Do those bags they sell to go under a contracter's saw work?
Alternatively, the saw came with a 4" dust port on the bottom. Will adapting this to my shop vac do me any good?
The back of the saw is pretty open.
I'd love to get a dust collector set up in the shop, but know that it's going to be a while b4 that happens.
Hazmat
I have had the best luck just placing an open top box under the saw. Will not get it all but most.
PJ
Your shop vac will do an OK job. If you don't get enough suction to collect the dust with the opening on the back, just close in part of it. I used to use a shop vac on my Delta Contractors saw, which also has an open back, and as long as the blade was sharp and I never had any dust problems.
Shop vacs certainly work better than nuthin' .... just remember that suction requires a flow of air from somewhere ... so don't make the mistakes some have and try to completely enclose the saw!
it's a shame that common sense isn't
Craftsman has relatively inexpensive system that makes use of a Shop-Vac here.
The chips and shavings are pretty easy to catch with a box or bag underneath your saw, but what you really need to collect is the fine dust. The only way to collect that is with a dust collector and air scrubber. The fine dust gets everywhere, a real problem if your shop is in the basement as mine is. I have a small PSI Dust Collector and air scrubber. I move the dust collector from my table saw to my planner and jointer. The air scrubber is on all the time that I’m in the shop. I would like to have a larger system, but this has worked well for me. The dust collector I have has 5 micron bags, but there is still a fair amount of suspended dust that the air scrubber collects.
The PSI units are well built at a fair price. There are other manufacturers, Jet and Delta to name a few, so shop around.
My wife is much happier now. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Jim
Jim,
<font color="blue">The chips and shavings are pretty easy to catch with a box or bag underneath your saw, but what you really need to collect is the fine dust </font color>
You hit the nail on the head. For the occasional use, I'm happy to sweep up the floor. It's the fine dust that was making the wife & I cough.
I guess I'll try to find a 4" to 2" vac hose adapter & wear the dust mask to start with.
Now I know why Dust Collection is such a hot topic in woodworking.
Hazmat
<font color="blue"> Now I know why Dust Collection is such a hot topic in woodworking </font color>
You got that right. Several books have been written to address the problem in the woodshop. Wood Magazine had an article this year and compared many models. They even brought some “expert†in and did all kinds of scientific calculations on static pressure and so forth. You should be able to find that issue in your local library.
When I started setting up shop about 6 years ago, my dust collector and air cleaner were the second and third purchases I made after my table saw. I’ve never regretted those purchases.
Jim
I've recently been researching dust collection for my new shop. Cyclone Dust Collector has a lot of good information.
I liked the idea of just a box underneath. Most will fall in that.
Even a cabinet saw, like a Unisaw, is necessarily open where the motor tilts, and the motor's exhaust churns stuff up when it is tilted.
Some dust, esp when ripping, is going to come back right on you, but most table saw dust is fairly coarse, compared to sanding dust. Some woods make finer dust (redwood, horrible, you talk about something that will invade your lungs).
Our shop had a full sawdust collection system, going to a big hopper outside, but we never used it on the smaller table saws (Unisaws).
For protection, I tried several methods and finally settled on a full plastic face shield that flipped up, sort of like a welders helmet, but very much lighter, supplemented sometimes by a dust mask.
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