# DIY table saw overhead dust collection - show me yours



## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

and what you like/dislike about it.

I'm planning to come off 6" ducting and using my existing DC.

I want it to be retractable, not attached to the saw.


----------



## tvrgeek (Nov 19, 2013)

Have not built one yet. I like the counterweighted pivot from an overhead. That is my plan. 
For ideas, look at the Harvey design, Horribly expensive, but some ideas. 
I was also thinking about putting a bright light in it. 
I want to move it side to side so I can rip close to the fence and get a push stick in there. 
Pay attention to the flair at the input to the hose. A square edge cuts down the effective diameter of the hose quite a lot. Even a 1/2 radius gets you close.

My first step is to add covers with the hose connection to my crosscut sleds. But they are not as big a problem as ripping. I have other concepts to force the dust from the gullets before it comes back up, but no time to test them yet.


----------



## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

The first one I built was a Badger Pond model, and while I really liked the design of the basket I wasn't clever enough to come up with a way to suspend that I liked. All my ideas had it in the way if I used my tenoning jig. So I gave up on it and bought a Shark Guard which could be set aside on the saw when using the tenoning jig. This story goes on, but i'll stop there to say consider the Badger Pond (I have the PDF file if you need it). Here's a pic of the one I built.


----------



## HerringImpaired (Mar 13, 2019)

This is how I did mine…. 4" PVC mounted on the ceiling with a reducer for 4" to 2.5", and then a 4" to the tablesaw on the back. Works great for me…..
A disconnect allows me to unhook the guard, and hang the hose up and out of the way. One simple clamp lets me lift off the shark guard in seconds.


----------



## fivecodys (Dec 2, 2013)

I also have the SharkGuard coming off of 5" ducting reducing to 4".










It works pretty good and is easily removed.
I have 2 drops off the main. One 5" for the bottom of the saw, and one 4" for the Shark Guard.

I played around with the idea of a retractable guard that would raise up and out of the way but my shop shares it's space with the wifes car and I just couldn't get the clearance I needed.

Good luck with your project.


----------



## SuperCubber (Feb 23, 2012)

Just posted this yesterday:

https://www.lumberjocks.com/projects/420938


----------



## MPython (Nov 30, 2018)

Excalibur used to make a bracket for their blade guard that allowed for suspending the it from the ceiing rather than using the long tube anchored to the end of the saw table. I never liked the big tube so I bought the celing mount, and it has worked well for me.










I can raise the guard up out of the way:










Or remove it alltoghther:










Here is the back side of the bracket. My set-up allows about 10" of lateral adjustment and provides a place to mount a task light which really comes in handy:










One of the things I like best about the set-up is that I can quickly reconfigure the DC hose and the task light to service my router table extension. It works great.


----------



## gbarnas (Sep 25, 2021)

Penn State Industries has a floor mount saw guard/dust hood for $160. I cut the pipe that extends over the saw (slightly) and bolted the floor bracket to a piece of 3/4 ply, then screwed that to the ceiling joists. I used the braces to another block screwed to the ceiling joists. It works very well, included all the necessary parts at a reasonable price, and kept all sides of the saw free once it was mounted from the ceiling. I added two small "L" brackets for a convenient place to hang my face shield and hearing protection, and glued magnets to the push blocks and stick so they're always in easy reach yet out of the way.

https://www.pennstateind.com/store/TSGUARD.html

The only complaint I have is that the dust hood connects to the frame with a piece of 1/8" Plexiglas. This is designed to break if the piece you're cutting kicks back. The Plexi is thin and causes the hood to sag slightly to one side. I would add thin strips where the screws go to add a bit of stiffness without affecting its ability to break free.


----------



## hcbph_1 (Apr 11, 2020)

I have built multiple guards for the table saw and shaper in the past. This is the last and most successful one.

















I designed it like an erector set so it can be put together many different ways.

You can swap out the blade guard and a bunch of other things


----------

