VERY SPECIFIC Miter Saw/ drill press dust collection question.

[HMH]

Good afternoon folks - I know that miter saw dust collection, (and dust collection in general), is a well-beaten and often controversial topic, so keeping this 20K feet above the weeds - in setting up my new space, I do have a VERY SPECIFIC question for the group, if there has been anyone who has tried both methods perhaps?

When it comes to my miter station, my current plan is to plumb in both a 4" cleanout behind the saw, tied to my DC, as well as a 2.5" hose going to the tool port. that part is locked in at this point - my question however, is pros/cons for not having both of those collection points, (the 4" and 2.5") tied into my DC w/ a reducing wye, vs. the 2.5" port tied to a shopvac, (in addition to), the DC, as seems to be the common practice. I'm assuming that the DC CFM, being necked way down to 2.5" would produce similar velocity to a shop-vac as well, (that's a WAG, I haven't researched it).

I also understand that short-cycling of a DC isn't ideal, and would allow for shop-vac use only on 1-2 cut needs, without firing up the DC, which is a plus. Just curious as to everyone else's options/ experience here.

The underlying driver to this question in my head here, is to whether or not it's worth it to plumb in a dedicated DC run to my miter saw and drill press, (approximately 6' apart from one another), and "alone" on that corner of the shop, or just dedicate a shop vac to the 2 of them, and plan to clean up after myself after use. I'm in "do it once, do it right" mode, so pretty sure that may answer the question, but also didn't want to commit to overkill for overkill's sake.

Thanks folks!

HMH

 

[tvrgeek]

My personal experience:
Tried it with the 2 1/2 to the guard, and a 6 inch big gulp going into my 1 1/2 HP Jet. Mocked up an additional 2 1/2 from the underside blocking the edges. Better than nothing, but not sufficient. As cross cuts and compound miters are kind of the point, those tight fitting enclosures were a no-go. My conclusion was to toss the miter saw under the bench and take it outside for construction type work. Going back to the TS and Lyon trimmer for case work. It might be possible to build a rear chamber with steep enough sides and a 5 HP DC, but not going there.

I have not put DC on my DP. Drill shavings are easy to vacuum and adding a mini CV cyclone to my vac, a piece of cake. My focus is on airborne dust. I have a disk and spindle sander on the DC, so I don't make dust on the DP. If I used it as a drum sander, that would be a different equation.

No, a necked down DC wil not pull the same as a shop vac. Vacs are designed for a much higher vacuum, but less CFM. They handle the small hose better where a DC wil be starved. Some DCs are better than others if you look carefully at the specs. Different tools, complementary not interchangeable.

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Air will take the path of least resisitance, i.e. the 4" DC duct. You will not get much collection from the 2.5" port if connected to the DC duct. You will be much better off if you connect both, a DC to collect from under/in back of the mitersaw and connect a shopvac, which has much higher SP, to the 2,5" port and share it via a small blast gate with the drill press.

 

[Bas]

You definitely want a shop vac connected to the miter saw. That gets most of the dust. The cleanout behind the saw is to get whatever it can that the shop vac missed, it still won't be everything. So if you have to choose between one or the other, go with a shop vac. Once in a while I'll blast some compressed air into the miter saw "box" with the DC running, to clean up everything that didn't get sucked in.

If I just have one or two cuts, I only use the shop vac, I do not turn on the DC.

For a drill press, it depends. When using a smaller drill bit, e.g. 1/4" brad point, a shop vac tightly focused on the drill area works best. For collecting dust/ shavings when using a large Forstner bit, a wide mouth hooked to a DC works better. Again, I'd go with a shop vac, because it's more practical. Larger DC setups can be hampered by the fence, post, the bit itself, etc.

 

[HMH]

Thanks for the feedback guys - very helpful!

Alan - your point re: path of least resistance makes a lot of sense, I gather that this also applies to a potential split for above/ below table saw dust collection. By that logic, it sounds like I'd be better served powering the above table dust collection from a shop vac, and the below cabinet collection coming from the DC.

Thanks again

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

Depends on the DC, CFM, and what kind of shroud you have. Does the shroud fit close to the blade, does it have a skirt, etc. My skirted lexan shroud is about 2.5" wide and connects to a 3" rigid PVC duct mounted to the ceiling. My DC has a 3 hp motor and blower unit with a 14" impeller, so I have enough CFM to draw from both my saw's cabinet 6" DC port and the over-blade shroud. I have electro-pneumatic autogates, so when the TS is turned on the blast gates for both the cabinet and over-blade pickup open (and the DC starts.) The lower section of the over-blade duct is hinged so when not used it folds up out of the way. A magnetic reed switch and small magnet near the hinge separate when the shroud is folded up which prevents its blast gate from opening.

 

[HMH]

Thanks Alan - I recall seeing your setup years ago - very slick/ well thought out!

I have a Shark-Guard on order, mainly to provide a riving knife, (though manual), for my older Unisaw, but the shroud has provisions for a DC port, (I elected for 2.5"), that I'll fab an overarm quard to run ducting to. It certainly wont be as convenient as yours to remove, but still easy enough when it's needed. I may play around w/ it a bit - and try a split from the DC, and if that's not sufficient, just run a line from my shop vac.

Thanks!

HMH

 

[Alan in Little Washington]

The biggest issue with an over-blade shroud/guard is that there are way too many times where you can't use it or it is just a pain to use.