# Radial Arm Saw Dust Collection



## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Radial Arm Saw Dust Collection

I know that Radial Arm saws are not in favor these days , but what can I say I cut my teeth on these saws and have my old Craftsman set up for cross cutting. I use it for just that purpose, no angles or ripping. The saw is known for making lots of saw dust and it piles up in the most inconvenient place, behind the saw.

I rigged up a dust collection box behind the blade that the blade is buried in when not in use. The dust collector 6" duct is attached to the top of the box, the front of the box is the fence. Then I made a ZC insert for the blade that slides in and out of the table to the front with a dado under where the saw blade cuts that extends back to the DC box. This system works 98% to remove the saw dust, and the ZC is replaceable.

Herb


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Thanks to whomever corrected the title, I tried after I entered it, but could not do it. 
Herb


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Very ingenious, Herb...I'm a RAS fan and love seeing new ways to solve dust collection....d


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Nickp said:


> Very ingenious, Herb...I'm a RAS fan and love seeing new ways to solve dust collection....d


Nick this works very well there is no sawdust at all that comes out of the blade guard outlet.
The DC is pulling air into the length of the saw cut and thru the dado which is open ended, I put additions holes in the end of the box to increase the air flow.

Herb


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## DesertRatTom (Jul 3, 2012)

Nice solution. Don't have one, but I like the approach.


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## hawkeye10 (Jul 28, 2015)

Herb Stoops said:


> Radial Arm Saw Dust Collection
> 
> I know that Radial Arm saws are not in favor these days , but what can I say I cut my teeth on these saws and have my old Craftsman set up for cross cutting. I use it for just that purpose, no angles or ripping. The saw is known for making lots of saw dust and it piles up in the most inconvenient place, behind the saw.
> 
> ...


Those pictures bring a lot of bad memories back. My Craftsman RAS was a real pain to keep adjusted and very hard to adjust. You are right about it being good about spraying dust everywhere. I am so happy yours is a better saw than what I had and you solved the dust problem.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> Nick this works very well there is no sawdust at all that comes out of the blade guard outlet.
> The DC is pulling air into the length of the saw cut and thru the dado which is open ended, I put additions holes in the end of the box to increase the air flow.
> 
> Herb


Good point, Herb...I normally put the vacuum on the blade guard connection...works ok but it misses what the blade spits before the guard captures it. Your solution will take care of that. I need a new table anyway...LOL...


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## woodworker47 (Dec 19, 2008)

I have been using a Craftsman Radial Arm Saw for years and hardly ever have to make adjustments. It is very accurate on 90 degree cross cuts and can manage wider boards that the Dewalt chop saw. I have a hood behind the blade and dust hose on the blade guard. I think that Herb’s method is more effective. By the way I just sold a friends Craftsman Electronic RAS for $350 Was totally suprised I got the price, but it included a cabinet, extra blade and a replacement blade guard. There are still a few people besides Herb and I that like the RAS!

Frank


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## BattleRidge (Dec 19, 2017)

I went a little different in my RAS dust collection and it made a remarkable difference. Whereas before I would have sawdust everywhere, particularly on the wall behind the saw and all over the floor and work surface, I have had very little (if any) accumulation since building the collector, often requiring just an occasional simple brushing from the front of the fence. 

I use my saw for both crosscutting and miter cuts so needed to collect from different directions which required a more open concept. The shield is a few pieces of plywood glued and brad-nailed together and fastened to the upright support. I fastened an adapter at the bottom which is connected to a 2hp Grizzly G0548Z dust collector. 

Please disregard the blade that is on the saw and it looks pretty rough (which it is). When processing reclaimed lumber, I will often clean and remove rotted, nail-filled or otherwise unusable ends and sections, and I use an old worn blade in the event I miss any nails or other items that would cause damage to a more expensive blade.

The dado cut beneath the table on your unit is quite impressive Herb, and keeping the sawdust contained like that would have definite advantages. I still favor the RAS in my shop also and it plays an active role in much of my workings.


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## Biagio (Mar 2, 2013)

Gents, very glad to see these ideas - have been wrestling with this very problem for years. Have had a DeWalt RAS for 40 years, and the dust is still in my ceiling lumber stacks. 

At the outset I bought a wire-and-plastic-sheeting contraption sold by deWalt - it did not work or last. Then I made a plywood and laminate large hood - kept some of the dust at the back of the table, but although large - did not prevent the dust plume from contaminating the air. Cut an aperture at the back of the hood, in line with the blade, made a box at the back with a sloped back wall, dropping down to a removable bin - the bin fills up quite quickly, but the plume remains defiant. Added suction to the outlet on the blade shroud - helps a lot in ripping, not much in crosscuts.

