Only 4" port on Cabinet saw, Jointer ect....???????

[Mike Canaris]

Chris...you can pop another 4 inch on the motor door on your general ...it would make better sense than cutting into the cabinet. 2x4" will flow a little over 6 in in total.

I didn't read all the posts here..but what about overhead dust control?

[chris del]

I've used table saws with both a 4" and 6" dust port. Either one should keep the cabinet base from filling up with dust, which is their primary duty. With the TS, any dust that you get on top is coming from the back of the cut. No cabinet port is going to capture that. You would be better off splitting you TS branch and running a top-side collection point in a blade guard. Now you can get most of the stuff coming off the blade as well as the stuff flying off below the table.

For the jointer, and most other machines, the more air the better . . .

I plan on adding a overhead blade guard as well...... In Canada I have only seen one brand ,Exclaibur that was just purchased by General international. What are some of the popular brands in the US?

[chris del]

You sure get around eh Mike!!!!

If I put a second port in the Motor door, I would not be about to open it. I could however put a second 4" beside the existing 4" in the bottom of the cabinet......

Chris

[Ben Roman]

Terry That is the cleanest shop I have ever seen !!!

Ben

[Pete Bradley]

I'd try it out before you modify anything. It's entirely possible that the designers of the saw knew what they were doing.

Pete

[Terry Hatfield]

Terry That is the cleanest shop I have ever seen !!!

Ben

seeeee.......it's all due to those 6" ports.

Seriously, thanks Ben. I'm kinda anal about the shop being clean and organized.

t

[Bob Dodge]

A 4" port on most cabinet saw bases is "more than enough", but, it depends on how it's configured and piped.

I have a Delta UniSaw. The rear dust-port is a rectangular opening, probably 3 1/2" tall and 8" or so across. Delta supplies a 4" hood with widely-flared mouth. When I bought the saw, I had anticipated going with a larger duct to the base, possibly 5". Well, I simply tried the included Delta hood, and it worked REALLY well. Mind you, the saw has an effective dust-ramp.

Furthermore, I didn't even run a 5" pipe to that hood. I have a 6" pipe running to a small pre-separator (35 gallon drum). Out of that pre-sep, I run two 4" ducts. One to the oa-bc, one to the base. The dc, is a small 2hp industrial unit from Pyradia/Belbab, with 12.5" impeller. The saw base is clean as a whistle.

How much airflow do you need in a base with a good dust-ramp? Very little. As long as "dust" doesn't escape through the openings, you're 'good to go". As far as 'waste removal" goes, don't forget, that waste is being removed in 'real time". If you're sawing a piece of wood 1" thick, and you have a feed-rate of of 20 FPM, you'll produce a kerf four inches long every second. That's about 1/2 of one cubic inch of dust/waste every second. Now, with 400 CFM flowing through a 4" hose, how long of a column of air would you have "per second"? How long would your column of waste be?

Answer; 76.43 feet. (flow-rate 400 CFM / 4" pipe = 4586 FPM)

Your 0.5 cubic inch of waste would be spread out over that length in a 4" pipe. Visions of massive waste-flow through the pipes simply do not apply.

[Chris Livingston]

My Grizzly 12" G5959 TS has a 4" port and originally dust collection was terrible but there was really no way to enlarge the opening or relocate it. The inside design was mostly to blame. Yes there was a slope to the dust port but it was the entire width of the saw base with no angles to make everything move toward the opening.

Using cardboard I figured out the shape I would need for adding angled pieces. Once I got them right I used those as templates and cut the final pieces out of plexiglass and epoxyed them in place. Then using bondo I smoothed out everything right into the 4" port opening, sanded it, and painted it to match.

That made a big difference but not enough so I went about sealing the gap between the base and the top using metal heating duct tape with mastic backing. After that I was getting the kind of suction at the zero clearance insert that could hold wood down but I would still get a lot of chips kicked out the front opening for the angle adjustment is I was using a dado blade.

I took some two pieces of black rubber sheet cut to the correct size, tapped some holes around the opening and bolted the pieces of rubber so the top piece hung down over the bottom piece and no mater what angle the motor was at the flap would still deflect any chips.

Now the inside of the cabinet is very clean and I get great dust collection.

[chris del]

Just a update.....

I ordered a Shark Guard with 4" port and ran a 4" branch from my 7" main directly over the saw blade. This branch is on its own blast gate so it could be isolated when not in use or be used for my router table that is in the saw wing.
I also ran 5" duct right to the saw's 4" port and reduced from 5" to 4" right at the saw.
I have not recieved my shark guard yet, but so far the Gorilla keeps the saw cabinet spotless. I will most likely silicone the saws dust ramp, but that is all I have planned for the cabinet.

[Jim Becker]

Chris....avoid the silicone in a woodworking shop. Use non-silicone caulk or HVAC sealer. Traces of silicone can really whack the finishing process...

[Chris Livingston]

True but this was the floor of the cabinet with nothing getting near the table top. I didn't have anything else on hand at the time.

[Rob Will]

Jim,
What brand of table saw guard / top mounted DC is that installed on your saw?

Thanks,
Rob

[Jim Becker]

Rob, I have the Excalibur guard on my saw. It's an earlier model...they've updated the way the tube is set up since then. I do have a review on my site. I like it as it does the primary job I bought it for quite well...over arm dust collection. The "safety" aspects are just icing on the cake when I'm using it.

[Matt Moore]

So I read this whole thread and the reality is that there is no conclusion. Some say more than 4" is better, some say it does not matter....

Who to believe is the question of the day or year or maybe decade for dust collection.

[Rob Will]

Sorry to hi-jack the thread.........
I can't find a web site for Excalibur Blade Covers
??????
Rob