Completely enclosing bottom of contractors saw for better d/c

[Troy Turner]

I'm still piecing how I want to hook up my d/c to my tools. Getting to the t/s, I was wondering about making a box go all the way to the floor and hooking the hose up to it that way vs. a board on the frame just below the blade.

I think cabinet saws have their ports at the bottom and was wondering if anyone has tried this or not on their contractors saw.

Any thoughts?

I have an 80's style Craftsman saw, and just got a Jet 1 1/2 hp d/c. I've still got to add a separator and Wynn filter, so I'm in the early stages of the set-up.

[Stew Hagerty]

I probably have the same saw as you, or nearly so at least. I just used one of these:

TS Dust Plate.jpg

I put some self adhesive foam around the perimeter then screwed to to the bottom of the saw box. I attached an elbow, a hose, and piped it straight into my garbage can cyclone. I have a HF dust collector with a Wynn filter and everything in my shop is piped through that same garbage can cyclone except for my drill press. Because of it's location, I just piped a Y into the main line leading to the DC for the drill press instead of running a separate line all the way over to it from the cyclone.

[Dave Novak]

I didn't extend a box all the way to the floor, simply sealed the bottom with a board and ran a 4" port directly to it. I think I have the same DC as you, and this setup really didn't work very well for me, mostly because I didn't close the hole in the back well enough. Your idea of going to the floor might improve things. The closest I ever got to effectively closing the hole in the back was to use "sheet magnets" (I made that term up), which were basically a roughly 8" x 10" refrigerator style, flexible magnet.

[Alan Melbourne]

have you a pic of the saw

is it one of those portable ones that are open on the bottom.

do you use it on site as well as in the shop.
do you want dc on site too

on my european slider (different i know) there is a cabinet . i built a funnel arrangement so there was a slot down the middle of the base . i put a box under the slot. there was a dc port at the end of the box. all the dust falls down into the funnel and into the slot. when i had the port on its own it was useless and only able to suck one side of the cabinet. the rest built up untill it funneled itself into the port

you could build a similar funnel arangment as a mobile base for your saw

[Troy Turner]

Stew -

That's basically the setup I have now. I have a piece of plywood with a 2 1/2 port on it for my shop vac.

Dave -

I closed mine up with the "sheet magnets" too My son brought home a magnet menu from where he worked. Looked better on my saw than the fridge...

Alan -

No pics. It's just the basic contractors saw with the cast iron top. Pretty sure it wasn't made for the jobsite

[Stew Hagerty]

I didn't extend a box all the way to the floor, simply sealed the bottom with a board and ran a 4" port directly to it. I think I have the same DC as you, and this setup really didn't work very well for me, mostly because I didn't close the hole in the back well enough. Your idea of going to the floor might improve things. The closest I ever got to effectively closing the hole in the back was to use "sheet magnets" (I made that term up), which were basically a roughly 8" x 10" refrigerator style, flexible magnet.

I tried those "sheet magnets". They didn't work. Their magnetic strength isn't much.

I used plywood instead. I cut it out as close as I could to fit around the motor, belt, and everything then drilled for and glued in some rare earth magnets. There is one large piece that closes most of the opening, then I have another piece that actually attaches via more magnets to the first piece. I've closed off pretty much all but where the belt passes through. It really helped a lot, I noticed the suction increased dramatically. Of course, I have to remove them when I want to tilt the blade.

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[Stew Hagerty]

Stew -

That's basically the setup I have now. I have a piece of plywood with a 2 1/2 port on it for my shop vac.

That's why it's not working for you. A shop vac doesn't move enough air to overcome the leaks we have with one of these saws. A real dust collector and a 4" connector will make all the difference. Trust me, I get a sloping build-up in each of the corners inside the saw but then everything goes right down the chute.

Oh, I did end up using some of that "sheet magnet" though. I cut a strip and use it to cover the angle slot on the fron of the saw.

[Alan Bienlein]

This is what I originally did to my Ridgid TS3650 contractor saw. I enclosed the bottom with a piece of masonite and used a 6" connection to my dust collection system. I also enclosed the back of the saw but not completely. I made it so I could take the saw blade thru it's full range of motion with out having to remove any thing from the back.
7-4-09 007.jpg7-4-09 005 (750 x 563).jpg

Then when I built the mobile base for it I improved the dust collection by sloping the enclosure on all sides to a 6" connection on the back side.
07-19-2011 005.JPG07-19-2011 003.jpg2-1-11 003 (800 x 600).jpg

Here are a couple shots looking down the throat plate.
07-19-2011 002.JPG07-19-2011 001.JPG

[Stew Hagerty]

Very nice Alan. I have been thinking of taking off my legs (the table saw). Your box is a great design.

I've been kicking around the idea of making a rubber cover for the back of my saw. I could make slits in it for everything to pass through and to allow full range of motion but that would close up around all moving parts. The belt area is the only place that wouldn't seal tightly.

[Alan Melbourne]

in the second pic where you left the slots for the saw to move
if you put some hanging pieces there (thin ply on a screw type arangment) when th esaw tilts the pieces would move up out of the way and drop back down as it is returned

very nice funnel . everythiing is thrown towards the port . on my large slider there is a cast piece that is around one side and the bottom of the blade so my dust doesnt get thrown as efficiently as yours. when mine is tilted to 45 degrees the only open side gets partially blocked by the cabinet and the dust doesnt drop as nicely.
my portable dewalt 745 saw is great. the 50mm port on the back is great. most of the dust flys out the port without a dust colecter. its a shame more companies dont design saws (and other tools ) to have better dc. its surly just as easy to make something right as wrong

[Alan Bienlein]

Very nice Alan. I have been thinking of taking off my legs (the table saw). Your box is a great design.

I've been kicking around the idea of making a rubber cover for the back of my saw. I could make slits in it for everything to pass through and to allow full range of motion but that would close up around all moving parts. The belt area is the only place that wouldn't seal tightly.

Here is a pic of the front and one of the right side from the rear of the saw.
7-4-11 001.JPG7-4-11 002.jpg

[Troy Turner]

Alan -

I've noticed a few fellas taking off their legs and making a box setup like yours. Then you went and incorporated a router table too. Very nice indeed.

[Stew Hagerty]

7-4-11 001.JPG

Alan, you certainly made a great saw station. It looks to have a ton of storage. I have thought about doing something similar, except that I have a stand-alone Incra router table so I wouldn't need to incorporate that feature. How long is your fence? I have a 52" Vega system.

I'm curious... Is the top "drawer" under the saw really a false front, or is it just very short and/or shallow? I see slide rails in the first photo, but with the dust ramp there can't be much room.

[Alan Bienlein]

7-4-11 001.JPG

Alan, you certainly made a great saw station. It looks to have a ton of storage. I have thought about doing something similar, except that I have a stand-alone Incra router table so I wouldn't need to incorporate that feature. How long is your fence? I have a 52" Vega system.

I'm curious... Is the top "drawer" under the saw really a false front, or is it just very short and/or shallow? I see slide rails in the first photo, but with the dust ramp there can't be much room.

Thanks Stew.

My fence rails were 36" capacity originally but I moved them to the right and can now cross cut up to 49" if I remove the fence for the router and about 33" if I leave the fence for the router.

I was going to make that a false front but when I saw how much room I had left I made it a drawer. It's about 18" deep by about 6" tall. The back of the drawer is only about 3" high. As a side note the dust ramp is removable in one piece. The masking tape you see acted as a clamp till the glue set up when I made it.