Miter saw station dust collection help

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

I need to do something about the dust from my Makite 10" sliding compound miter saw. It's the one tool I don't have hooked up to either my Festool CT33 or Grizz G1029 dust collector. And man does it kick up the dust.

I was thinking about making a stationary bench similar to Norms on NYW or Jim Becker's rig on his website. http://sawsndust.com/p-miterstation.htm. Probably something in between as I'd like to have some cabinet space underneath too.

Would like to hear member's solutions to their miter saw dust problem. Please post ideas / drawings and/or pictures of your solutions. Jim Becker, are you happy with the downdraft element of your bench? Love to hear your thoughts and perhaps some more info on the downdraft element.

Has anyone had any success hooking up a Festool DE to a non-kapex miter saw? It looks like the connections almost fit. Was wondering if there were any Festool or non-Festool adapter solutions out there.

I think I'll have to acquire a 10" or 12" compound saw as the width of the workbench would be too great to accommodate a slider. Thanks in advance.

[michael osadchuk]

....Jim, I hadn't run across a "downdraft/below the mitersaw" dust collection point before; thanks for pointing it out......

..... I'm sure you have scouted out the commercial and homemade fairly big dust shrouds that sit behind the entire miter saw....

.... I have also have the 10" Makita SMS: somethng I noticed when I connected and turned a shop vac to build-in dust collection point where the supplied dust bag would otherwise sit: the soft black rubber flaps that sit at the opening to the internal dust chanel actually contract and constrict the size of the opening for dust to pass thru....perhaps if those flaps were a bit bigger and more rigid?
..... it will be interesting to see what this internal port looks like on the Kapex - which apparently has significantly better dust collection - to see if we can do some similar modification to our miter saws

michael

[Joe Chritz]

I just have a 4" hose sitting loose currently with a 3" attached to the stock dust pick up. It gets about 80% of the dust, maybe more.

A non-slider would be pretty easy to fab something up but the sliders take up so much room it is pretty tough.

If I was doing it over I would use a narrower bench and build a large channel into the wall (sticking out the other side) and attach a hose to the bottom with angled floor pieces. Similar to how I did a downdraft table for sanding. As it is I have a lot of long drawer slides and it isn't feasible to change the plan now.

In my research it appears that most DC for SCMS ranges from OK to downright bad.

Just wanted to add you do need 36" width for a full 12" slider but could go much less if you can stick it through the wall. Not really an option in a lot of set ups. The wider bench does give a lot of room to work, you can store stuff against the wall and still have space and the drawers or cabs underneath are huge.

Joe

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

I think I'll have to acquire a 10" or 12" compound saw as the width of the workbench would be too great to accommodate a slider. Thanks in advance.

Sorry, I thought I was clear I would be switching over to a non-sliding CMS.

[Jim Becker]

Jim, even with the downdraft, the collection isn't outstanding. Nature of the tool. But it is more effective than with just the OEM hood port. Do note that not all miter saws are compatible with the downdraft extraction--those that have solid bases, for example.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Jim, even with the downdraft, the collection isn't outstanding. Nature of the tool. But it is more effective than with just the OEM hood port. Do note that not all miter saws are compatible with the downdraft extraction--those that have solid bases, for example.

Thanks Jim, I guess I'll have to do my homework on what CMS saws work best. I don't need a Kapex, I don't need a Kapex......

[Joe Vincent]

Rousseau makes a product that looks like it might work. I wonder if anyone here has any experience with it? I've been thinking about building a similar dust collection "catcher" to put behind the blade, adjustable side-to-side, and put a port to the collector on the bottom.

[Jim Dunn]

I found that if you fold the black flappers, kinda like rolling up your pants legs, that stiffens them enough so they don't close.

I've tried under draft with a combination of upper suction and found that the best bet is to use the upper connection. If I just use it most of the material goes out the hose when the cut is made. The under draft just keeps the flying stuff sucked out of the air.

