A couple observations / opinions . . . Before you go throwing money at it you probably want to be sure the effort is targeting the actual offender. I found a shop vac inadequate for even my contractor saw which had been modified for better dust collection. It would collect what got close to it but, it could not move the volume of air required to get any velocity in something like a tablesaw cabinet. My 2HP cyclone does a fair job on my current 3HP cabinet format saw with a 4" port. I plan to open this up to 6" as soon as time allows.
It is a Saw Stop and the overarm collector does pretty well. I had a large overarm boom on a previous cab saw with a 3" hose and it worked very well. The problem was that many of the operations I do making solid wood furniture made the overarm awkward or unusable. The Saw Stop narrow design can be used for more cuts than something like the Excalibur but, I still use it primarily for those rare sheetgoods cuts that it works best for.
I've used ZCI's since the contractor saw days and found a wider opening at the rear gave the DC enough extra flow to keep the return spray under better control.
ZCI mod.jpgZCI-gap-002.jpg
The real enemy for me are cuts that are not captured. That is; trimming edges where the blade is exposed on one side as you make the cut. Even with the overarm there was not enough velocity to capture the bulk of the spoil rocketing off the blade at 100 MPH. The best collection I have gotten is with a large DC moving big, gulping volumes of air from below and a shop vac providing high suction at the top.
The decision of what to do is based on how often you can actually use the rig you end up with. I run all safety equipment possible for the operation being performed. A riving knife has certainly upped this ratio from my "splitter" days but, I digress . . .
Even though I am very safety conscious I probably only use the overarm about 10% of the time. The rest of the time the operations make using it awkward (read less safe) or impossible. It does hang on the wall right by the saw and can be put on and taken back off in just a few moments so my minimal use has nothing to do with difficulty, delays or laziness. an overarm just doesn't play well in general with a sled or a tenoning jig for example.
Last edited by glenn bradley; 03-25-2017 at 8:22 AM.
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