Best Place for Dust Port on Bandsaw?

[-MIKE-]

I want to put a dust port on this wonderful Jet JBS-14mw.

Where's the best place to put a dust port? I know I can look at pictures of other saws, but sometimes the wrong engineers decide that. Like the guy responsible for making sure the case can be stamped out in one pressing decides the port should be moved from the most efficient location to a horrible spot.

My first clue is the pile of sawdust right underneath where the blade is doing it's cutting. This thing doesn't "seal up" at all when the doors close, so I don't think I can reply on vacuum pressure inside the machine to move the dust very far. (Yeah, sounds like I answered my own question, I know.)

I don't have a problem with cutting a hole in its heavy cast-metal(*?) casing. I've already drilled a tapped a few holes in it and it seems pretty strong.

*I don't think it's iron, but it is very heavy and magnetic (ferrous?).

[MikeWhy]

The dust port on my Delta is right under the lower guides. It's an older BS, '97 or so, a previous generation of build and features. It gets I'd say 90% or better of the dust with a small shop vac. The DC pulls too much air through the 1" port, making ti shriek and howl. Without the shop vac, the air in the whole area looks to reach combustible levels of dust. Who would've thought it? The other place I would consider is the opposite "corner" of the bottom wheel guard, at the bottom rear by the hinge. It should pull enough air past the lower guides to sweep the dust toward itself, and also catch whatever made it past. Come to think of it, I think I'll "fix" mine by putting a 2 1/2" port there.

[Jim Behning]

On my even older bandsaw I drill a 4" hole in the lower cover about where the blade starts to make its turn. I got a 90 degree 4 inch plastic port to attach to the dust collector. It works pretty well.

[Steve Turner]

In general, you want to collect dust as close to the source of its creation as possible. Some kind of shroud directly underneath the table in the vicinity of the bottom guide bearings is going to be the most effective location.

[mac davis]

Damn good question, and you're going to get a lot of different answers..

I have the Ridgid and it comes with a tiny little port in the top of the bottom wheel cover, kind of under the blade.. It doesn't suck, which in this case is a bad thing..

I did the 4" hole in the bottom wheel cover door, and it helped a lot, but mostly by keeping the saw dust from building up in the lower wheel area.. I also put duct tape over the old DC port and around the seam where the lower door meets the frame.. Not a lot of help in the "general dust" problem, though..

I ended up using a 4" Y and adding a 2nd DC port, which works well but looks really funky.. It's a small cardboard box with a 4" hole in the back for the hose and a rare earth magnet to hold it to whatever part of the saw I need it on, as close to the lower blade guides as I can get it.. That's made a huge difference..

OH! Almost forgot... If you use the hole-in-the-door thing, don't use a zero clearance plate unless you really need to.. As was pointed out here a few years ago, it sort of defeats the purpose of trying to create a vacuum in the lower clamshell... YMWV

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[Jim Behning]

[-MIKE-]

The doors (I can call them that, now) on this don't seal at all. There is a good gap around the entire circumference.

I think I'd prefer to not put the hole in the door, since I'm going for the most efficient blade change. That's one more thing to disconnect and connect. I know, it's just slipping a hose on and off, but if I can accomplish it, then why not?

The more I think about it, I'm wondering if I can connect a nozzle to the bottom of the table, right beside the zero clearance insert hole. That would keep the dust from piling up on the lower guides.

Since I'm using a shop vac, I could go with an 1-1/4 hose. It gets everything my router can dish out.

[Leon]

Regardless of where you add a port, I think you are always going to end up having to open the saw up after use and vacuum out some areas, and the table top will probably always have some dust. If the DC gets 95% you will be doing good. I have only witnessed a few tools that dust collection has worked with

99.99% effectiveness. My DC hooked up to my Delta stationary planer, My Festool vac hooked up to my Domino and both Festool Sanders, Ah, one more, My Festool Vac hooked up to my Kreg Pocket Hole jig.

My Laguna has the port on the bottom back side centered under the blade as it goes back up to the top wheel. with any band saw, if you don't get it all immediately after the cut the dust is going to be "fanned" by both upper and lower wheels and you will end up with a little bit every where.

[-MIKE-]

I'd be happy with 90 percent. :-)

[mac davis]

I think you also have the (added factor?) sawdust on the blade carried around and dropped on the table, as well as some on the guides..

Not sure what the difference is, but when I widened the slot on my insert (not intentionally, unfortunately) the dust got sucked off the blade area better..

mac

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[LEGEND65]

I put some weatherstripping around the edge of the door which allows it to seal for at least the bottom 3/4s of the wheel, the top is wide open.

I use a shop vac hooked up through a 2-1/2 pipe network. To the band saw it goes to a Y, with one side going to just under the blade and the other going to the back of the lower wheel housing. I found that with just under the blade enough dust was still going through and coming back out again at the back side of the wheel and still going everywhere to be annoying. The hookup on the wheel doesn't prevent the lower wheel area from filling up with dust, but it does prevent anything from coming out. The hose under the table is held in place with a few magnets. I don't have to take the other hose off the housing for blade changes.

-Kevin