[David Romano]

I built a dowdraft table for mine and I love it. Located right next to my DC, I get alot of airflow. The hardest part of it all actually turned out to be the easiest - what to do about the built in dust shute. The dust collection on my saw was clearly an afterthought. My solution was to connect a hose to it and run it directly into the downdraft hood. I attached it inside with cable ties and the slack in it allows the saw to be set to any miter or bevel angle. Believe it or not this does collect most of the dust. I always thought the little bag that comes with the saw was useless, but the reason is the bag doesn't allow much airflow thru it. When I hooked up the blue hose shown in the photos and made a cut, saw dust spewed out of the end of it, so I saw how effective it actually is. Whatever dust does escape this, the down draft does a good job of collecting and the area stays clean. The size of the hood is about 14"x18". I put a 1" screen to keep tools and errant cutoffs from falling down into it and sort of a rim around the top to keep other things from slipping in as well. Got to protect that DC impeller!

I thought of building a hood around the saw to improve the capture even better, but it becomes a problem when the saw is set to different miter angles, so I didn't bother.

David

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

I built a dowdraft table for mine and I love it. Located right next to my DC, I get alot of airflow. The hardest part of it all actually turned out to be the easiest - what to do about the built in dust shute. The dust collection on my saw was clearly an afterthought. My solution was to connect a hose to it and run it directly into the downdraft hood. I attached it inside with cable ties and the slack in it allows the saw to be set to any miter or bevel angle. Believe it or not this does collect most of the dust. I always thought the little bag that comes with the saw was useless, but the reason is the bag doesn't allow much airflow thru it. When I hooked up the blue hose shown in the photos and made a cut, saw dust spewed out of the end of it, so I saw how effective it actually is. Whatever dust does escape this, the down draft does a good job of collecting and the area stays clean. The size of the hood is about 14"x18". I put a 1" screen to keep tools and errant cutoffs from falling down into it and sort of a rim around the top to keep other things from slipping in as well. Got to protect that DC impeller!

I thought of building a hood around the saw to improve the capture even better, but it becomes a problem when the saw is set to different miter angles, so I didn't bother.

David

Thanks for thaking the time to post those pictures, David. Does the hose really draw enough suction to clear the chip chute? I like Jim Becker's too. I believe it's inspired by Norm Abrams http://sawsndust.com/images/miter/miter26.jpg

[Don Abele]

Jim, several years ago I built my miter/storage table. I went for a modified downdraft/back hood approach. I made a box that fit behind the miter saw and totally enclosed the area.



The top of the box is just sitting there and can be removed for angles/compounds. At the corners are two 4" ports which connect under the table to A LOT of elbows to bring it out the left side of the top (right next to the box). The flex hose has no internal contact, it's just holding the solid pieces together, therefore it doesn't add any more restriction than what's already there.



While the layout is not ideal, it does collect all the dust and move it effectively to the DC. I get very little dust flying back/out of the box.

Be well,

Doc

[Todd Bin]

KAPEX is here to save the day. Well later this year.

Come on. You already own the Festool vac. Like you aren't going to get the Kapex.

[David Romano]

The hose doesn't need to draw suction. Even without any DC the majority of the dust shoots down the hose rather nicely. The system works great. The space underneath and to the left of the saw is for storage shelves I haven't built yet.

david

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

Nice pics Doc, What did you use for the cover of your downdraft? Is that some shiny plastic I see or just gloss paint. I think the dust hood is a good idea for channeling the dust down. I know there are a lot of ready made hoods out there but the yankee in me likes the home made ones better. Cheers!

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

KAPEX is here to save the day. Well later this year.

Come on. You already own the Festool vac. Like you aren't going to get the Kapex.

I don't do enough trim. I use my Makita mostly to rough down long lengths so I can easily crosscut on my table saw. I have a sliding excalibur table on my unisaw. Plus there are at least 10 other tools I want before I get a Kapex. And from my experience you need to spend about double what the actual retail price is on each tool with all the abrasives and accesories to reach it's full potential. No, by the time I get around to buying a Kapex it'll be one of yours that's 10 yrs. old.