Tom King Posted July 13, 2013 Report Share Posted July 13, 2013 This was supposed to be a prototype, but it works so good, we never changed anything, or made a better looking one. The intake is a 1/2" wide slot the length of the inside at the back. The dust director on the saw was helped with a cobbled up mess of pvc and duct tape, as you can see. I was amazed at how well it works. I thought I may have to even close in the front opening some more, but it works just fine like it is. The front opening is flush with the back of the fence, and has cutouts on the top to allow clearance for the saw to slide. As you can see, some of the heavier particles of sawdust bounce around inside the box, but nothing comes out the front, including zero fine dust. This is our portable setup for working on the inside of a house. My portable dust collector is a Woodtek 3hp that is on casters and a height that will barely roll through a normal door jamb-just like it comes from Woodworkers Supply. 6" main line connects this, Unisaw, and 6" jointer. I decided to try it without gates, and never saw the need for them. The tablesaw has an overarm collector. All extraneous holes on tablesaw and jointer are sealed with blue masking tape. The tablesaw motor has a wooden box over it with a 12x12 slide in HVAC filter, so the only air sucked through the saw is down the blade slot, and through the filter. It works great. We can completely finish the inside of a house with this setup, and no dust settles on anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted July 13, 2013 Report Share Posted July 13, 2013 The best part in my mind is the incorporation of the pencil sharpener:-) Thanks for sharing! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted July 13, 2013 Report Share Posted July 13, 2013 My DC for my SCM is pretty simple, when I take the saw to a job site I take the DC with it adapts to the portable stand. I stole this idea from Fast Cap they make a similar one that costs over $100 mine is made out of some scrap 1x2 maple trim and a cheap HF tarp and a garbage can. I like your DC solution Tom. here's Fast Caps version Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteJr Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 I use Fast Caps version and I am very pleased with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Maybe I am rusty on my nomenclature but the fast caps model is not what I would call DC unless you have suction attached to the trash can. In my experience most decent saws do well with chip clearance but struggle with fine dust clearance. A shroud with no drafting has never met my standard. What has me interested in Tom's design and Rob Horton's recent post is the fact that their shrouds are designed to be paired with drafting DC or extraction. Are you authors of the last two posts saying my assumptions based on prior experience are wrong and that you have shroud designs that adequately collect fines without air drafting machines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave H Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Well C Shafer maybe my dust collection doesn't measure up to your definition of DC, but the top of my miter station doesn't get covered in dust, and the garbage can fills up with saw dust so according to my definition my set up would be collecting dust so I refer to it as a dust collection system and I said good job to Tom's system of DC I in no way expect everyone to adapt my system but there is always more ways to skin the same cat. My system is great for traveling on jobs sites and, it keeps the mess contained if I have to set up in a house that is occupied and, does a damn good job now I'm not claiming 100% DC but I don't think anyone can make that claim but, its 99% better than no system. Being a carpenter I've had to clean some pretty big messes made by miter saws in indoor situations I've spread drop cloths on the floor but the mess gets tracked all around from shoes walking through the mess and, spreads the mess everywhere, my system addresses this problem. It satisfactorily contains the mess at mitersaw station in my shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tpt life Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Was not trying to offend. I was truly curious. I am wracking my brain trying to remember how the shrouds I have seen on the job might differ from yours. I never made one of my own because I always wound up with a face full of fines. Since I have no turbine or even a reliable shop vac you have me rethinking my negative thinking of such shrouds. Thanks for responding, I may attempt one in my garage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 This setup gets every bit of the fines. You can cut all the MDF you want, and you never see anything in the air, or even smell it. A little bit of the heavier parts of sawdust on the tablesaw gets tossed back on top of the table, like you see inside the mitersaw box, but there is never any fine dust settled on anything. When I build a house, we do everything, and these portable tools stay set up until we move out after everything is finished. It's not for quick setup and breakdown, but it's not too bad with a trailer. The Air Conditioning has been running in this house, that has otherwise not been occupied, and the filters don't need changing anymore than a normal house. This setup has actually been here for a couple of years, since it's near an old house I'm working on-we're using it for a shop-part of an estate in settlement.....that's waterfront outside the slider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Tom....let me ask you....since your design works so well, could a portable DC take your design to an even higher level? If you were to get say a 1HP very portable 2 bag set up, it's easily