# Dust collection... for the mitre saw..



## degoose

From the last post you will be aware that I have built a Hood for my 12 inch Hitachi…

Basically this is a box made from 1/2 inch MDF….that sits behind the saw and catches any saw dust that is not directed to the 2 1/2 inch hose attached to the saw itself… where the bag is usually.









This hose is run through the back of the box and via a reducer connected to the 4 inch ducting system…

At the back of the box is a small plenum chamber with baffles…and a connector…









The angled baffles are cut to suit…









and then glued together… this box will fit behind the main hood.. there is a small gap left when the main hood is sat on the bench… dust is sucked through this slit…









This system was designed to allow the saw to pivot both ways to 45 degrees….


















and a behind the scenes shot…









This system works extremely well … catching and collecting nearly 95% of the dust….I am happy with this… just a quick blow with some compressed air moves the dust that drops behind the saw towards the slit…and the last bit is sucked up as well.

I got the original idea here... thanks Blankman… I did however make a few changes… don't we all…


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## JoeLyddon

Nice…


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## Dusty56

Very nice ideas , Larry : )


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## Rick Dennington

Stellar job, Larry on the dust hood. I built one for my m.s. several years ago, but it doesn't work very good..

I think I may to need to re-think it and start over again, now that I've seen yours….thanks for posting…


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## NBeener

Now THAT … is how it's done !

Very nice !

Kept thinking, last night, about using your DC plumbing system as a gym for guinea pigs … if you unplugged the DC.

But wouldn't that be cool ?? You and a few mates … drinking a few beers … and just watching Fluffy recon the whole system ?


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## SASmith

Great idea. I need this setup on my RAS. Thanks for sharing this setup. 
Now thanks to NBeener I need a guinea pig. They unplug clogs don't they?

Scott


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## jbertelson

Good looking system…......little bleary eyed after working all day…......have to come back and look serious tomorrow.


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## KentS

Simple, but effective! (Unfortunately, I can't do anything simple-huh?)


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## jbertelson

I have to revamp my radial arm saw DC soon, a fairly easy thing to do. I will be buying a miter saw for our vacation house, however, and I may plagarize you to collect the dust.

Thanks Larry.


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## richgreer

Let me share my design. The major difference is that mine has a cavity below the the miter saw level and my DC is connected at the bottom. That creates a good downdraft that captures a lot of the dust.

If I don't have the DC on, I can literally see the dust escaping into the shop. With the DC running, I see very little dust escaping.

On the inside of the lower portion of the collection box the sides are beveled in to the center. I think that helps.


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## degoose

Rich,Your ideas certainly make a lot of sense.. thanks for sharing..
Jim, go for it…


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## devann

Here ya go Larry, my take on it. Made from FRP and angle metal used for drop ceilings


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## stefang

Looks like a good solution Larry. Personally I find that the direct hook up to my own saw hardly catches anything at all, but the hood works well. Your set up with the hose mounted in the back looks very effective.


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## Dustmite97

This is something I have always had a big problem with. I use a plastic dust hood now and it does work really good but I think that your set up is the way to go.


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## dbhost

That's a project I need to tackle soon! Do you have any problems sliding the saw?


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## rance

How about a simple umbrella at the back?


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## ferstler

I use my Ridgid 12-inch slider outdoors, rolled on a home-built stand onto a work-deck in front of my workshop. Normally, dust would not be a problem outdoors, at least at my place, since I have a "natural" wooded yard and sawdust can be scattered and not cause problems. I also have a smaller 10-inch, non-sliding miter saw and it has no problem with dust at all. Its built-in dust scoop just funnels the dust nicely out into the wooded area, with little blowback or build up.

However, sliders are inherently dusty, due to the need for the carriage to pass over the work piece without touching it. A fixed scoop just causes problems. Consequently, even with a vacuum attachment pulling hard, dust gets all over the machine and could lead to clogging problems down the line. So, I added a quickly removable deflector at the entry to the dust port. It is just long enough to clear a 1.5-inch thick board during 90-degree slide cuts, and if a thicker board is going to be cut or I am going to do a bevel cut I can remove the deflector (there is a screw and wingnut holding it in place, working through a hole I drilled in the dust channel) and substitute a shorter one, or remove the deflector completely.

Dust still gets onto things somewhat, but not like before and at least now most of it gets sucked into my dust extractor and is blown far out into the wooded area. This is not a solution for inside of a shop, and a big dust hood looks like an additional solution for those areas. But a deflector plate does help keep dust from piling up and sticking against the back area of the saw.

Note: when I use my planers I lay down a tarp to catch the huge amount of stuff they spew out via the dust collector machine, and then fold the tarp and discard the particles properly. Even a wooded area has its dust-holding limits.

Howard Ferstler


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