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Dust collection issues

masonsailor2

I have repeatedly not been passing the dust test after working in the shop. Blowing the nose produced a fair amount of sawdust. This is because even though I promised myself I would only power up tools with the dust collection system on, there were too many times when I left it off due to the fact it sucks all my A/C air out of the shop in minutes and the temp in the shop goes up into the 80’s very quickly. To solve the issue I used one of the 20% off coupons and bought another HF 2HP dust collector. I installed it in the shop at the opposite end of the system from the outdoor one and indoors. I also bought a 1 micron filter bag for it from Powertec. This will hopefully give me better air quality without losing my cool air during the summer months. I also ordered a 30 micron bag for the outdoor unit to help increase air flow. Just for fun I turned them both on and the cfm/suction was crazy.

Paul

wa2crk

I don't have dust collection issue per se but I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get a top filter bag for a DC 3300 that will block particles down to the 1 micron range.

Bill V

Skizzity

wa2crk wroteI don't have dust collection issue per se but I was wondering if anyone knows where I can get a top filter bag for a DC 3300 that will block particles down to the 1 micron range.

Bill V

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/dc_filterhoods.htm The 42" does 1 micron.

t3steve

I am very unsatisfied with the Shopsmith dust collection especially after comparing it with what other people have in their shops. I think that the ports are too small and leaky (table saw). The vac doesn't move enough air volume and air speed, and the filter passes to much fine dust back into the shop.

I am in the process of collecting parts to build a Pentz Cyclone and then I will modify or rebuild the table saw port and others to at least 4".

dusty

t3steve wroteI am very unsatisfied with the Shopsmith dust collection especially after comparing it with what other people have in their shops. I think that the ports are too small and leaky (table saw). The vac doesn't move enough air volume and air speed, and the filter passes to much fine dust back into the shop.

I am in the process of collecting parts to build a Pentz Cyclone and then I will modify or rebuild the table saw port and others to at least 4".

Good luck on that endeavor. I have spent a lot of time trying to maximize dust collection while using the Shopsmith lower saw guard. I have had only minimal success.

Study the system that you are using (while making saw dust) to determine where the dust is escaping. You will most likely be surprised.

When I first did this, I took movies from different locations just to watch for the dust. As I said, you'll be surprised.

masonsailor2

Agree with Dusty. The lower saw guard on the SS is problematic. I have a 510 that is dedicated to a sliding table and it just leaks sawdust in large amounts no matter how many cfm put to it. At this point it is 4” ducting right up to the saw guard and about 3000 cfm between two HF dust collectors. I doubt it is actuallly getting that cfm due to the 4” ducting but it is getting a lot. The next time I take the sliding table off my plan is to use copious amounts of silicon caulk and just seal it up completely.

Paul

algale

In my own experiments, I discovered most of the dust actually escapes between the table bottom of the table and the top front of the lower saw guard. A few of of us have rigged various dust "deflectors" that partially sealed that gap, and the other lesser gaps. There's a lot of moving parts to this, literally, between making sure you can still tilt the table to cut bevels and open up/close down the lower guard to accommodate wide dados or moulder heads and table tilt. There isn't an easy engineering solution that maintains all the functionality of the table saw, which is why I suspect Shopsmith hasn't offered an improvement (although if they would offer an upper saw guard with a dust chute a la the Sharkguard, that would help!).

Gene Howe

Shark Guard makes one for the Shopsmith.

A long time ago, I gave up on DC for the Smith. I got a couple large tubs (33gal.,I think) and, stuck them under the saw. Then, took the lids and placed them in the tubs, tilted. They catch most of what would go on the floor. A Shark Guard would help, though.

jsburger

Gene Howe wroteShark Guard makes one for the Shopsmith.

A long time ago, I gave up on DC for the Smith. I got a couple large tubs (33gal.,I think) and, stuck them under the saw. Then, took the lids and placed them in the tubs, tilted. They catch most of what would go on the floor. A Shark Guard would help, though.

A Shark Guard makes a huge difference. I have one of the first ones he made for the SS.

t3steve

I was hoping that having a whole lot more airflow might make up for the really bad lower saw guard/dust collector design.

dusty

I would not call the lower saw guard design "really bad". It works very well as a saw guard. Its deficiencies are only in the realm of dust collection. Furthermore, its deficiencies as a dust collector can be over come by some of the modifications that are detailed in several threads here on the forum. I am quite happy with my Mark V EXCEPT when I need the table tilted. My fixes to improve dust collection are incompatible to the table system when the table is tilted. To resolve that problem (somewhat) I now have a second lower saw guard that has not been modified.

t3steve

Do you have pictures or links to the successful modifications?

dusty

t3steve wroteDo you have pictures or links to the successful modifications?

This is not one of my threads but it covers one of the modifications that I made and Ed does a lot better job of doing it.

http://shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=20375&p=238005&hilit=lower+saw+guard#p238005

and here is another:

http://shopsmith.com/ss_forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6063&p=108456&hilit=lower+saw+guard#p108456

br549

I have been following the threads about ways to improve lower saw guard dust collection over the years, and have done a small amount of experimentation myself, based on the mostly successful attempts of others. While mine is in no way revolutionary, it has made a significant improvement for me.

My Shopsmith is a Mark V 500 with original lower guard and 1.25" spacer. With the spacer installed, there were numerous escape paths for dust. I have simply sealed the collector with duct tape, and extended the right face, front and back (temporarily using stiff cardboard) to same height as the left face. A 1" thick piece of foam with a slot cut for the saw blade sits on top. The table is lowered to compress the foam.

After ripping approximately 60 lf of 4/4 rough oak, I am fairly confident that virtually no dust escaped from below the table. With a zero clearance table insert, all of the dust that wasn't collected was from above the table.

Far from a perfect system, it was nonetheless effective. I think the next steps will be replacing the cardboard height extension on the right face, front and back with sheet metal, and making additional foam pieces that can be stacked one atop another, to allow the table to be raised and expose less blade.

Granted, this system will not work well if the table is tilted. But since I seldom tilt the table, that is not a big issue for me. Not having the right face being able to swing open for blade changes is also not a big deal for me. With the 1.25" spacer installed, I can slip blades with the standard 1.25" hole and arbor in and on; with the longer 5/8" arbor, the saw guard just has to be pulled to the right a little to allow blade and arbor to get in the saw guard and then slide both to the left.

Thanks to all who have experimented and reported their findings on their ways to improve the dust collection abilities of the lower saw guard and provided inspiration.

algale

Interesting approach, particularly the foam rubber.

May I ask what the piece of wood under the table is for?

br549

algale wroteMay I ask what the piece of wood under the table is for?

Before I discovered featherboards that lock in the miter slots, I made and used wood featherboards. The maple wood blocking was contact cemented to the underside of the table on the right edge and the front and back left corners so that I could C-clamp the featherboards more easily, without having to juggle all three items at once. I still occasionally need to use a wood featherboard when the width of the stock is outside of the range of my in-slot featherboards. Plus, the wood blocking comes in handy when needing to clamp any other kind of jig.