Overarm/overhead blade guard dust collection design

[Zane Harris]

Can anyone point me to research on the best location for the hose port on a blade guard.? I've seen some placed at the rear of the guard, others focused on the front of the blade. I'm trying to decide which way to go.

[Greg Quenneville]

Observing the dust spray off my blade makes me think that I would try to have the port arranged at a tangent to the blade just after the exit point from the workpiece. Maybe 30° forward of vertical assuming a vacuum hose sized port.

If you are planning to make a larger blade shroud with a bigger hose then probably vertical, with some brush type skirt where the shroud meets the table, like a CNC router has.

[Alan Lightstone]

If you are planning to make a larger blade shroud with a bigger hose then probably vertical, with some brush type skirt where the shroud meets the table, like a CNC router has.

+1000. My home-made version of a brush skirt was an amazing improvement in dust collection. But having a hard time keeping it glued on. I really wish Sawstop made one for their blade guard.

[Rob Sack]

I have the large Sawstop (formerly Excaliber) overarm dust collector, having it replace the smaller Sawstop dust collector that originally came with the saw. I am currently using a cutdown wide paint brush as a brush skirt at the end of the shroud and it has made a world of difference. I plan on replacing it with something less "Rube Goldbergish" along with an additional brush skirt along the side of the shroud. I will probably source the skirts from McMaster Carr unless someone here has a better suggestion. With the two brush skirts, the top of the saw should be completely dust free.

[Greg Quenneville]

Is there some kind of garage door seal brush that could be riveted to the guard I wonder?

[Tom M King]

Move enough air, and the little details don't matter. I bought an Exactor because it uses a 4" hose, and like it fine.

[William Hodge]

Catching the sawdust spray as it leaves the blade requires less cubic feet per minute dust collection. The momentum of the spraying dust should shoot right into a dust collection port. The closer the port is to the dust stream, the lower the need for more cubic feet per minute of dust collection. Inches of static lift is what matters more.

I use the crevice tool that came with a shop vac. The plastic is cut to allow the spray to go into the tool easier. The crevice tool is mounted between the first and second wheels of a stock feeder. The dust collection is a central vac with 125" of static lift.

A regular dust collector with a 6" line keeps the cabinet clean.

[David Bedrosian]

I’ve got an overhead blade guard that I built for my saw that does an excellent job with dust collection. I wrote it as an article for Canadian Woodworking Magazine. You can view the article here https://canadianwoodworking.com/proj...ble-saw-guard/

David

[Ken Andersen]

I’ve got an overhead blade guard that I built for my saw that does an excellent job with dust collection. I wrote it as an article for Canadian Woodworking Magazine. You can view the article here https://canadianwoodworking.com/proj...ble-saw-guard/

David

David, at the end of your article you refer to the addition of a "brush" to your guard. I've been intending to do the same to mine but haven't gotten around to it.
Do you have a pic that you can share?

[David Bedrosian]

David, at the end of your article you refer to the addition of a "brush" to your guard. I've been intending to do the same to mine but haven't gotten around to it.
Do you have a pic that you can share?

Hi Ken,
The link to the article should have several photos of the brush. Are you not seeing the photos?

David

[Bob Riefer]

Great article, thanks for posting David!

[Lisa Starr]

https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread....-so&highlight=

The above is the one I built . The large dust collector port plays a huge role in making the collection really work. I cutting small pieces, I have to choke it down at the blast gate so it doesn't suck them up

[Ken Andersen]

Hi Ken,
The link to the article should have several photos of the brush. Are you not seeing the photos?

David

Sorry, David! Duh, yes, I do see the pic illustrating the attachment method for the brush. Don't know how I missed it the first time. Thanks.

[Alan Lightstone]

I'm definitely going to look at using that mounting method as my duct tape method constantly has the brush falling off. I have mine around the entire shroud. Reduces visibility somewhat. When I can use it, it is very effective.

[Thomas Marr]

I've considered this issue a quite a bit. The original SS guard will capture a LOT of dust with no DC on, because it captures dust at the front of the blade and leverages the blade itself as a fan. Most dust comes from the blade gullet and is thrown forward as the blade comes around. Also, the back of the blade rubbing the side of the cut creates additional very fine dust. There’s a slow-motion video around somewhere showing how this works.

Any dust thrown free of the gullet will naturally get tossed toward the front of the blade, helped along with the fan action of the blade. Therefore, applying suction as close as possible to the front of the blade guard will likely produce the best results…as shown by the original SS guard. However, the tradeoff is reduced visibility toward the blade.

I’ve been thinking of buying the SS large overarm guard (have the small one already) and modifying the guard design to force air intake at the front of the blade (or, perhaps the entire assembly can be turned around). The other option, of course, is to build a guard as others have done. However, with so many projects in queue, that won’t happen anytime soon for me.

Keep in mind…I’m basing my concerns about the SS large overarm guard from videos and reviews. As someone else said, enough air flow will also overcome a lot of issues with guard design.