Miter Saw Dust Collection Considerations

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Some of you may recall that I recently swapped out the miter saw in my miter saw station. The old saw lasted 5 years before the slides developed too much slop to be trusted for a furniture saw. I still have it for construction-grade stuff like building a deck and such but I just don’t trust it for precise cuts. So out with the old and in with the new.

I finished the “new saw” video by saying I’ll tackle the dust collection wings another day. That day ended up being a few weeks ago. When I initially shot the footage for making the wings I said in the video that adding wings to a dust collection box for a miter saw will make dust collection at a miter saw flawless. That was my perspective from experience with my last saw in the same setup. Little did I know, the miter saw plays just as big of a role in dust collection as the dust collector does. In this video I show just that.

26 COMMENTS

  1. Fascinating bit of diagnosis. Too bad, as you’ve worked so hard to improve dust handling in the shop.

    Maybe it’s the YouTube compression or my cheap earbuds, but to me that saw also sounds a bit rough. Like the bearings could be smoother or something.

  2. What size dust collection pipe do you have running into the miter saw station? I’m about to plumb mine and not sure if I should keep a full 6” running into it or if I should drop down to 4”.

  3. I’ve got to say that you are definitely looking slim and trim, Jay. Keep up the great work in the shop.

  4. Great information! I think you need to consider consulting to the big manufacturers…you will help make products that are user and shop environment friendly.

  5. I really enjoy your ” Tool Review ” videos. they have helped me make good purchase decisions for my shop. I am on the verge of replacing my miter saw as well as my table saw. I am just a weekend woodworker who really only gets out to my shop during the winter months. I do have a radial arm saw set up for both cross cuts, and dado cuts when I need them so I am looking at 10inch non sliding miter saws. As for a table saw I currently use a Hitachi CF10L which is a bit big and unwieldy for moving around. I am considering the portable Metabo that Lowes currently has on sale. Both for Mobility, and for compact storage. I would be interested in your thoughts or anyone else’s.

    Thanks again for your great content, and hard work.

    Dave

  6. One day manufacturers will start taking dust collection on mitre saws seriously. They obviously don’t at the moment, and it is frustrating. You were one of the first makers I started following on YouTube quite a few years ago now Jay. I’ve followed and unfollowed many since. I’m still following you, and you’re still turning out high quality and interesting videos. Thanks. Oh, liking the new lean and mean Jay.

  7. Go back to the Ridgid. I love that 12″ miter saw. The only thing I wish it had is front mounted rails so it could sit closer to the wall.

  8. I agree with Louis Ross. I have been following you for many years and various shops! You videos are always informative and you are a very good teacher. Congratulations on the continued weight loss. Soon you will have to get together with Steve Ramsey – Wood Working for Mere Mortals. He to has lost a lot of weight and decided to run marathons. Not sure if the weight loss effected his thought process “marathons” ????

    Thanks for the great content and your editing. Awesome!!!!

  9. So what are you going to do about it?
    We know you Jay, your not going to just give up and leave it there. lol

  10. I purchased the 12 inch Dela Cruzer miter saw. It is very well built and has no sliding rails and you can put it almost against the wall, this is done with 2 Robotic arms . The arms can be locked in place just like the old style miter saws if needed.

  11. Jay have you thought of a zero clearance insert on your miter saw it could help with the dust going down inside the saw.

  12. Just a thought but instead of a key hole I bet some sort of magnet set up would be even easier to remove and put back on. Say a magnet strip on the station and a metal strip attached to the removable piece.

    • I mentioned in the video that the magnet system would be something else to buy and, in my opinion, not as easy to implement. It would work just fine, and it was even my goal for the panels. However, this was something I thought of on the fly and it works great. These are incredibly easy to install and remove.

  13. I completely understand the monitization aspect of keeping the videos on your website, but it just isn’t working for me. As a typical phone watcher, there is not a good method to access the videos with the same controls as the YouTube app. I hate that this is the o ly option and will unfortunately be missing out on your videos for the foreseeable future. This is not an anngry-I’m-unsubscribing comment but more that I am sorry YouTube is screwing you over financially. Thanks for all the great videos. Hopefully I can get caught up on the new ones sometime soon.

  14. Just a thought. Instead of your keyhole solution (or magnets) could you rout a slot in a couple of boards, one deeper than the other, and put them across the top and bottom, so that your wings will fit into them in the same way as a sliding door? (Ie, lift it into the top, deeper, slot, then let it drop down into the lower , shallower, slot.)

  15. I would like some plans for your mitre saw work bench… I looked through your great site, sorry for asking if it is already posted in an obvious spot, but I could not find any such plans. I grew up in Windsor so I love the Detroit sports paraphernalia you’ve got going on.

  16. I just built a miter saw stand from what was on hand that day. It scores a zero on the pretty meter. I built a box on top for dust collection. After leaving enough room to swing the saw and reach the various controls, dust collection was a failure. So I closed the front and top with sheets of rubber from old tractor inner tubes. I snugged the rubber to within an inch wherever possible. This left a small enough area so dust collection is way better than I hoped and I can still swing the saw and get my hands in to adjust stuff. Actually since this setup I seen no sawdust on the table after sawing.

    Since we’re talking about dust collection I hacked together a Thien Baffle in an existing trash can. Really, I was in a hurry and it shows, ok, it looks like I cut it out with an axe. The results were spectacular Here’s the plans http://www.jpthien.com/cy.htm. All credit to JP Thein.

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