Unisaw & Dust collection

Re: Unisaw & Dust collection

Hugh Hollis

>Better, but not dust free. It pays to duct-tape all apparent openings to improve downdraft, but some amount of dust will still be thrown out at blade and onto table. Good luck.

Re: Unisaw & Dust collection *LINK*

Garrett in Victoria BC

>As Hugh indicated, all saws throw dust above the table off the blade, but that is minimized if you use the Delta blade guard.

The Unisaw cabinet - at least the one on my 20 year old saw - isn't well set up for a DC but can be easily modified to suit the take-off direction required.

For my original set-up, I needed to come off the outfeed side of the cabinet, so I used a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade to cut an opening in the cabinet, and attached a 6" HVAC boot to it. When I turned the saw around, I had to came off the right side, and therefore, also had to alter the cabinet, a fairly simple matter of removing some nuts and bolts. (Hopefully, newer saws will have eliminated this requirement.)

You can get a lot of info on dust collection and connections - including yet another one on my Unisaw that incorporates a router - at the link below.

Cheers, Garrett


Garrett's Cyclone Article

Re: Unisaw & Dust collection

Barry Irby

>I too, have a Rockwell contrators saw and I have added dust collection. I made a chute that took the place fo the "half chute?" or dust guide that came in the saw. Visualize a cereal box about 12" x 2" that comes up around the blade. At the bottom is a End Boot from a metal duct supplier. A four inch DC pipe comes out the front of the saw and I have a blast gate there that turns the DC on.

This works about 98% under the table. I just added brushes that hang down under the table insert that close the gap between the under side of the table/insert. The brushes seem to have improved the pick up considerably.

I do not have an Over the Blade pickup, but I am considering it.

There are at least two concepts you can try.

Put a tray under the cabinet of the TS and hook the largest possible pipe from your DC to it. Do what you can to close off the openings in the back of the cabinet. Depend on huge air volume to collect as much dust as possible.

Or go the way I did and try to get an enclosure around the blade and as close to it as you can and capture the dust at its source. You would still need to have an Over the Blade pick up.

I have a lot of head scratching time in mine and built two or three cardboard mock-ups and then still screwed up the first metal one and rebuilt it. Made it out of sheet metal from Lowes. I should be very happy with mine, but I had outrageous expectations, thinking that the shop would just remain clean. NOT! OTOH, I just moved two huge bags of dust up the hill into the woods. In the before DC days, I would ahve inhaled half of it and had to vac and sweep the other half and haul it out. This is hugely better.

I would like to find some of those "hula skirt" brushes I see on tractor trailers. I think they would be great for the back of the cabinet of the saw and other stuff confining dust.

Or, you could buy a cabinet saw.

Re: Unisaw & Dust collection

Larry in NW Ohio

>Barry Here`s a look at my setup with the "hula-skrit" fitting. It works VERY well. Larry in NW OHIO

Re: Unisaw & Dust collection

carl

>Hi,I have a contractors saw,and for dust collection i closed in all the openings and have 4"hose to the DC but do not have top collection,so i sratched my head a bit more and came up with the idea of drilling a series of 3/8th holes into the 0 clearance insert now when the dust collects on top of saw i wait till blade stops and brush the dust into or near the holes and the DC carries it away.Not ideal but at least it helps keep things neat till i spring for overhead collection. Carl

Re: Unisaw & Dust collection

Glenn Madsen near San Francisco

>The blade throws dust wherever it wants to go, just like your contractors saw. It's still a good upgrade, but your shop isn't going to be operating room clean because you bought a Unisaw.

So what? Most pro shops I've seen aren't all that dust free either, until they run the cleaners, and sweep everything up afterwards. And no one seems terribly upset about it, either. Nice work still gets done.

I worried about my saw, until I noticed how much dust the handheld routers, sanders, saws and planes dumped into the air and onto the floor. I clean before and after, but not too carefully, and just get the work done.

Or were you looking for an excuse to buy the saw?

Where did you get those brushes?

Barry Irby

>And I want some of the ones you see on the backs of trucks that appear to be aobut eight inches long.

Re: Unisaw & Dust collection

Bruce Wrenn

>Barry, FWW #145, Dec 2000 has an article on dust-proofing a contractor saw. There is a drawing of piece of plywood for back, including half moons for belts/ motor mounts.