I'll accept suggestions, direction, and if all else fails, sympathy

rte66 · Post by **rte66** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 10:18 pm

My problem is with the dust collection system that came bundled with my Mark 7. Mounted the blade guard properly, connected the DC, turned it on, ripped a couple of 6' cedar boards, and, sawdust everywhere.

Not sure I'm believing the 'large volume, low velocity is better than low volume, high velocity" sales pitch. Replaced the DC hose with my shop vac, replicated the cuts, and, no stray sawdust.

What gives?

Next question concerns the "Full Length Dust Shield for the Speed Increaser and Guard & Support Assembly for the Free Standing Router Table" that was also bundled with the 7. Don't need / have a speed increaser, and don't have a Free Standing Router Table, so, again, what gives?

Since I use the under-table routing capabiity, having the ability to collect the sawdust would be good, and could be provided by the dust shield if there was some way to mount it, but the threaded rod support has no where to be mounted.

What am I missing? Why is it a part of the 7 package?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 12:06 am

rte66 wrote:My problem is with the dust collection system that came bundled with my Mark 7. Mounted the blade guard properly, connected the DC, turned it on, ripped a couple of 6' cedar boards, and, sawdust everywhere.

Not sure I'm believing the 'large volume, low velocity is better than low volume, high velocity" sales pitch. Replaced the DC hose with my shop vac, replicated the cuts, and, no stray sawdust.

What gives?

Next question concerns the "Full Length Dust Shield for the Speed Increaser and Guard & Support Assembly for the Free Standing Router Table" that was also bundled with the 7. Don't need / have a speed increaser, and don't have a Free Standing Router Table, so, again, what gives?

Since I use the under-table routing capabiity, having the ability to collect the sawdust would be good, and could be provided by the dust shield if there was some way to mount it, but the threaded rod support has no where to be mounted.

What am I missing? Why is it a part of the 7 package?

The threaded support rod screws into a 't-nut' that rides in the miter gauge slot.

Need more details re DC.

rte66 · Post by **rte66** » Mon Jun 30, 2014 1:17 pm

JPG40504 wrote:
Need more details re DC.

Not sure what details are needed, but here goes;

DC hose connected to the blade guard, other ports blocked
Hose not crimped or obstructed
Blade guard cinched in as close as possible, lower guard in place
DC filter clean (new)
DC 'On', generating lots of noise
<cuts>
Sawdust on the motor housing, way tubes, table surface, my shoes and the floor
Some sawdust in the DC plastic collection bag, but certainly not what would be expected of a machine whose primary mission is dust collection

The DC consumes a fair amount of floor space in my limited shop space. Am I doing something wrong, or is it Ebay time?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:05 pm

[quote="rte66"]Not sure what details are needed, but here goes]

I think it is time to check the impeller and cavity.

rjent · Post by **rjent** » Mon Jun 30, 2014 2:52 pm

I too have a Mark 7 and a DC3300 dust collector. I find it to work amazingly well.

I would suggest that you try to determine how much air flow you are getting. I don't feel a LOT of suction, but the air movement is quite noticeable. I can run my DC with both hoses connected and one one just sucking air and the other hooked to the lower saw guard and it still works. Is there a little dust not drawn into the DC, sure, but try doing a few cuts without the DC on and I think you will appreciate what it does.

Anyway, just my .02 :

JPG is right, you might want to contact the mothership to see if there is a test you can do to determine if it is working properly .....

algale · Post by **algale** » Mon Jun 30, 2014 3:51 pm

While I would be surprised if a shop vac outperformed a properly functioning DC3300, there have been many posts about the less than stellar dust collection, especially when sawing. Some of us have experimented with modifying our lower saw guards to improve collection. Search for a thread called "A Little Challenge" and you will get many ideas for improving collection while sawing.

Edit: This post is my contribution to the lower saw guard mod to improve dust collection. http://shopsmith.net/forums/showpost.ht ... stcount=87

Mike907 · Post by **Mike907** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 3:30 pm

rte66 wrote:Not sure what details are needed, but here goes]Blade guard cinched in as close as possible, lower guard in place[/B]
DC filter clean (new)
DC 'On', generating lots of noise
<cuts>
Sawdust on the motor housing, way tubes, table surface, my shoes and the floor
Some sawdust in the DC plastic collection bag, but certainly not what would be expected of a machine whose primary mission is dust collection

The DC consumes a fair amount of floor space in my limited shop space. Am I doing something wrong, or is it Ebay time?

In one of Doug Reid's videos, he says to keep the blade guard about 1/2" away from the blade to allow more airflow.

Mike

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:54 pm

Mike907 wrote:In one of Doug Reid's videos, he says to keep the blade guard about 1/2" away from the blade to allow more airflow.

Mike

What direction? Upper/lower?

Mike907 · Post by **Mike907** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 2:02 am

Lower guard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ZbvbFbopg&list=TLRbCwr1amWwAGY2PjnL3KBNQRkX74UT2A

Mike

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Jul 03, 2014 7:42 am

rte66 wrote:My problem is with the dust collection system that came bundled with my Mark 7. Mounted the blade guard properly, connected the DC, turned it on, ripped a couple of 6' cedar boards, and, sawdust everywhere.

Not sure I'm believing the 'large volume, low velocity is better than low volume, high velocity" sales pitch. Replaced the DC hose with my shop vac, replicated the cuts, and, no stray sawdust.

What gives?

Next question concerns the "Full Length Dust Shield for the Speed Increaser and Guard & Support Assembly for the Free Standing Router Table" that was also bundled with the 7. Don't need / have a speed increaser, and don't have a Free Standing Router Table, so, again, what gives?

Since I use the under-table routing capabiity, having the ability to collect the sawdust would be good, and could be provided by the dust shield if there was some way to mount it, but the threaded rod support has no where to be mounted.

What am I missing? Why is it a part of the 7 package?

I have sympathy and I have a solution (at least a partial solution).

Read this entire thread and then you are on your own. Effective dust collection is definitely available.