my CS ASAP. How's that for acrnyms/ Howard


Howard,
I'm traveling tomorrow but should be able to take and post a couple of pics either Friday night or Saturday.

Dean

[Tom Hintz]

Howard,
See the link below for a story (photos also) on how I enclosed my contractor-style saw for dust collection. It works well and cost very little to do, a combination that makes it a hit in my shop.

http://www.newwoodworker.com/jetdust.html

[Howard Rosenberg]

That'd be great! Howard

[Fred Voorhees]

Howard, I currently have a contractors saw and I recently installed a dust collection system. I needed to fabricate some kind of hookup for the saw into the system and this is what I came up with. It was very simple to make and was minimal in cost. It hooks up to a five inch port and funnels past a homemade (Terry Hatfield style) blast gate. Over the past few days, I have given it the first real test and it has pretty much passed with flying colors. However, I will admit that around the perimeter of the inside of the now enclosed base collection area, some minor dust does collect, but only a little bit. The rest does in fact get sucked into the system and there is no further build up. This set up does nothing for the sawdust "cast-off" from the blade above the table. I will eventually have to deal with that with an overarm blade cover with a built in collection system. I will more than likely wait until I trade up to a cabinet saw.

[Dean Baumgartner]

Here's the pictures of what I did on my saw. The enclosed sides made it much easier. I also included a picture of the dust collection on my Bridgewood. Pretty much the same idea but looking at it the one I made has a steeper angle.


Dean

[Bill Esposito]

Howard,

Here's what I did on my Jet. Was simple although not aesthetically pleasing.

I had every intention of replacing the black plastic with some kind of material...just never got to it :)

http://cerealport.net/woodworking/csdc.html

[Howard Rosenberg]

Thanks for your photos. Howard