Sawstop ICS dust collection upgrade. Anyone do it ?

[JIM HERNANDEZ]

Has anyone upgraded their sawstop ICS to the new dust collection system ? If so, what has your experience been ? Has it made a big difference ? With an approximately $500 pricetag including the overarm upgrade it is not an upgrade I want to jump into without knowing the experience of others. I thank you in advance for your help.

Jim

[Prashun Patel]

I have the new guard on my SSPCS. I'm not a big fan of the dc ability. My vote is for other overhead guards.

[Philip Rodriquez]

I have an excalibur on my ICS. It is one of the best investments I've made.

[Glen Blanchard]

I also added an Excalibur overarm to my ICS. I then upgraded the guard by replacing the stock basket with a Shark Guard. I find the dust collection to be much better and visibility is great.

[JIM HERNANDEZ]

Phil and Glen, I have an excalibur also and have not been too happy with it. I am using it with a delta 1.5 hp cannister dc. Perhaps, these overhead guards really need a beefier cyclone. I only have one 220v outlet so couldn't run the ts and a large cyclone at the same time. I am also space challenged and don't know that I could fit a cyclone in my shop. Are you guys using a large cyclone with your excalibur ? Thanks for your advice.

Jim

[Peter Melanson]

It is a little pricey but i bought the whole setup for my ICS SawStop since I have developed asthma. it works very well for the dust collection and the overarm can swing a little for the best fit. The only real negative thing is that the blade guard is not as clear as the original due to the moving side pieces. Other than that I just need to buy a new dado insert since the one for the ICS i bought 6 months ago will not work with the new shroud. it was very easy and simple to install only took about 45 minutes for the whole thing. The collection is great even with a delta roller DC.

[Glen Blanchard]

Phil and Glen, I have an excalibur also and have not been too happy with it. I am using it with a delta 1.5 hp cannister dc. Perhaps, these overhead guards really need a beefier cyclone. I only have one 220v outlet so couldn't run the ts and a large cyclone at the same time. I am also space challenged and don't know that I could fit a cyclone in my shop. Are you guys using a large cyclone with your excalibur ? Thanks for your advice.

Jim

Jim - I am using a 3hp Oneida cyclone, however you may want to look at the Shark Guard for the Excalibur. My experience is that it significantly improves dust extraction.

[Philip Rodriquez]

I did not get the best results when I had a Jet 1.5 Can unit. As a result, I am now using an Oneida V-3000.

IMHO, a 1.5HP unit is just under-powered for the application.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I'm really happy with the dust collection on my PCS, with one exception: lots of dust escapes when you're trimming an edge. The reason is that the guard has "flaps" on each side of the blade that ride on top of the workpiece. They pivot on a pin that's at the front of the blade guard.

So when you pass a workpiece through and let's say you're just doing a skim cut, the blade guard lifts off of the table. The flap on the fence (right) side rides nicely on the top of workpiece, creating a seal if you will. The flap on the left side, which doesn't have a workpiece to ride on, is lifted off of the table, leaving a bunch of room for the dust to escape. Again, this is because the front of the blade guard is lifted off the table and the flaps pivot on a pin at the front of the blade guard.

If they had designed the flaps so that they slide up and down rather than pivot on that pin, it would be completely fine. So I'm 80% satisfied with it.

That said, my PCS came with all of the dust collection attachments. Would I pay $500 for it now? No. That's some serious price gouging.

How much is it to just buy the blade guard and not the whole kit? Assuming your cabinet is containing the dust and you're cool with going in and vacuuming it out every once and a while, buying just the blade guard might be a good compromise (depending on price).

[Noah Katz]

IMHO, a 1.5HP unit is just under-powered for the application.

I believe the top guard is intended to be used with a shop vac, not a DC, which will pill a lot less CFM through that small port.

[Glen Blanchard]

I believe the top guard is intended to be used with a shop vac, not a DC, which will pill a lot less CFM through that small port.

Noah - Phil (unless I am mistaken) was referring to using a 1.5 hp DC with the Excalibur arm and guard - not the SS guard (which is the one I think you are speaking of).

[Philip Rodriquez]

Correct, the Excalibur has a 4" port. A vac would be... silly.

[Noah Katz]

I stand corrected

[Brad Gobble]

I have a small, tight shop so dust collection is a must. I have a ClearVue setup and a Jet AFS 1000B. The Blade Guard is a Shark Guard that I had him beef up (thicker stock, front wheel, 4" port). If I am cutting sheet goods I'll get less than a cup of random dust in the shop after a day of cutting. Tied the router lift into the system as well.

I'm picture-challenged, so here's a link to FWW with pics.
http://forums.finewoodworking.com/fi...nd-router-dust#