As this is my primary tool, I use it for all cuts except breaking down boards. So I was thinking of a catcher that swivels with the saw, but this will be finicky, especially as it will have to clear the fence in crosscuts, and have to be in front of the carriage in in-rip and out-rip positions - way beyond my level of inventiveness. I am a shrink, not an engineer.

Since most of my cuts are crosscuts, I think I will steal Art and Herb's ideas. After seeing Doug's table in another post, I realised how inadequate my setup is - due for an upgrade.


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## Oakwerks (May 9, 2013)

Herb Stoops said:


> Radial Arm Saw Dust Collection
> 
> I know that Radial Arm saws are not in favor these days , but what can I say I cut my teeth on these saws and have my old Craftsman set up for cross cutting. I use it for just that purpose, no angles or ripping. The saw is known for making lots of saw dust and it piles up in the most inconvenient place, behind the saw.
> 
> ...


Did the same thing with mine a while ago, but yours is a lot more thought out than mine ....


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Gees...I don't feel alone any more knowing there are more than me still using a RAS. I do have a 12" DW Sliding Miter Saw under the bench that I use outside on saw horses for big miter cutting. It just has too much travel forward and back for the shop. If I was to set up a SMS in the shop I would buy the Bosch with the articulating arm. 
Hey, I like all you guys ideas, I too fought the saw dust problem for years. Also like that newer Electronic saw, the old WWII Dewalts were the ones I started out on, and used them for years on the job sites, they were real workhorses. I picked this one up off Craigs list for $35 years ago and I use it on every project. It is so handy to just walk over turn on and wack the end off a board, with that 80t Freud blade it gives a glass smooth crosscut.
Herb


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Go ras...!!!!


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## Oakwerks (May 9, 2013)

Herb Stoops said:


> Gees...I don't feel alone any more knowing there are more than me still using a RAS. I do have a 12" DW Sliding Miter Saw under the bench that I use outside on saw horses for big miter cutting. It just has too much travel forward and back for the shop. If I was to set up a SMS in the shop I would buy the Bosch with the articulating arm.
> Hey, I like all you guys ideas, I too fought the saw dust problem for years. Also like that newer Electronic saw, the old WWII Dewalts were the ones I started out on, and used them for years on the job sites, they were real workhorses. I picked this one up off Craigs list for $35 years ago and I use it on every project. It is so handy to just walk over turn on and wack the end off a board, with that 80t Freud blade it gives a glass smooth crosscut.
> Herb


I bought mine new from Sears around 1990 .....$288 on sale .....
They sent me an upgraded blade guard a few years ago, but was too combersome 
to use ..... It also came with a new high density table to replace
the particle board original.....
I have a DeWalt chop saw, but rarely use it .... The RAS is my go-to saw
for cross cuts ....


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

A million years ago when I installed hardwood floors in my house there were occasions where I needed to tounge n groove some boards...

I aligned the RAS on it's side and sliced away...end cuts and along the lengths...

Not all boards were finished as I bought the wood from a saw mill...

RAS worked flawlessly...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Nickp said:


> A million years ago when I installed hardwood floors in my house there were occasions where I needed to tounge n groove some boards...
> 
> I aligned the RAS on it's side and sliced away...end cuts and along the lengths...
> 
> ...


Do you know a guy named Stick? he is that old too.


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## Nickp (Dec 4, 2012)

Herb Stoops said:


> Do you know a guy named Stick? he is that old too.


Yes...but @Stick486 is sooooooooo much older than me...

In fact, when he started the Big Bang, it was him blowing up the first RAS...he thought he got rid of all of them...


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## Biagio (Mar 2, 2013)

Nickp said:


> A million years ago when I installed hardwood floors in my house there were occasions where I needed to tounge n groove some boards...
> 
> I aligned the RAS on it's side and sliced away...end cuts and along the lengths...
> 
> ...


I still have a moulding head that accepted sets of three knives in various profiles, one of which was T&G. Haven’t used it since I got my first router. Even bought the DeWalt moulding guard, which was designed for use with the motor axis in vertical plane.


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## CharleyL (Feb 28, 2009)

While surfing the internet recently I saw a diy dust collection method for a miter saw or RAS and I liked it, but I didn't save the picture. The guy had built a box behind the saw with two sliding doors on the front side of it. He just moved the two doors each time that he changed the saw angle, so the gap between the two sliding doors was as narrow as possible and in line with the blade, to keep the velocity of the air going through it high enough to catch the saw dust.

Some day I'll build one of these for my miter saw. Until then, the saw dust will continue to hit the wall behind my saw.

Charley


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