I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin on
the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust escaped.
In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic clatter.
My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
...back to the drawing board.
Bob
If you ever get it to work, I would sure like to see it!
"Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
> collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
> collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
> mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
>
> My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin on
> the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
>
> In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
escaped.
> In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic clatter.
> My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
>
> ...back to the drawing board.
>
> Bob
>
>
I found some links to home-built guards/dust collectors a year ago, but the
links are all stored at work. However, do a search of the web and you can
probably round them up pretty quickly. Seems that a few people have come up
with good designs.
--
Larry C in Auburn, WA
"Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
> collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
> collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
> mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
>
> My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin on
> the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
>
> In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
escaped.
> In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic clatter.
> My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
>
> ...back to the drawing board.
>
> Bob
>
>
My personal priorities are:
0) get rid of the factory blade guard contraption
1) dust
2) Riving knife
3) guard
All are important. The guard part is not all that interesting and pretty
easy to conquer. The only decision is whether to have one that "floats"
over the wood or one that locks in position (like brett guard). We all know
there are some types of cuts where the guard has to be removed. For that I'm
probably going to get a Gripper. I'm working with a suspension design that
locks in position using a toggle clamp that's quick and easy to set or
release.
That's a great idea about the blast gate throttle.
The dust collection is awesome on my prototype. Nothing escapes. I know - I
overkilled. I wanted to convince myself that hurricane force suction would
overcome all the other shortcomings of dust collection on the topside of the
tablesaw. It does. One valiant attempt at other options is described in
the Workshop book by Taunton press. There's a fixed guard with articulating
sides and flexible plastic curtains front and rear. I got it all copied and
working in a prototype but discovered it fails to do the job on cross cuts,
right at the end off the cut, when the blade emerges from the wood.
I'm in the process of mounting the whole prototype on a counter weighted
suspension system now, so I can begin using it and find out how much it gets
in the way of working., if at all.
I made one prototype that worked fairly well with a 2" hose and a flexible
plastic curtain at the front of the guard. But it wasn't good enough. The
guard had to be well centered on the blade for it to work optimally. With
4" hose, you can shove the guard over to the left and use it for close
ripping, yet it still sucks up all the dust.
My hope is that I'll get everything working, then find out that a 3" hose is
just perfect. The 4" hose is not in the way, but its visually disturbing.
:-)
By the way, I found one very nice advantage of the flexible plastic curtain
which I may add back. It acted like a built-in featherboard, holding the
stock against the table - very nice and it worked for everything from 1/4"
to 3" stock. My plastic curtain was made of 1/16" thick lexan. This is a
feature that could be added to any basket style blade guard that locks in
place.
Bob
"Larry C in Auburn, WA" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:vTROb.99518$8H.144306@attbi_s03...
> Keep working on it because I never did build a copy of any I found and I'd
> rather copy your better mousetrap. <g> Are you really interested in just
> collecting the DUST or are you interested in both the DUST and a GUARD?
If
> just dust it might open up other options like hanging the hose further in
> front of the blade which might be more effective (I don't know, just
> thinking out loud).
>
> Another idea: I think I read someone else's post that mentioned toning
the
> suction down. You could easily install a $5 plastic blast gate on top of
> the guard and start with it closed, slowly open it until you get enough
> suction to grab the dust without grabbing cutoffs.
>
> --
> Larry C in Auburn, WA
>
> "Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Larry, thanks. I looked at every guard I could find on the net. I agree
> > that there are many good designs. However, they are all based on using
a
> 2
> > or 2 1/2" section of hose several feet long. In my tests, I found this
> > approach simply did not move enough air to catch the dust "spray"
> generated
> > during many cross cut situations. I played with articulating guard sides
> > used in one design. This helped but still failed in cross cuts where
the
> > dust gets sprayed at the end off the cut when the blade emerges from the
> > wood and the guard is still at the same height as the cut stock.
> >
> > I found that, with enough air movement and placing the collection point
a
> > few inches in front of the blade, collection was reliable and complete
> > under all situations.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
> > "Larry C in Auburn, WA" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:FKHOb.96721$xy6.174068@attbi_s02...
> > > I found some links to home-built guards/dust collectors a year ago,
but
> > the
> > > links are all stored at work. However, do a search of the web and you
> can
> > > probably round them up pretty quickly. Seems that a few people have
> come
> > up
> > > with good designs.
