Shark Guard & Dust fittings

[pelligrini]

I recently picked up a smaller dust collector and have been working out the connections to my saw, a 21829. I used to attach my shop vac to the 2 1/2 port on my guard. I tested out some different hoses & fittings and found that a 4" hose up to a 2 1/8" reducer got me the best flow at the guard. I didn't have this funnel fitting when testing. I was using a 4" to 2 1/2" quick fitting & a 2 1/4 to 2 1/4 fitting. I picked up a couple of the funnels and some other fittings Wed, but I haven't had time to try them yet. I'm planning to run two 4" hoses to the saw and use two of the funnel connectors. One at the back and the other on the guard. Those top hose will switch over to my router fence. I still need to make a detachable bottom enclosure for the router.

Would a Shark Guard with the 4" port work better? Is there a noticeable difference?

[steve-norrell]

I will have the same problem in a couple of weeks. A real DC will replace my ShopVac-based system and the issue of joining the 2-1/2" dust ports to the 4" DC hose has been bothering me. and

I understand the problems with using 2-1/2" stuff on a 4" system but wonder why most tools only have 2-1/2" ports. Even my DW-735, while accommodating a 4" hose, really has a 2-1/2 port. Why is the 4" hose so strongly recommended if it has to suck air through a 2-1/2" dust port?

And, pelligrini, thanks for the clue about the funnel fitting.

Regards, Steve

[LCHIEN]

I use two 4" hoses on my BT3000, one hooked to a reducer to the rear port and the second to a belly pan pictured in the thread linked below. The belly pan with the greater flow really keeps the inside of the saw spotless. I think I do need a guard hose because all the dust that escapes my saw seems to come from trim cuts and other cuts where it comes off the top. I'm thinking I need an overhead hose either connected to a separate shop vac (which seems like overkill) or to split the 4" hose coming to the back port into a second 2.5" hose for the guard.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ight=belly+pan

[JR]

On my SG I'm using 4" hose with a reducer located right at the SG port. The hose drops down from an overhead line of 4" pipe. I also swap this hose from BT fence to router fence.

I'm thinking of moving the reducer up to the pipe fitting, and changing over to 2-1/4" hose. The 4" hose is a little heavy and somewhat difficult to move out of the way. I don't think there is a lot of benefit of 4" vs 2-1/4" in my configuration.

JR

[pelligrini]

Steve- the way I understand it (and tested to confirm), is that the 4" hose will flow more efficiently. I think it had a lot to do with the turbulence created by the corrugations of the hose. I tested my 10' shop vac hoses and a couple 4" hoses. One was a rigid black one and the other was the rockler dust rite. The 4" configurations worked much better. It wasn't with a flow meter or anything, just my calibrated hand and ears.

I tried out another 4 to 2 1/2 fitting that came with the DC. It was one with the 2 1/2 port offset to the edge of the 4" port. It worked like a big whistle. I think the funnel type reducer would flow (and sound) better.

I'm not overly concerned with the below table collection. All my table saw cutting is done outside my little shop/shed. I used to just use a Ryobi bag on the saw port. It did pretty good by itself. With ZCTPs my focus is on above table collection. I have a 10x10 pop-up awning/shade that I hang the upper hoses from on bungee cords. A 10' hose will go to the DC or previous vac nearby.

I also hooked up the DC to my DW735 with the 4" rigid black one. I was really surprised when I ran some Honduran mahogany and red oak through. There was hardly any dust or chips left on the planer. That powered dust port works pretty well, but the DC made a big difference.

[pelligrini]

I'm thinking of moving the reducer up to the pipe fitting, and changing over to 2-1/4" hose. The 4" hose is a little heavy and somewhat difficult to move out of the way. I don't think there is a lot of benefit of 4" vs 2-1/4" in my configuration.

I also got a 10' length of a clear 4" hose from woodcraft the other day. That black hose wasn't nearly flexible enough. It would impeede the guard movement. That rockler dust rite hose was really flexible, but I didn't want to start cutting it up. I'll see how that new hose works. My DC is also just a 1HP Jet-650. I probably need to keep the ducting as efficient as possible.

[dbhost]

I have been experimenting with mine. So far the best results have been...

