Enclosing the back of a contractors saw

[Dave Schreib]

I want to enclose the bottom and back of my Ridgid 3650 contractors saw. By that, I mean the motor as well. I have seen pictures of this once, but I dont think it was as at SMC.

Anybody done this? Any advice or pictures? Thanks

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I want to enclose the bottom and back of my Ridgid 3650 contractors saw. By that, I mean the motor as well. I have seen pictures of this once, but I dont think it was as at SMC.

Anybody done this? Any advice or pictures? Thanks

Dave - take a look at this thread

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=125719

There's some info, and Jim O'Dell has a link to some pics of his in the last post of the thread....

[Mike Black Milford, MI]

I want to enclose the bottom and back of my Ridgid 3650 contractors saw. By that, I mean the motor as well. I have seen pictures of this once, but I dont think it was as at SMC.

Anybody done this? Any advice or pictures? Thanks

Did it on my 1991 Craftman contractors saw. Worked great!
I used 1/2" plywood to box the motor to the saw cabinet. I bored several 1" holes in the back wall to allow fresh air to keep the motor cooler and cleaner. I boxed in the opening below the saw and glued in a coupler that fit my shop vac hose.

I think Fine WoodWorking magazine had an article about this subject. If it wasn't Fine Woodworking then it was another magazine (I know, big help aren't I???). I am 90% sure it was FWW but I can't recall if it was a recent issue or from a few years ago. It was titled something like "dust proof any table saw".

[Mac McQuinn]

Mike,
Your right, it's in FWW, I believe about 3 months ago. Covers all saws, Hybrid, Contractor & Cabinet . Excellent article.

Mac

[Alan Bienlein]

Is there a reason you want to totally enclose it and choke off your dust collector? If you look at the thread that John recommends I have pictures posted in mine as well and have next to no dust coming out the back and only an extremely small amount from the top of the saw depending if the wood touches the back of the blade or not.

[Lee Schierer]

I bought some magnetic sheeting and cut it to fit close around the trunion extensions on my craftsman contractor saw. I had to supplement the sheeting with some rare earth magnets, but I can remove the sheeting when I need to tilt the saw and put it back easily after I'm done with angled cuts. I also put a sheet across the curved slot in the front of the saw. There is enough opening left for the DC to work properly.