# Miter saw hookup.



## ryan50hrl

So my 12 inch miter saw has the 2.5 inch port on the back to hook up to dust collection, it came with a bag that regularly filled up when in use. My question is how effective will that port be when connected to a dust collector? Should I disregard that port and build a bigger hood for it?


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## Fred Hargis

It didn't do very well on mine. The miter saw is the one tool I completely gave up on as far as DC is concerned. It may depend on what brand you have. Mine's a Dewalt.


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## burkhome

ryan50hrl said:


> So my 12 inch miter saw has the 2.5 inch port on the back to hook up to dust collection, it came with a bag that regularly filled up when in use. My question is how effective will that port be when connected to a dust collector? Should I disregard that port and build a bigger hood for it?


 I used both. Works pretty well.


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## burkhome

Sorry, I was attempting to attach a picture but my computer is really fighting me today.


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## Dave Paine

I have the Bosch Glider and although the design for dust collection is much improved, having a rubber boot etc. be prepared that even with a good shop vac attached to the dust port, there is still going to be a lot of dust thrown around. It seems to be the nature of the beast.

Burkhome has a good idea having the back panels to try and capture most of the dust which does not go into the dust port.


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## dgoodyear

A miter saw is a hard one. Dust goes everywhere. I have mine on a downdraft table with a cutout that drafts down (1000 CFM) right behind the saw. The port is hooked up to a vacuum. Small ports that are 2.5 inch or less operate better with the static pressure ranges offered by a shop vac.


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## woodnthings

*I agree*



dgoodyear said:


> A miter saw is a hard one. Dust goes everywhere. I have mine on a downdraft table with a cutout that drafts down (1000 CFM) right behind the saw. The port is hooked up to a vacuum. *Small ports that are 2.5 inch or less operate better with the static pressure ranges offered by a shop vac*.


A shop vac has a higher velocity air stream with less volume and that's what works best for me coming off a saw blade or 
router cutter. The Dust collector works best for me on a planer or jointer where the chips are large. My table saw has a 4" DC port below the table but I also use a blade cover hooked to a shop vac. I don't like having saw dust spit back into my face and eyes. 

The best miter saw dust collector I've seen here belongs to GregL and it's a large (about 36") semi-circle of clear plexi about 24" tall, so no matter where you angle the saw it catches the dust in a 4" port located at the back. I may be able to find the photo....

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/show-us-your-shop-73/index20/#post88002


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## GeorgeC

There is no way to collect all the dust from a miter saw. The pictures below show what I have done. I probably collect 80% to 90% of the dust with this home built hood. Notice, looks is not one of my criteria. It is built of what I has in scrap.


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## JoeNY

I have mine set-up with a 2" hose on the blade bag port and a 5" to 8" bell shaped collector underneath connected to my 6" main line on my 3hp Oneida - it does a very good job of getting the sawdust.


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## bondfan

I'm going to adapt my miter saw cover to allow it to be mounted 90 degrees at the back, with a 4" fitting for a vacuum system. Seems like there is a lot of interest in collecting dust from these saws.


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## Lynden

This is what I plan to do to my miter saw.

http://www.forums.woodnet.net/ubbth...=&Number=3665461&page=3&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=


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## toolguy1000

that's one of the best miter saw dust collection applications i've ever seen.


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## jharris2

That setup is fantastic. Thanks for posting it here.

Unfortunately my shop is small and my MS station is up against the wall leaving no room behind it.

Now that I think about it, I might be able to attach the dust funnel directly to the wall and figure out how to run a DC hose from the bottom.

Hmmm... something to think about.

Thanks for posting this.


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## WWWorker

Nice work Tool Guy.... I need to do that set up in my shop


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## JoeNY

Mine works really well. I have the 2" hose from the 6" dust collector pipe (green) going to the port on my 12" makita and that same 6" pipe continues under the unit into a 6"-5" reducer just below the cabinet top and from there to a 5" flex hose (3' long) that make a U and connect to a 10" bell to 5" hose adapter (from Air Handling Systems - http://www.airhand.com/products/spun-reducers/) underneath the base of the saw.