#1. 4" line feeding into a 4" x 4" x 2.5" Wye, the outgoing 4" side pulling from the belly pan, the 2.5" from the blade shroud / OEM port.
#2. Overhead 4" line, necked down to a 2.5" (okay 2.25") fitting to the Shark guard. Basically the secondary branch of the HF DC.

I believe the funnel type reducers would be FAR more efficient, and am planning on picking some up at Woodcraft when they get some more in stock. My local WC was out when I was there last... They didn't offer to order and hold for me like Rockler does, and I didn't ask (dummy).

The 4" SG still has to neck down once it hits the sides of the guard itself. you are still losing opening space. I think the 2.5" is fine, better than anything else I had seen except maybe an overarm guard with a full 4" fitting, but those do very little for safety, and actually seem to catch less material off the blade than a SG will...

I found this out the HARD way. Do NOT use your SG without a pickup, or at least blocking the port, it WILL shoot sawdust straight up into the air... (Please don't ask how I know this...)

Scary thing is... As often as I am using my DC and just leaving the shop vac off, I am considering selling my Thien separator lid, dust bin can, and shop vac sawdust collection system. I am only using the shop vac for actual vacuuming and pulling dust from sanders. Yeah the Thien will help with keeping the filter unplugged longer using a sander sure... but there is not much sense using up the space if I can just keep a second HEPA filter, wash one, use the other until the first one is dry, and simply swap around...

[poolhound]

I originally had a setup similar to Lorings with a hose going to the back of the BT and a belly pan. I had a plumbing T under the saw and took 2 1/2" from that to my SG. I found I wasnt getting enough suction and then switched to just connecting my shop vac to the SG as you can see in the picture.

Now I have my BT in its mobile base I did away with the belly pan. I do get some accumilation of dust down there but the CFM through the main port and SG does a pretty good job.

Other than having to hit 2 power switches and the extra noise of running the SV and DC this seems to be the best solution for me.

I try to always connect the SG port as 90% of the chips and dust come from the top of the table. Its one of the drawbacks of using a ZCTP as this limits the draw into the saw.

[Stytooner]

I have been experimenting with mine. So far the best results have been...



The 4" SG still has to neck down once it hits the sides of the guard itself. you are still losing opening space. I think the 2.5" is fine, better than anything else I had seen except maybe an overarm guard with a full 4" fitting, but those do very little for safety, and actually seem to catch less material off the blade than a SG will...

Though I do bend the dust ports, they still retain the same volume at the guard, The shape is changed of course.

The 4" pulls the full volume through the guard. This is why when using a 4" port, it is necessary to use a blast gate to keep from picking up small offcuts. It just sucks too much when fully open. Not bad for most cuts, but can be bad and damage the guard if allowed to get sucked up.
I have only had a few get damaged in this way. I have tried several different design changes to help prevent this in case the operator forgets to close the gate some.
I have ordered some steel screening now to try out. This will cover the dust port on the inside of the 4" guards and not give anywhere for the offcuts to go. It will reduce suction only minimally. Probably not even noticeable. I tried it with some plastic mesh and I liked the result, but needed to be stronger to last longer and take a hit if it has to.

I now also make narrow guards. These are 1.5" wide and a guy could rip 7/8" strips with it. It has a thinner dust port, but still 2.5" OD. I started making these for the Shop Smith's. I will get some better pics of those up on the site.
I also offer 3" dust ports. These fit on the 9.0 guards just like the 2.5" ones do.

Lots of things changing around here. I have finally hired a full time employee and he will start in a week.
Hopefully that will help with lead times and products I have available in the future.

[Tom Miller]

I've got no problem with dust collecting inside the housing of my BT3 -- I figure it's not hurting anybody there. Regarding the dust chute out the back -- Ryobi did a pretty good job in this part of the integral DC design, that it doesn't require a whole lot in the way of DC to capture what's already been collected. That being said, I happen to have a 4" line to this port, with a reducer right at the saw.

Where I'd like to do a better job collecting dust is at the shark guard. As you can see in the picture, I have 4" capability for this, but without a 4" port on the SG, it's kind of pointless. Haven't come up with the ultimate approach yet....





The two lines for my TS DC (shark & back port) connect over at the wall, within feet of the DC.

Regards,
Tom

[dbhost]

Great, because I would LOVE to have a new guard. I would love to try the 4" port...

I still have no idea what version mine is... And I never did bother posting the photos. Too many other things going on...