Dust Collection for DeWalt Miter Saw

[lunchman]

This may not be of great interest here, particularly since the Kapex is known for its excellent dust collection, but a Kapex is not in my future plans. The DeWalt DW716 does what I need and I've used it either hooked up to a shop vac or use the bag that came with it. A lot of my cutting has been outside or in the garage and dust collection isn't this miter saw's strength. It's terrible at DC and spews sawdust everywhere.

Now that I've got a basement shop and a Jet Cyclone dust collector, I've proceeded to put Rockler Dust Right connectors on each tool and simply move the hose from one tool to another. The shop is too small for dedicated piping since the tools need to be moved around for use. So far, so good with collecting dust with the exception of the DeWalt which dumps sawdust everywhere. I don't have a miter saw station for it, so its set up on its portable stand.

In the past I've tried cardboard, foam, canvas, etc. to fabricate a dust collector for this saw, all resulting in failure. Not being one to give up and wanting a clean shop I came up with this a few days ago.  All made from leftovers from previous projects so no big deal if this turned out to be another failed experiment.

Stage 1:  A box of some sort behind, under and to the sides of the saw. The biggest issue in the past was how to attach something to the DeWalt. The angled sides are from some triangular leftovers from the basement closet project I built for my wife a few years ago.



Attached with wing nuts to the base of the saw -



Without having cut the hole for the DC port, the first test cut of a 2x4 resulted in a face full of dust, but that was to be expected. At least there wasn't a lot being dumped on the floor.

Stage 2: A trip to Rockler in Salem NH for some materials, rather than waiting for them to arrive by mail. I hadn't been to this store before and it's fun to browse. I did wind up buying some Bessey K clamps.

Cut the 4" diameter hole and install a Dust Right connector hooked up to the Jet. Here's a picture of the Dust Collector -



Much better results, but I'm still getting a circulation in the box and dust is escaping out the sides. The sides being angled are great for beveled and miter cuts but for the most part my cuts are at 90 degrees. What to do?

Stage 3: Add movable sides to make more of an enclosed space. Pulled forward and up to the fence -



and slid back if needed -



Stage 4: I'm still getting somewhat of a circulation at the top of the box, so I added this, which simply rests in place and is easily removed for angled cuts -



It resolves the issue of dust escaping out the top, so that was an easy fix. The center cutout allows the saw to be raised.

Future Plans: I'll see how the simple 4" port works. There's a lot of dust left in the box, but at least it's contained. I can either brush it towards the port or vacuum it out afterwards. I may opt to install this which I picked up at Rockler -



And that's it. A problem that has been plaguing me since purchasing this saw and for the most part solved. With the exception of the parts purchased at Rockler, all fabricated from scraps.

Thanks for checking out this post.

Regards,
-Dom

 

[RKA]

I would try to add a boot similar to what the kapex has right behind the blade.  If you can connect that to a dust extractor or vacuum as a primary means of collection, then use the JET on your box to collect anything that gets around the boot, I think you'll be in good shape.  The further the dust travels from the blade, the more it deflects and disperses.

 

[Cheese]

Along with what Raj is presenting, Fast Cap sells a “mustache” that could be used for the boot.

 

[lunchman]

Thanks guys. I'll look into the FastCap offerings.

In the past I've tried to attach some sort of a funnel behind the blade with hook & loop, never could get it to work. The saw has a small dust port that the bag attaches to but it's for the most part ineffective.

At least for now I'm not dumping sawdust all over my other tools and onto the shop floor.

I was somewhat surprised that DeWalt never offered some sort of option to improve dust collection on this saw, but their main goal is to sell products.

 

[lunchman]

You guys have provided some excellent ideas which I think will pay off.

As an experiment I taped cardboard to either side of the blade housing to create a tunnel and allow the sawdust to travel up the saw's 2 1/2" dust port. I then attached the Rockler small tool fitting to that port and fed the hose into an adapter seated in the 4" hole. I performed some test cuts; a minimal amount of dust was in the box, the majority was going to the extractor.

If I attach the FastCap Stache in the same manner that should work nicely (double sided tape or Velcro).

I'll switch to the larger plenum but rather than cutting a large rectangular opening, I'll add a small 2 1/2" one and feed the hose from the saw's dust port directly to it. I'll add a swivel cover over the existing 4" opening to direct the airflow to the smaller port. Using the larger plenum will allow me to still use one 4" hose to the Jet but the box will have an adjustable 4" hole and a dedicated 2 1/2" one.

I believe this will be successful. At least at this point it looks very promising.

Thanks for the welcome input. I'll update this thread with results.

-Dom

 

[Peter_C]

I have a Bosch that had it's dust collection greatly improved by adding a piece of flexible plastic, which is from patching material of a Zodiac I used to own. Hand bent a small piece of aluminum scrap to help the material keep it's shape, and of course duct tape is the attachment method. By adding something directly behind the blade it no longer sprays backwards hardly at all.

[attachimg=1]

 

[Bullterrier]

If the idea of creating a chimera appeals, the kapex boot and it’s plastic bracket are inexpensive spare parts...

 

[semenza]

That is basically how I had a miter saw boxed in (smaller box though) for 4" DC.  Due to running pipe under bench and behind drawers I ran the horizontal DC pipe into a heat register boot. That was attached in the bench top surface behind the saw to create a down draft. The shape of the boot gave a broader air stream and the collection was quite good. I did not have dust swirling back over the top. I also added a 90 degree elbow to the saws port to direct the dust down more than the normal deflector that came on the saw. This was set up with a non-slider though.

Sorry I don't have any pictures and can't take any because about two months ago I tore out the entire bench system along that particular shop wall to redesign / rebuild.

Seth

 

[lunchman]

Thanks all for the tips and pointers on resolving this nagging issue. I made the modifications this morning and I'd estimate that I'm now capturing 85-90% of the dust as opposed to the 0% when I started. Most is going to the DC, a little remains in the box, there's almost zero on the floor.

I drilled a 2 1/2" hole for the small tool port hose and installed the larger plenum. For the time being I blocked the 4" hole with plywood.



After a dozen or more cuts of a 2x4 this is the amount of dust on one side of the box -



The view of the fitting from above -



And what things look like underneath -



For now the cardboard affixed to the sides of the blade housing are effective. I ordered the Saw Stache last night, we'll see how it does once installed.

And as an added bonus I can use the small hose connected to the saw to vacuum out the box.

At least my tools behind the saw are staying clean and I'm not constantly sweeping or vacuuming the floor.

-Dom