Any Sawstop owners out there?

[dheisner]

Ya' gotta' hate that kickback! 

My leg was saved by my PalmPilot when I had a piece fly back and hit me in the pants pocket.  That experience totally changed the way I work!  I made a cutoff sled for my tablesaw that eliminated most chances having projectiles fly my way.  I NEVER stand in the line of fire, no matter what I am cutting.  I always use a push stick and frequently put a hold down on the fence to keep the piece from jumping up.  I frequently rip short pieces on the bandsaw. 

It only takes one accident to change your work habits. 

I don't know if I could justify the Sawstop, but I guess one trip to the ER will pay for the difference, so maybe it's better to spend the money on the front end.

My two cents.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Unfortunately, I do not have my CT hooked up to the bandsaw.  That's the one minus of the saw -- dust!  I have tried several different ways to control the dust from the bandsaw, but it seems no matter what I do it is rather inefficient.  I'd be very interested to hear from others what they do to control bandsaw dust in their shops.

Matt

Matt,

I have a ShopSmith 11" bandsaw on a dedicated stand with a 3/4 HP motor, and no factory provision for dust collection.  I have done a good bit of resawing on it to make hard maple and cherry T&G panel inserts for furniture.  Max. resaw capacity is just under 6".  Any resawing generates a lot of sawdust.  My solution was to cut a hole in the backside of the housing slightly below the table and to install with screws a flanged 2 1/2" DC fitting which fits standard USA 2 1/2" shop vac hoses (and the vacuum end fitting of Festool's hoses), and to hook up my shop vacuum to this new DC port.  I estimate it to be around 80% efficient, but importantly, it captures most of the finer sawdust.  Today I couple my Oneida Dust Deputy (mini-cyclone) between the bandsaw and the vacuum. 

Dave R.

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Dave,

Thanks for the tip.  The bandsaw, as I have mentioned before, is one of my absolute favorite tools.  My only problem is dust control.  With all my Festool tools, dust is no longer an issue.  With my router table, I have very good dust control most of the time.  But I haven't done enough to control dust from my bandsaw.  Sometimes, it's not terrible, but with certain woods, like padauk (like this mirror project), the dust is especially noxious.  My shop doesn't have enough room for a good-size dust collector, but maybe your suggestion would work for me.

Thanks again,
Matthew