> > >
> > > --
> > > Larry C in Auburn, WA
> > >
> > > "Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > > news:[email protected]...
> > > > I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with
dust
> > > > collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet
> dust
> > > > collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've
been
> > > > mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
> > > >
> > > > My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of
> resin
> > on
> > > > the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
> > > >
> > > > In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
> > > escaped.
> > > > In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic
> > clatter.
> > > > My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust
> collector.
> > > >
> > > > ...back to the drawing board.
> > > >
> > > > Bob
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
I'm sure every idea I'm trying has been done at least a 100 times and I'd
welcome some opinions. There's a natural reluctance to show ugly prototypes
because it could be very embarrassing. But what the heck.
The main thing I'm doing that I've not seen any where else is using a 4"
hose right down to the guard, instead of shop vacuum size hose. There's no
way to effectively seal the dust collection on a table saw near the blade
because of the wood moving through and the dust coming off a table saw is
moving very fast. I decided the only hope of controlling most situations
was sheer brute force. It works. Now I'm going to develop a mini-hood made
of lexan on top of the guard so I can see the blade and still have an
effective 4" connection.
One observation already - using a tablesaw without the dust is a positive
experience.
Bob
"Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Show some pics of your progress.
>
> Chances are someone did it already and can give you some pointers.
>
> "Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
> > collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
> > collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
> > mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
> >
> > My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin
on
> > the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
> >
> > In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
> escaped.
> > In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic
clatter.
> > My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
> >
> > ...back to the drawing board.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
>
>
Put a "Cyclone" in line ,saves on filter media , and lets all the chunks
of stuff fall into the drum/ can . Empty the can once in a while.
A fitting for a 30 gal trash can may be purchase from Griz.
Use a plastic trash can.
I do a LOT of metal, hot sparks and all,so I add water and a dollop of
liquid soap to settle the grit . That way it won't enter the ducts
and/or dust collector.
Another good idea. I think that's one' of the best. I think the system
won't suck up all the offcuts, just the smaller ones.
Thanks,
Bob
"Nunn Ya Bizness" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Put a "Cyclone" in line ,saves on filter media , and lets all the chunks
> of stuff fall into the drum/ can . Empty the can once in a while.
> A fitting for a 30 gal trash can may be purchase from Griz.
> Use a plastic trash can.
> I do a LOT of metal, hot sparks and all,so I add water and a dollop of
> liquid soap to settle the grit . That way it won't enter the ducts
> and/or dust collector.
>
My sense is that if I move to reduce the air flow, I'll lose the effect I
want - pull all the high speed dust in a situation that requires the dust to
make a near right angle turn.
I'm going to try putting in a very coars screen, something like hardware
cloth with 1/4" or larger mesh - just small enough to block wood chunks.
There's no way for me to measure the cfm. I suppose I could estimate it
using the calculated pressure drop and blower curves, but that's not very
accurate.
I can tell you that I have a Jet DC1200 2 hp collector connected. One
connection goes to the saw cabinet through a 3 1/2 foot 4" hose. The other
connection goes to the saw guard through a 10 foot 4" hose. I'll post some
pictures.
Bob
"John Crea" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Maybe put someway to throttle the total flow to prevent this. Tune it
> till it just doesnt' suck the insert out of the table saw???
>
> Didn't ask, but how many cfm is the DC moving??
>
>
> John
>
> On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 02:09:22 GMT, "Bob Davis"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >The whole guard was sitting 2 inches off the table and open when this
> >happened. It wasn't a vacuum, it was just a lot of air moving.
> >
> >Bob
> >
> >
> >"John Crea" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >> Bob
> >>
> >> Some air intake ports on the bottom edge will prevent this from
> >> happening
> >>
> >> John
> >
>
I've been working on the same thing. I have the framework done just haven't
worked on the dust collection part much lately. The frame bolts to the floor
so it don't have to be removed when you do dado cuts. It all telescopes for
adjustability.
KY
--
http://users.adelphia.net/~kyhighland
"Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
> collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
> collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
> mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
>
> My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin on
> the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
>
> In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
escaped.
> In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic clatter.
> My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
>
> ...back to the drawing board.
>
> Bob
>
>
Good advice! This is going to take more thought.
Bob
"Bridger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 02:28:56 GMT, "Bob Davis"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >I'm going to try putting in a very coars screen, something like hardware
> >cloth with 1/4" or larger mesh - just small enough to block wood chunks.
