dust collection on 3612 blade guard

[Rafael]

Has anybody used the hole on top of the 3612 blade guard to connect to a shop vac. I would like to use this hole to connect, in tandem with the dust collector under the saw, to my shop vac. The dust collection from below is inadequate, and the dust on the table is what you end up breathing anyway.

[Andy B.]

I have not, but it a good idea.

[Charlie P]

If a substantial part of the sawdust is on the top of the table, that tells me my blade is probably out of alignment.

If you see sawdust shooting up when you are cutting, or have blade marks curving in the direction that comes from the back of the blade, you definitely need alignment.

[Dave Arbuckle]

I agree with Charlie. I use an Excalibur overhead guard which has dust collection built in, and don't bother hooking it up.

Dave

[Rafael]

If the blade was out of alignment wouldn't that mean that my cuts would not be square? All my cuts are square and fit together well.

[Dave Arbuckle]

Nope. The blade would have to be visibly out of parallel before you would notice the effect of the arc of the teeth on squareness.

A fair amount out of parallel, you get blade marks.

A tiny amount out of parallel, you get a sawdust roostertail. What causes the roostertail? The rising teeth on the away side of the blade are cutting. In perfect alignment, the rising teeth will be riding in the kerf, and only the falling teeth on the operator's side will be doing the cutting.

Dave

[Rafael]

Dave, your explanation makes sense. I'll pay attention and see if the rear of the blade is cutting instead of riding clear through the kerf.
Thanks

[spacebluesonoma]

i ran across an interesting idea and i am intrigued. i answered an ad in the local penny saver for something and when i arrived i was drooling. this gentlemen had an ANTIQUE craftsman contractors table saw and jointer, both very well taken care of and in near mint condition. what struck me as interesting is that the table saw frame with regard to the openness was very similar to that of the ridgid. this gentlemens wife made a square canvass bag that he has hung under the frame for dust collection. he said it worked quite well. it would not solve the problem that the gentlemen who started this post is having but i thought it might be worth sharing here. i wished i had an extra hundred bucks...thats all he was asking for it.

[Dave Arbuckle]

Woodcraft part number 140298 (http://shop.woodcraft.com/Woodcraft/product_family.asp?family%5Fid=3662&gift=False&0=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D10000%26Tree%3D%2CDepar tments&1=dept%2Easp%2Cdept%5Fid%3D2170%26menu%5Fid%3D%26T ree%3D0%2CDust%20Collection&Gift=False&mscssid=C59AFFB3F7E04CC2AC721384915279D9)

If you want to be greeted like a member of the family at Dallas Woodcraft, walk in looking for one of these, and ask for a "tablesaw diaper". ;)

Dave

[UO_Woody]

I'm glad someone started another TS SD collection post. I've been studying things through the insert plate hole in the top of my 2434. I'll have to buy some poster board and make a prototype out of cheap stuff for fast trial and errors.

But I'm looking at collection right off the blade. Call it a "Blade Diaper" if you will, with a port pointing downward to hook to whatever. W/D vac, cyclone, HF super deal DC, what ever.

I've got the whole thing planned out in my mind how it will all fit, and work. What I'm looking for right now is a colapsable oval ring to seal to the underside of the table for when the blade is lowered and raised that won't cave under extreme vacuum. Blade changes, including dado stacks at full width should be no problem through the insert plate opening.

[Dave Arbuckle]

Woody, are you considering attaching it to the blade cradle? (part 40 on page 60 of 24240 manual)

I've always figured that would be the absolute best place to hook up, it's how European saws attain very high collection rates.

Dave

[spacebluesonoma]

dave

thats awesome.

[UO_Woody]

Dave,

That's correct, directly pull the dust off the blade. I've cut alot of scrap pieces while waiting for glue ups, or just killin time for one reason or another, just to see how the dust gets where it does.

I can't see any other way of doing it and better than it is now. I'm looking for that collapable device because I want the full draw of the collection system to come from the top of the blade, no where else. I figure even if the stock blade gaurd is used with a miss alingned fence, the rooster tails would be sucked in.

Also, pulling on such a small cavity of space, and little to allow air flow (basically the kerf in the stock) a simple W/D vac should surfice (since that's all have now anyways).

[Rafael]

I checked the parallelism of the blade to the miter slot using the method in the ridgid manual and the difference between the front and rear of the blade is not more than the thickness of one manual page. Is that difference enough to matter?

[Dave Arbuckle]

Is it enough to matter? Yes, in my opinion. Since you are getting roostertails, I think your experience matches mine.

Is it enough to do anything about, is a different question. I'm a lot more stringent about machine setups, than about anyone else I know. If I can measure the amount it is out, I'm not terribly happy. It is obvious that this is an extreme, lots of people do great work with slightly misaligned machines. But it appears they have to do something about the sawdust coming off the top of the blade. ;)

I don't have a micrometer handy to gauge a piece of heavy paper. I'll have to check later to see how much that's off.

Dave

[Rafael]

Ridgid manual says up to four sheets of paper is fine. I am not a stickler for most things but I find four sheets excessive. One sheet I might have to live with.

[RixWorx]

Penn State Industries has a deal. PSI (http://www.pennstateind.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PSI&Product_Code=E-10126&Category_Code=) I know it is a little off of what your asking, but heck it close and I get to chat with ya'll.

rick

[UO_Woody]

It's my personal opinion, and for me, a safety issue because of my failing eye sight. Guards, dust collection above the table is not an option. If the table is maintained, there should be NO dust coming above the table with adiquate dust colletion. (I am working on a design to suck directly from the blade on my 2424)

The cut is made with the downward stroke of the blade, putting the dust below table level. That's where it should be delt with. If you have rooster tails, then you need spend time and properly align blade/fence/miter gauge, period. Just my 2 cents.