Over a year ago, I was participating in a discussion about dust collection, including Radial Arm Saws (RAS). Jim Hamilton noted that moving the dust collection port, let’s call it the dust hood, up to the fence improves performance considerably. So over a year later, I finally got around to it.
The new system outperforms the old one about 20 to 1, meaning there was at least 20 times the number of chips or more, with the old system. On many cuts, there are no chips left on the table, especially common with solid wood.
This is my old system….....
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Notice how far back it is. I made that about 15 years ago I think. Initially it was powered by the central household vacuum system, for the last two years it was connected to a Delta 50-760 with hose running throughout the shop to many blast gates. The problem is that chips fly all over the table, especially with thin veneered Chinese plywood. Note the white plumbing piece to redirect any flow through the guard’s dust port. Very little comes through that port in crosscut. This saw is used a crosscut specialist. Also for dadoes. I may make a miter jig for it, but the TS with its Super Sled does most miters easily.
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.......so I make a new dust hood, modify the fence, change the guard, and add a “remote control” to the blast gate.
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Note it comes right up to the fence. The holes in the fence help lower the stream of air to catch chips on the surface. They also function extremely well as a table sweep...kind like a floor sweep….so that the few chips that are still scattered can be swept over to it with a brush or even a piece of wood. This works surprisingly well.
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Here is the blade pushed back to its resting position…..I removed the essentially useless lower guard, and blocked the dust orifice on the guard…...
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. Note the piece of dowel working as a “remote control” for the blast gate, which is now open.
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Here is the saw part way out…
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The blast gate is attached with my usual plywood spring ring.......same as pictured here as used on my multifunction table….
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...and the fence has a ruler and stop block system as blogged here........
Fence and Stop Block System
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Now I don’t have to stop and clean up after every cut…......, and I just push the occasion few stray chips up to the holes in the fence.
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. Slick.
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