>
>
> watch for chunks bouncing off of this and into the blade. little
> wooden projectiles....
>
>
>
"Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> My personal priorities are:
>
> 0) get rid of the factory blade guard contraption
> 1) dust
> 2) Riving knife
> 3) guard
>
> All are important. The guard part is not all that interesting and pretty
> easy to conquer. The only decision is whether to have one that "floats"
> over the wood or one that locks in position (like brett guard). We all know
> there are some types of cuts where the guard has to be removed. For that I'm
> probably going to get a Gripper. I'm working with a suspension design that
> locks in position using a toggle clamp that's quick and easy to set or
> release. Snip, snip,
Bob,
Did you get the Jet info + pics I sent over about ten days ago?
Not sure you did as I've not heard from you.
Rgds
Noel
noel dot hegan at virgin dot net
Bob
Some air intake ports on the bottom edge will prevent this from
happening
John
On Sun, 18 Jan 2004 21:50:43 GMT, "Bob Davis"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
>collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
>collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
>mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
>
>My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin on
>the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
>
>In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust escaped.
>In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic clatter.
>My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
>
>...back to the drawing board.
>
>Bob
>
I've posted pictures in alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking.
Bob
"Rob V" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Show some pics of your progress.
Show some pics of your progress.
Chances are someone did it already and can give you some pointers.
"Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
> collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
> collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
> mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
>
> My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin on
> the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
>
> In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
escaped.
> In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic clatter.
> My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
>
> ...back to the drawing board.
>
> Bob
>
>
Maybe put someway to throttle the total flow to prevent this. Tune it
till it just doesnt' suck the insert out of the table saw???
Didn't ask, but how many cfm is the DC moving??
John
On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 02:09:22 GMT, "Bob Davis"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>The whole guard was sitting 2 inches off the table and open when this
>happened. It wasn't a vacuum, it was just a lot of air moving.
>
>Bob
>
>
>"John Crea" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Bob
>>
>> Some air intake ports on the bottom edge will prevent this from
>> happening
>>
>> John
>
The whole guard was sitting 2 inches off the table and open when this
happened. It wasn't a vacuum, it was just a lot of air moving.
Bob
"John Crea" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bob
>
> Some air intake ports on the bottom edge will prevent this from
> happening
>
> John
On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 02:28:56 GMT, "Bob Davis"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm going to try putting in a very coars screen, something like hardware
>cloth with 1/4" or larger mesh - just small enough to block wood chunks.
watch for chunks bouncing off of this and into the blade. little
wooden projectiles....
Noel, I received 2 emails from you and wrote 3 back. You replied to me
twice. I'm confused.
Here's an excerpt from my last email to you (posted for you and the benefit
of others in the group, in case there are some supersaw owners interested
the European version of their saw).
<------ clip here---------->
Any information you can get regarding the knife would be greatly
appreciated. I see the key for me is to learn how its mounted. When I look
at my saw, it looks like it would be a simple matter, IF there is no
structural harm in drilling and tapping a few mounting holes on the trunion
or whatever that big casting is called that holds the blade shaft. The key
to having a successful riving knife is for it to follow the blade as it
rises and falls and tilts. It would appear from your pictures that once
that piece is working, its a very straightforward matter to attach a
suitable guard to the knife. The European design is so superior to
American, it just seems ridiculous. I truly believe Europeans have a much
more useful and safe tool design.
I look forward to any further information you might obtain. I will also
convey information I obtain from Jet America. I expect to hear back from
them tomorrow.
<------ clip here---------->
"Noel Hegan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > My personal priorities are:
> >
> > 0) get rid of the factory blade guard contraption
> > 1) dust
> > 2) Riving knife
> > 3) guard
> >
> > All are important. The guard part is not all that interesting and pretty
> > easy to conquer. The only decision is whether to have one that "floats"
> > over the wood or one that locks in position (like brett guard). We all
know
> > there are some types of cuts where the guard has to be removed. For that
I'm
> > probably going to get a Gripper. I'm working with a suspension design
that
> > locks in position using a toggle clamp that's quick and easy to set or
> > release. Snip, snip,
> Bob,
> Did you get the Jet info + pics I sent over about ten days ago?
> Not sure you did as I've not heard from you.
