Jet Cabinet Saw - dust collection question

[David Henkemeyer]

I recently purchased a Jet 2HP cabinet saw, and I have a question about the dust collection capabilities. There are small gaps between the base of the saw and the cast iron top (I think some new saws are completely sealed now, but I'm not sure). The previous owner of the saw had tried to fill these gaps with newspaper, to make the inside of the saw more airtight. However, a firiend of mine mentioned that the dust collection may be more efficient if I removed the newpaper, to allow more draft coming in from the ouside. So which would be most effective in pulling the dust off of the blade inside of the saw -- an airtight cabinet, or a non-airtight cabinet to allow for some draft?

Are there any other tricks I can do to pull the dust off the blade so it doesn't shoot up into the air after coming back around again? My friend also mentioned that I could T off of my main DC line, and run a small hose mounted just under the blade inside of the cabinet. Would that help?

Any advice would be very appreciated!

Thanks, David

[BRuce]

Probaly not. the only way I have been able to capture the dust from the top is attaching a vacum or DC line to an overarm blade guard. that dust is carried above the wood you are cutting by the blade so all the suctionin the world will not capture it from underneath.

BRuce

David Henkemeyer wrote:

[Bob G]

- an airtight cabinet, or a non-airtight cabinet to allow for

================================== I was dumb enough to grab a roll of duct tape and seal my saw and the it honestly did not take me long to realize that the air flow was way way too restricted.... So I removed it then played with just sealing some of the areas trying to find the "perfect" balance....ANYHOW I ended up by removing ALL of the duct tape...

I run an Excalibur over head guard (old style) and plugged the hole at the rear of the guard and drilled a new hole in the side of the front of the guard to hold a small diameter (1 1/2" ??) shop vac hose...I placed a small shop vac in an enclosed box on my ceiling out of the way and the hose hangs down and attachs to the guard so nothing is ever in my way...

It works fine... I did talk to a rep from Excalibur at a woodshow years ago and he swore up and down the collection point should be at the rear of the guard....to which all I cauld do is tell him mine works much much better in the front...

My Jet is a JCS-10 (2Hp) purchased new in the late 80's ...with a 52 in Bies Fence system direct from the factory... It has been absolutely trouble free and it gets a lot of use... The 2 Hp works well but there have been times (not many however) when I wished it were a 3 Hp saw...

Bob Griffiths

[Specter]

David.

I use a similar saw from General International (the model 50-200). I found a great way to reduce sawdust coming off the blade. I use a zero clearance insert and have drilled a couple of holes (3/4"?) just in front of, and slightly offset to the left of, the blade. With this set-up, dust coming off the blade follows a straight line down into the cabinet and on to the dust collection port. I was surprised at how well this simple fix worked.

Rob

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"David Henkemeyer" wrote ...