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## NY-woodworker

Ryan....what did you end up doing for your miter saw DC?


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## mobilepaul

ryan50hrl said:


> So my 12 inch miter saw has the 2.5 inch port on the back to hook up to dust collection, it came with a bag that regularly filled up when in use. My question is how effective will that port be when connected to a dust collector? Should I disregard that port and build a bigger hood for it?


Don't forget about these options, especially for slider miter saws

http://dustclear.net/

Rousseau 4550 Down Drafter - Amazon.com

http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2085557/42755/Rousseau-5000-Dust-Solution-for-Miter-Saws.aspx

http://lumberjocks.com/projects/38327

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f24/compound-miter-saw-13332/

That should add nicely to what has already been shown

Paul


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## ryan50hrl

NY-woodworker said:


> Ryan....what did you end up doing for your miter saw DC?



Stuck the 2.5 inch vac hose into the port on the miter saw.....and then connected it to a 4 inch main off my dust collector. It catches about 75% of the dust it creates.......which is good enough for my purposes. I've since bought a radial arm saw that will render my miter saw to portable jobs pretty quickly...


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## bondfan

*Using my CMS cover as a dust collector*

I've modified my Kerry-All Pouch CMS cover to use in the shop as well, besides covering it in the back of your truck, or at the jobsite when a rain shower comes over.









I've added a flap to the back side that can be placed inside a cardboard box, after hanging the cover up with a couple bungee cords. I tried adding a dust port (only have a 2 1/2" at the moment, it helped some, but most of the dust from my Craftsman saw goes everywhere but through the exhaust port). Not enough vacuum I think as well. 
I'll keep working on it. For now most of the dust goes into the cover and I brush it down into the cardboard box.


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## bladeburner

This cardboard scoop helps quite a bit.


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## NY-woodworker

I got the same craftsman sliding MS. It's amazes me how almost no dust goes through the port BUT I think the cardboard scoop is the way to go. I noticed on other saws that they have some sort of plastic shield extension there and I was planning on adding something to it to test it out. It's a tad chilly in NY the last couple of days (tonight will be below zero) so hopefully this weekend warms up so I can experiment with it some.


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## bondfan

NY-woodworker said:


> I got the same craftsman sliding MS. It's amazes me how almost no dust goes through the port BUT I think the cardboard scoop is the way to go. I noticed on other saws that they have some sort of plastic shield extension there and I was planning on adding something to it to test it out. It's a tad chilly in NY the last couple of days (tonight will be below zero) so hopefully this weekend warms up so I can experiment with it some.



I have the same or very similar one and you are so right !! I keep looking to see if the damn thing is plugged!


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## Brian T.

My 10" Delta is an old, tough bird. On the exhaust, I taped a 2 liter/quart plastic milk jug with a 2" x 3" corner cut out. Acts like a muffler, the sawdust simply falls out of the hole. I don't get a blast that fogs the shop for the rest of the day.


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## Tom King

It is possible to get all the dust, but you have to move a lot of air. Below are some pictures of my setup. It gets hooked up to at least a 3hp quad bagger that's our portable DC. No dust in the air, even inside a finished house. The intake is a 1/2" wide slot along the back of the box. I thought I might have to close in some more of that front opening, but I tried it like this, and it works like a charm. Some of the heavy chips stay in the box, but it gets all the fine dust. The PVC director helps aim it at the back slot.

The 3hp Woodtek is on wheels, and the largest I could find that would roll through a regular doorway. It gets hooked to this mitersaw, the tablesaw with over arm collector, and jointer with no blast gates needed. The remote control is laying on the top left of the box in the picture. 

The white dishpan is the best tool there is for rebuilding small equipment carburetors.


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