>
> Rgds
>
> Noel
>
> noel dot hegan at virgin dot net
Keep working on it because I never did build a copy of any I found and I'd
rather copy your better mousetrap. <g> Are you really interested in just
collecting the DUST or are you interested in both the DUST and a GUARD? If
just dust it might open up other options like hanging the hose further in
front of the blade which might be more effective (I don't know, just
thinking out loud).
Another idea: I think I read someone else's post that mentioned toning the
suction down. You could easily install a $5 plastic blast gate on top of
the guard and start with it closed, slowly open it until you get enough
suction to grab the dust without grabbing cutoffs.
--
Larry C in Auburn, WA
"Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Larry, thanks. I looked at every guard I could find on the net. I agree
> that there are many good designs. However, they are all based on using a
2
> or 2 1/2" section of hose several feet long. In my tests, I found this
> approach simply did not move enough air to catch the dust "spray"
generated
> during many cross cut situations. I played with articulating guard sides
> used in one design. This helped but still failed in cross cuts where the
> dust gets sprayed at the end off the cut when the blade emerges from the
> wood and the guard is still at the same height as the cut stock.
>
> I found that, with enough air movement and placing the collection point a
> few inches in front of the blade, collection was reliable and complete
> under all situations.
>
> Bob
>
>
> "Larry C in Auburn, WA" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:FKHOb.96721$xy6.174068@attbi_s02...
> > I found some links to home-built guards/dust collectors a year ago, but
> the
> > links are all stored at work. However, do a search of the web and you
can
> > probably round them up pretty quickly. Seems that a few people have
come
> up
> > with good designs.
> >
> > --
> > Larry C in Auburn, WA
> >
> > "Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
> > > collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet
dust
> > > collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
> > > mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
> > >
> > > My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of
resin
> on
> > > the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
> > >
> > > In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
> > escaped.
> > > In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic
> clatter.
> > > My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust
collector.
> > >
> > > ...back to the drawing board.
> > >
> > > Bob
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
Let's exchange some pics, soon. I haven't done much in the way of support
and fanciness for the blade guard - focusing all my attention on dust
collection. I'm sure my priorities are not going to agree with those of many
woodworkers. When you focus on dust collection, you have to fight with loss
of visibility of the blade and bulkiness of the guard.
Bob
"Knucklehead" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I've been working on the same thing. I have the framework done just
haven't
> worked on the dust collection part much lately. The frame bolts to the
floor
> so it don't have to be removed when you do dado cuts. It all telescopes
for
> adjustability.
>
> KY
>
> --
>
> http://users.adelphia.net/~kyhighland
>
>
> "Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
> > collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
> > collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
> > mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
> >
> > My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin
on
> > the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
> >
> > In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
> escaped.
> > In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic
clatter.
> > My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
> >
> > ...back to the drawing board.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
>
>
Larry, thanks. I looked at every guard I could find on the net. I agree
that there are many good designs. However, they are all based on using a 2
or 2 1/2" section of hose several feet long. In my tests, I found this
approach simply did not move enough air to catch the dust "spray" generated
during many cross cut situations. I played with articulating guard sides
used in one design. This helped but still failed in cross cuts where the
dust gets sprayed at the end off the cut when the blade emerges from the
wood and the guard is still at the same height as the cut stock.
I found that, with enough air movement and placing the collection point a
few inches in front of the blade, collection was reliable and complete
under all situations.
Bob
"Larry C in Auburn, WA" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:FKHOb.96721$xy6.174068@attbi_s02...
> I found some links to home-built guards/dust collectors a year ago, but
the
> links are all stored at work. However, do a search of the web and you can
> probably round them up pretty quickly. Seems that a few people have come
up
> with good designs.
>
> --
> Larry C in Auburn, WA
>
> "Bob Davis" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I'm on iteration #1024 of a shop made table saw blade guard with dust
> > collection. This whole thing got started when I sunk $529 in a jet dust
> > collector and it practically did nothing for my table saw. I've been
> > mocking up prototypes with 1/2" plywood and a brad gun.
> >
> > My bad-boy dust generator is using a saw blade that's got lots of resin
on
> > the blade and crosscutting some old spintery wood.
> >
> > In my latest test, I was elated to run the test cut and no sawdust
> escaped.
> > In the midst of my split second elation, I heard a loud metallic
clatter.
> > My prototype was so good, it sucked the offcut into the dust collector.
> >
> > ...back to the drawing board.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
>