Shopsmith Forums

i finished assembling and aligning the machine and moved it into my workshop. it works well but the table saw dust collection is letting a lot of sawdust through under the table, is there any way to improve the dust collection on the table saw?

Your setup in the shop looks Great.

I would say about the sawdust issue, Just look for the gaps in the guards.

There are several Experts here that are Going to Know Your issue (For Sure).

piegolf wrote: ↑Sat Oct 26, 2024 8:12 pm i finished assembling and aligning the machine and moved it into my workshop. it works well but the table saw dust collection is letting a lot of sawdust through under the table, is there any way to improve the dust collection on the table saw?


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The lower saw guard is the root cause of your saw dust issue. That guard is a definite weak spot for the Marks that us it. There is a thread here that I participated in that details a modification to the saw guard that reduces the discharged dust. It also looks like you have the guard wide open and I run mine closed down as far as I can.

A video of the lower saw guard while ripping a long board will show you where the dust is coming from. I'd attach it here but unfortunately I lost it in the HD crash. Yes, I know - a backup would have fixed that problem.

Your machine looks great, I think you found an excellent buy. I find I get the best dust collection by adjusting the lower saw guard outward until it meets the piece of saw guard that is mounted to the tie bar. Sometimes that tie bar piece is broken or missing on used machines, but I wouldn't expect that in your case. I also find that good alignment of the table to blade and fence are important because sawdust that is cast upward by the rising rear teeth of the blade is far less likely to be collected. And as Dusty says the saw guard is leaky. More CFM from your dust collection and reducing some of the leaks may help.

How much cutting was associated with the dust you show in your picture? That, to me, would be a lot of missed sawdust for a small amount of cutting but not unusual for a moderate amount. Are you using your new DC-3300? A Zero Clearance Insert (ZCI) is also a factor in dust collection, I don't use one and am not sure what to expect with one.

- David

Ed Reible did a series of videos on improving dust collection. This is one of several about the table saw: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T37qbUMfQk

dusty wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2024 7:46 am There is a thread here that I participated in that details a modification to the saw guard that reduces the discharged dust.

do you have a link to that thread?

piegolf wrote: ↑Mon Oct 28, 2024 7:54 pm

dusty wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2024 7:46 am There is a thread here that I participated in that details a modification to the saw guard that reduces the discharged dust.

do you have a link to that thread?

You can find the link you are looking for, which I posted in a previous post at the thread linked below. However, the first step should be for you to follow David's advice above. In your picture shown below, the area circled in red shows your problem. The lower saw guard should be positioned such that it is as large as possible and butting up against the tie bar as David pointed out. From your picture I can see your lower saw guard is adjusted to be close to the blade (smallest opening possible) and this, in my opinion (and the opinion of others on this forum) results in the most sawdust escaping from below the table unfortunately. Once this is adjusted, then you can start to look through ways to close up the other leak points in & around that lower saw guard, etc. Please try this simple change first and see if you notice significantly less sawdust leakage. It won't go to zero, but it will be A LOT less with this simple change IMHO. Hope this helps.

Link to previous thread on sawdust escaping lower saw guard (has links for other mods/hacks to improve it):
viewtopic.php?p=302556#p302556

DLB wrote: ↑Sun Oct 27, 2024 9:07 am Your machine looks great, I think you found an excellent buy. I find I get the best dust collection by adjusting the lower saw guard outward until it meets the piece of saw guard that is mounted to the tie bar. Sometimes that tie bar piece is broken or missing on used machines, but I wouldn't expect that in your case. I also find that good alignment of the table to blade and fence are important because sawdust that is cast upward by the rising rear teeth of the blade is far less likely to be collected. And as Dusty says the saw guard is leaky. More CFM from your dust collection and reducing some of the leaks may help.

How much cutting was associated with the dust you show in your picture? That, to me, would be a lot of missed sawdust for a small amount of cutting but not unusual for a moderate amount. Are you using your new DC-3300? A Zero Clearance Insert (ZCI) is also a factor in dust collection, I don't use one and am not sure what to expect with one.

- David

In a small workshop, the Shopsmith 520 could be a great space saver. While it’s less powerful than standalone tools, its versatility and compact design make it worth considering for $1,000 if in good shape.