Rousseau 4550 Down Drafter

[ksum]

The downdrafter that some use for dust collection with a miter saw is a Gold Box deal at Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0006FRAVQ/..._1ESGRKyEAall-
Good until the 24th if anyone is onterested.

Karl

[MBG]

I saw this a couple of days ago too. Still seems like a lot of cash for a piece of plastic. Plus storage would might be a problem. Maybe someone out there has used this and can give us a feel for how good it works.

[poolhound]

As you say thats a lot of cash for a piece of plastic. I cant imagine anybody who would have paid the full price of $220!!!

I drew out some plans for a hood for my CMS a while back but its way down the list to get built.

[ksum]

This also comes with the metal mobil base, so it is a little more than plastic. If you have a miter saw and a lathe, it could be useful.

Personally, for my saw, I have experimented with a piece of plywood angled down and back to deflect the sawdust toward the table. An angle of about 5-10 degrees from vertical works well. Add vertical "wings" on the side, about 6"-12" from the center to stop mitered cuts from blowing the dust off the sides. A 4" dust collector hose hooked up so the bottom of the opening is 1" below the underside of the saw's metal "table" seemed to work pretty good. The top of the hose was at about the table's top surface. That, in conjunction, with a small hose on the guard hook-up, worked very well. Dust was collected from under the cuts, off the back, and also from the guard hook-up. Anything left was minimal. It was just a mock-up with cardboard at the time, but the design will be incorporated into the permanent table/cart I am designing. I just need to figure out if I really need a mobile base or if I should make it part of the wall workbench (think counter top).

Karl

[MikeMcCoy]

I had one listed in the classifieds not long ago but it was listed primarily because of a lack of space more than anything else. It did a fairly good job with the fine dust on my miter saw and even better at the lathe. I wound up keeping the base to use with my Shark Guard when it arrives.

[poolhound]

This also comes with the metal mobil base, so it is a little more than plastic. If you have a miter saw and a lathe, it could be useful.

Personally, for my saw, I have experimented with a piece of plywood angled down and back to deflect the sawdust toward the table. An angle of about 5-10 degrees from vertical works well. Add vertical "wings" on the side, about 6"-12" from the center to stop mitered cuts from blowing the dust off the sides. A 4" dust collector hose hooked up so the bottom of the opening is 1" below the underside of the saw's metal "table" seemed to work pretty good. The top of the hose was at about the table's top surface. That, in conjunction, with a small hose on the guard hook-up, worked very well. Dust was collected from under the cuts, off the back, and also from the guard hook-up. Anything left was minimal. It was just a mock-up with cardboard at the time, but the design will be incorporated into the permanent table/cart I am designing. I just need to figure out if I really need a mobile base or if I should make it part of the wall workbench (think counter top).

Karl

Very similar to the design I came up with, I guess there are only so many variations on this theme. As I also wanted the hood to work when my saw is on the bench (very little room at rear) I was considering mounting the DC port on the side but not sure what effect it would have on performance. I may have to have to alternate ports one on each side to allow for the 45 degree cust in each direction.

[mclear6]

Could you take a plastic storage bucket and modify it so it does the same thing? You can buy a plastic storage bucket for about $6-8 that would do the trick, drill a hole in the bottom, stand it up (with out lid) and attach your dust collection hose. You probably modify a rolling support stand or a workmate to hold it up. A variation on a theme of frankenvac from last month or so.

You wouldn't have all of the aerodynamics of the down drafter, but with modifications, it could work.

[ksum]

Jon,

I may toy with putting the DC hookup coming up from the underside of the table for the same reason. Coming up at a 45 degree angle worked fairly well, but baffles to direct the airflow would have been useful in that scenario. If I come up from the underside, I'll end up with baffles. But since my DC piping will be coming across the ceiling, I am going to play with a 45 bend going down.

Karl

[ironhat]

With pics of everyone's solution this could be a good thread in the Tool Talk forum. It has already helped me with some ideas.