transported and hooked up. Could it help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 I'm using a 3hp. Why would I use another 1 hp. ? Maybe you didn't read the first post in this thread. A 1 hp may work for just the miter saw, but I expect you would need to close down the front opening of the box on the corners, and anywhere else you could to make the front opening smaller. I was expecting to have to close it down some more to start with, but when we tried it, it worked great just like it is with the 3hp. The "portable" tablesaw is a 3hp Unisaw with long Biesmeyer, and wide table, on a moveable base with built-on overarm dust collector. The outfeed table clamps onto the back rail of the Biesmeyer. I don't do a lot of small jobs. When I build a house, we literally do everything, including building cabinets, and never using pre-hung doors. I always build a temporary ramp into the house. The big tools are on moveable bases, and the trailer has a ramp at the back, so we just wheel that stuff right in and out. I didn't intend this as a suggestion for normal finish carpentry, where you move quickly from one job to another, but rather as something that might interest those building shops. A lot of people use a miter saw in their garage shop. The Woodtek 3hp dust collector weighs 176 pounds, but is on wheels and about 6 1/2 feet tall, so it rolls right through doorways. It's also pretty cheap at around six hundred dollars with the "pro" discount https://woodworker.com/3hp-dust-collector-mssu-961-339.asp I know most people feel like they need a cyclone or nothing, but a bagger moves more air than a cyclone. I like the Woodtek bags better than any other I've ever seen or used. They're really thick 1 micron. I have a 2hp Grizzly hooked up to the big bandsaw, and it's terrible at best for filtering fine dust. If I didn't put it outside when we use it, I'd change the bags to the Woodtek ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim0625 Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Sorry, I read it.....but my brain deleted the DC part. I was so focused on the shroud. Heck yeah...3HP on a chop saw, it should get all the dust in the neighborhood! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 It also goes to the tablesaw and jointer with no blast gates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer_J Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Tom this is rockin'! Thank you for sharing! I recently created a shroud for my unisaw utilizing the wind power created by the saw blade. I get 0 fines inside the cabinet with only very few large chips occasionally spilling out. I am interested in modifying your design to be used with a shop vac. I will keep this in mind for my main shop collector. I have the 12" makita slider and it sprays dust everywhere. I have a box around it with plastic sheeting but it does jack when i'm crosscutting 10"+. I think the fastcap works great for keeping the dust off the floor but not so much for mdf fines. I would make my own like above if i needed one like that. Its clean. This is a great post because miter saw dust collection is just the pitts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 I recently created a shroud for my unisaw utilizing the wind power created by the saw blade. Can you post a pic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer_J Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Franklin, here are some photos. I am planning a main topic on it soon. I am working with a few of my friends ( product developer people)to make a batch out of one piece of plastic so i can continue testing and refining the design. I have been researching for tens of hours on how to utilize the wind power of the blade because, damn does it move a lot of air inside that cabinet. Keep in mind that all the gaps you see are before the tape... Utilizing the dust deflector and a shop vac attachment. It gets me to 44 degrees on the tilt. One i get the real thing made it should clear the belts and get me 45 or 46 degree tilt. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodger. Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Franklin, here are some photos. I am planning a main topic on it soon. I am working with a few of my friends ( product developer people)to make a batch out of one piece of plastic so i can continue testing and refining the design. I have been researching for tens of hours on how to utilize the wind power of the blade because, damn does it move a lot of air inside that cabinet. Keep in mind that all the gaps you see are before the tape... Utilizing the dust deflector and a shop vac attachment. It gets me to 44 degrees on the tilt. One i get the real thing made it should clear the belts and get me 45 or 46 degree tilt. Cool idea. I would love to see it in action! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spencer_J Posted July 14, 2013 Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Videos on the way! The part that really knocks my socks off is when i forget to hook up the vac and find this massive amount of saw dust coming out of the 10 ft shopvac hose onto the floor... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom King Posted January 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2018 Bump. Miter saw dust collection comes up fairly regularly. I'm still using this "prototype", almost every day, and I've never had any dust in any house we work in. I think the trick is to close up as much open space as possible in the front opening. I thought I might have to close it up more than this, but after the first try, it was not necessary to do anything else. Maybe with a smaller DC, it might need to be closed up more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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