Popular Post rodger. Posted May 14, 2016 Popular Post Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 I have been wanting one of these for a long time, but could never really come up with a plan or design that I liked. So after looking through Instagram (just got into this), I found a great photo (which led me to a great video) by a fellow Canadian. He has an awesome YouTube channel, and most of my design is based upon his work. I embedded his video at the end of this post. If you haven't seen his channel, you should check it out. Its awesome. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I got some measurements for my unit, and built an arm out of maple. I used a half lap joint for super strength and I drilled some holes for T-bolts to pass through in the support. I also cut a curve in the arm to lighten its look and make it more "Feng shui". Because my shop is small, I needed to attach the arm to the wall. I grabbed a piece of hardwood ply, and routed a few grooves in it for some T-Track. Since the table saw is moved occasionally for REALLY long stock, I knew I would never find the sweet spot again. So i needed the arm to adjust in all 3 axis. The T-tracks gave me the X axis. I attached the arm to the ply with the Track and T Bolts, along with a few wing nuts. You can see in the photo below that I need to shim the plywood to get it square. The wall is not very true. Then, I needed to address the Z axis. So I made a small extension that I could move in and out, using a few slots and some jig hardware. The longer stick at the base of the clamp is used to provide even pressure, and is not part of the extension arm. Next I attached a piece of plexiglass to my extension arm. Then, I needed something to actually go over the blade and collect some dust. So I used an edge router dust attachment from a Bosch DC kit i wasn't using. I used a few rectangular pieces of plexiglass, and routed some slots in it. This allows me to adjust the blade shroud in the Y axis. I drilled and tapped for some machine screws I had in the shop to attach the shroud to the plexiglass plate. Then I put it all together, took it all apart, and gave it 4 coats of water based poly. Here it is all assembled and ready to use! This guard is for dust only, and does not protect from the spinning blade. I experimented with different locations of the guard to collect the most dust, and I found closer to the rear of blade does the best job. I have it connected to a shop vac, and it works very well. The gap at the front of the blade is handy, as it allows a crosscut sled to still be used. I can also use a tape to measure the distance from the fence to a tooth as well, as the guard is not in the way. The guard can easily be adjusted in any axis. If i move the saw, or need to cut thick stock, no problem. Its also easy to remove the plexiglass via arm extension to remove the entire guard assembly if I need to cut tenons or something. Hope you enjoyed! -Pug Here is DP's original video! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Bravo ! A excellent example of homemade ingenuity . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 Nice work, Pug! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneymack Posted May 14, 2016 Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 That's brilliant Rodger! What is the name of his youtube channel? I searched DP woodworking but it doesn't come up... Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted May 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2016 1 hour ago, shaneymack said: That's brilliant Rodger! What is the name of his youtube channel? I searched DP woodworking but it doesn't come up... Sent from my SM-N910W8 using Tapatalk DP shop talk. The guys name is Dan pattison. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyle Hough Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 I am also trying to duplicate Dan Pattison's project. If my overarm is not adjustable from front to back, would you suggest that the best location for the overarm would be midway between the back of the blade and the center of the blade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted December 26, 2017 Report Share Posted December 26, 2017 I"m sure it's a big improvement, but I cannot figure out why anyone would not want to enclose the whole blade. Mine is a commercial unit that does enclose the whole blade. It has rolllers on the front and back of the blade cover that ride over the piece being cut, and stays down close to the piece. I can rip MDF in a finished house, and not dust gets on anything. Some of the heavier particles get thrown out in front of the blade at the end of a cut, but all the fine stuff gets sucked up. When cutting MDF, all the sawdust is very fine, so while it seems impossible to cut without sawdust in the air, with a complete blade cover, it all goes into the DC. I did have to close up any extraneous small openings with blue masking tape, like above the front and back wheels, but once completely sealed up, there is no fine dust in the air. I should also say that I'm also moving a lot of air with a 3hp DC, and short run of ducting, but I use this setup in finished houses all the time. The picture shows the blade cover up off the table, but it's counterbalanced, and stays where I put it. It should be a simple design change to completely enclose the blade with the cover. I like the completely clear design of the cover more than mine with the metal corners. My blade cover uses a 4" hose, where the main line going to the saw is 6". If there is any cut that needs the guard out of the way, the whole assemby just rotates either way at the black vertical pipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankstick Posted December 27, 2017 Report Share Posted December 27, 2017 Need to look into the video in detail. My Shop Vac catches a lot of the sawdust but I get covered with the sawdust from the blade. Thanks for posting!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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