John Moody Posted May 13, 2013 Report Share Posted May 13, 2013 I know sometime back our own Mike Dillion built an over arm dust collector for his table saw. I have a pretty good handle on the dust in my shop except for the dust coming off the top of the blade when cutting on the table saw. The saw guard was gone when I got this saw and would like to get something to help this. So I am interested in finding out what you are doing to capture the dust off the table saw blade and if using an over arm collector. If you are using the over arm type which one are you using and what are the good points and the disappointments. John MoodySite AdministratorJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morris Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Sorry John, missed this post! I have an overarm saw guard that serves only as a guard. But by default the majority of the dust gets sucked back down through the blade insert, the guard itself prevents almost all of the dust from escaping the area and it pretty much stays in place at the insert. I have never even considered a dust collector type of overarm because the regular Beismeyer over arm I have does an excellent job keeping it isolated. I do turn on my collector, it's hooked up to the cabinet of my table saw, so the dust as I said just gets taken back down through the insert.If you work with a zero clearance insert like I do, you can just drill a 1" hole at the front of the insert to allow air circulation.That's what I got!!!!!John MorrisThe Patriot WoodworkerProud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops and Wounded Warriors Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Moody Posted May 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 Yea that is what I do now John but I get a lot of dust from the top of the blade. I get good collection from my other tools but it just doesn't get it all from my '87 model Delta Unisaw. John MoodySite AdministratorJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lew Posted May 14, 2013 Report Share Posted May 14, 2013 http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/showthread.php?t=42001http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/shop-built-table-saw-overarm-dust-collection-hood-45394/http://www.woodcentral.com/bparticles/blade_guard.pdfhttp://www.woodtalkonline.com/topic/743-sawstop-overarm-dust-collection-my-version/http://www.leestyron.com/sharkdc.phphttp://community.woodmagazine.com/t5/Tools-and-Tool-Buying/Overarm-blade-guard-and-DC/td-p/30502http://worldofwood.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=genwork&action=display&thread=635 http://www.eaglelakewoodworking.com/post/Overarm-Dust-Collector.aspxhttp://www.woodcentral.com/articles/powertools/articles_871.shtml Lew Kauffman-Wood Turners Forum HostTime traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morris Posted May 15, 2013 Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 Also John here is the guard that Mike builthttp://www.thepatriotwoodworker.com/forum/topics/completed-tabsaw-blade-guardJohn MorrisThe Patriot WoodworkerProud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops and Wounded Warriors Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Moody Posted May 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 Thanks guys, look into these and see what is said. John did I understand that yours is just a guard and not connected to the dust collector. I have noticed that some of them will ride on the board being cut while others are just adjusted to a height above the board. I was hoping to get some feedback on the pros and cons of the different types and some personal experience. John MoodySite AdministratorJohn Moody Woodworkshttp://www.johnmoodywoodworks.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted May 15, 2013 Report Share Posted May 15, 2013 This one, referenced by Lew, looks doable. Simple, and very little metal work involved. For me, "simple" is the operative descriptor.Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morris Posted May 16, 2013 Report Share Posted May 16, 2013 John. I will snap some pics of mine and if I can I'll do a little video demo this weekend on how it works. But to answer your main question, yes it rests on the top of the work, it has a cantilever arm in the back and the guard rides the top of the material.John MorrisThe Patriot WoodworkerProud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops and Wounded Warriors Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morris Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 John, here is a pic of mine, I shot a video too but it came out like crud, I'll try again tomorrow afternoon. This is Biesmeyers early model over arm. As you can see it is cantilevered and it lifts up out of the way in a second. The complete arm assembly slide to the right if you need to completely remove it from the area. The suction from the dust collection to the cabinet under the saw seems to be sufficient to pull the dust down through even that zero clearance insert I made. I did not even take my own advice mentioned above to drill holes in the zero clearance, and it still suck the dust down through the insert. John MorrisThe Patriot WoodworkerProud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops and Wounded Warriors Project Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Rasmussen Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 It's good to see so many innovative woodworkers sharing their collection systems. Over the years I've thought about adding an overhead collection system to my table saw.  I have rejected the ones that come up and cross over the extentsion table mainly because it reduces the size of wood I could cut. Also I cannot come straight down over the blade because of a garage door that open up over the table saw. Yes I could move the saw but that would not be practical and would lead to inefficiency.So what have I done to control the tabletop sawdust? Well so far nothing. After looking at the many photos provided in the forum, I am getting some ideas. The main idea that keeps coming to mind is attacking the problem from the bottom of the tablesaw top with either compressed air or vacumn. My reasoning for this is that the sawdust does not come from cutting the wood but from the dust that is "trapped" in the sawblade's teeth and then released above the table top. When you think about it, this makes sense.  Phil Rasmussen, US Army-retiredMountain Woodworkerwww.mountainwoodworker.com pmrii@aol.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 Agreed Phil. I have under the table collection that works pretty good but the crud that comes from on top is nearly the same quantity. I've given a system like John's a lot of thought (either purchased or built) and it would be nice to have. Maybe someday. But, for now, I'll just continue to let sawdust build up til it's above my shoe tops, then grab the scoop shovel. Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Rasmussen Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 Gene,Here is one thought I had that you might want to consider -- split the collection hose. What am I talking about?  Many woodworkers will split the collection hose on their router benches -- one line goes to the fence and the other to the box under the router. I've been thinking of doing something similar to this. The only drawback is how does the line follow the blade when you tilt the blade, or is this even something to consider. What I'm thinking of is a 4-6" main line at the bottom of the saw box and a 2-3" line up close to the blade and near the top of the zero clearance insert. I think this will be workable especially if you do not do that much blade tilting. Phil Gene Howe said:Agreed Phil. I have under the table collection that works pretty good but the crud that comes from on top is nearly the same quantity. I've given a system like John's a lot of thought (either purchased or built) and it would be nice to have. Maybe someday. But, for now, I'll just continue to let sawdust build up til it's above my shoe tops, then grab the scoop shovel. Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 Phil, My saw is a Shopsmith. The table tilts. I don't ever tilt it for sawing. The lower side of the blade is totally enclosed with two DC connections integrated into the lower blade guard.  And, I use ZCIs sized for each blade. So, I'm not pulling much down from the top. I've read about guys that have drilled holes in the ZCI, but I can't see much benefit there. The back side of the blade throws the debris with too much velocity for the holes to catch much. The only option I can see is the over arm collector. And, for me, it would almost have to be a free standing unit.Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Rasmussen Posted May 18, 2013 Report Share Posted May 18, 2013 What about an air stream across the teeth? There are a couple of ways of doing this with and without a compressor? This would be similar to the air stream process that is used on scroll saws.  Gene Howe said:Phil, My saw is a Shopsmith. The table tilts. I don't ever tilt it for sawing. The lower side of the blade is totally enclosed with two DC connections integrated into the lower blade guard.  And, I use ZCIs sized for each blade. So, I'm not pulling much down from the top. I've read about guys that have drilled holes in the ZCI, but I can't see much benefit there. The back side of the blade throws the debris with too much velocity for the holes to catch much. The only option I can see is the over arm collector. And, for me, it would almost have to be a free standing unit.Gene'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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