Improving my Radial Arm Saw Dust Collection

This is the most simple and effective radial arm saw dust collection design I could come up with. Without it, my Dewalt 970 was nearly unusable - now it's a real pleasure to crosscut with.
The original fence is unmodified and it's easy to take on and off. You can easily make this with just a radial arm saw and drill!
Thanks to ‪@FishersShop‬ for the experimental inspiration in testing how effective it is! You can find his video here: • Shop Work: Improving D...

Пікірлер: 35

  • @avirammoran499
    @avirammoran4999 күн бұрын

    Had to learn the hard way that the limiting height for the collection box is the distance between the back table saw board and the bottom of the saw cover (will vary by the width of your back board). Which in my case was just under 4 inches. So, if your fence protrudes more than 4 inches and you make a box with 2-inch opening, by the time you add the Hight of the top cover for the box it’s too high and will catch and stop the saw from retracting to its back position.

  • @RealityChecker864
    @RealityChecker8648 ай бұрын

    Hi Jim, I too must have watched about 30 or 40 videos of different dust collection ideas. I built a few, but was still not satisfied with the amount of dust still ending up in the air and on everything in my garage. Then I came across your video and figured I had nothing to lose. Sometimes, the most basic solution is the best solution. I'm very pleased with the results. Thanks for posting this video.

  • @tonyblanco305
    @tonyblanco305 Жыл бұрын

    Ha! I commented on the rehab video before looking through your video catalog. I now see that you went though the same research circle as I did and ended up in a very similar place with your RAS dust collection. Beautiful work and the engineer in me loves your thorough testing.

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks! I am thinking that I might remake it with some slightly nicer materials now that I know it works well. I have a lot of plans in the works for that saw, it’s a lot of fun to play with.

  • @scottpowell5583
    @scottpowell5583 Жыл бұрын

    I'm subbed now for the RAS love you showed for that machine. Yes, your inner Frank Howarth might be showing. 🙂

  • @Clydesdale2045
    @Clydesdale20454 ай бұрын

    Thank you! I'm doing this thank you! The only thing I could see to improve, is in your case the area behind the fence is the same height as the area in front of the fence I don't think most people do that. Now it's much less of an issue since you have a dust collector but you don't want a piece of wood or sawdust accumulating under the blade when you push it all the way back and shut the saw off. When you start it up, the sawdust/piece of wood can cause the blade to run/jump forward when you don't expect it to. If you have the top behind the fence lower than in front (1 layer instead of 2) it gives room under the blade when you push it all the way back so when you start it there's some room so it's less likely to potentially run.

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    4 ай бұрын

    I’m not exactly sure what you’re describing here, but I’ve been using the saw like this for about a year now and have never had any sort of problem with wood or sawdust accumulating or the saw jumping forward on me. I’ve found as long as you keep one hand on the saw’s handle and the other out of the path of the blade, there’s very little risk when doing 90 degree cross cutting.

  • @barnyardkh4
    @barnyardkh4 Жыл бұрын

    Instant credibility for using the RPN calculator!

  • @EvanDunville
    @EvanDunville Жыл бұрын

    I think i watched all the same RAS dust collection videos too! I made a simialr box that screwed onto the table i had for the saw. It worked pretty well.

  • @robertpalmer3166
    @robertpalmer316610 ай бұрын

    I built something similar, but I added a flexible hose to the fitting on the front of the blade guard and ran it to another hole in the top of the shroud. Seems to make a difference.

  • @KevinCoop1
    @KevinCoop1 Жыл бұрын

    I use a black plastic dust collection part that came on a used Craftsman RAS. It is not as efficient as yours, but I get full use of the saws designed capabilities with it.

  • @flashgordon6238
    @flashgordon623811 ай бұрын

    Maybe cap that dust ejection port on the blade guard?

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    11 ай бұрын

    I’ve never seen a speck of dust fly out of there surprisingly!

  • @cynthiastandley5742
    @cynthiastandley57423 ай бұрын

    At some point I shall make this. I need to build the table first. This Spring I think. I'm sure you have a real life, but more videos would be great!

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    3 ай бұрын

    Good luck, I’m sure it will turn out great. There are another couple of videos in the works, stay tuned!

  • @joleeliving
    @joleeliving Жыл бұрын

    Nice work ! I really like the comparison. I need to build something like this soon.

  • @brucewelty7684
    @brucewelty7684 Жыл бұрын

    AHHH there was Mr Sawdust himself!

  • @FishersShop
    @FishersShop Жыл бұрын

    Well done! Great upgrade!

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks! I had a lot of fun replicating your experiment :)

  • @Ritalie
    @Ritalie Жыл бұрын

    The clips of Brian Weekley's setup is just out of control, the complexity of his dust system with little magnetic wood vent plugs, and furniture grade hardwood, just out of control. I start to feel like a failure comparing myself to some of these people on KZread, including your channel and your setup. Thank you for sharing the dust collection video. I used my saw this weekend and the sawdust was so bad that it has me rethinking woodworking as a hobby. I need to invest in some type of entry level dust vacuum or use my shop vac every time I make cuts. I did find that you can capture about 80% of the dust in a rip cut very easily, because the guard functions about 99% better for dust collection when doing a rip cut, because there is no gap for sawdust to escape, it goes straight into the guard and straight into the vacuum. From an engineering standpoint, using a radial arm saw for ripping is better than crosscutting in some ways, despite the public confusion about it. When ripping it's MUCH safer than a crosscut, the guard functions properly in a rip cut, the blade has no ability to climb towards you, and the dust collector port actually works in a rip cut. As well, there is no issue with inaccuracy in a rip cut, the carriage is tightened down against the cast iron arm with the lock screw, everything is fixed.

  • @brianweekley5700

    @brianweekley5700

    8 ай бұрын

    LOL! You think my dust control system is out of control? It was very well planned out and intended for all modes (not just crosscuts). I never viewed striving for craftsmanship and quality as being out of control!

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    8 ай бұрын

    I for one was very impressed with your setup Brian! If I was intending to use my RAS for anything other than just crosscuts, I’d very likely copy your system outright. Love your videos!

  • @FantomWireBrian
    @FantomWireBrian Жыл бұрын

    Nice saw , but your blade guard is missing. The guard has a nozzle in fitting and you can put mounts or simply strapping a vac hose with an extra long hose. I do have a Jet dust collector but the vac fits under the saw and pulls dust in a cross cut and even better when ripping . With the Radial saw you have you can get rid of your table saw . 😎

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    Жыл бұрын

    Thanks for your comment! Yeah, the fitting on the blade guard works well for ripping because the dust is directed up and toward the operator. For cross cutting, no dust naturally goes that direction. I also prefer to use my dust collector with 4” hose that will not create enough static pressure to use with a 1.5-2” port. I only use this for cross cutting at 90 degrees, so this type of collector is really my best option.

  • @Ritalie
    @Ritalie Жыл бұрын

    I'm really curious about the comment you made about fixing the legs. I have the same dilemma, as I have the same saw, but a slightly different variation of it. A T1531 Black and Decker which is a 1969 model. The quality of the stand is just atrocious. It's designed ok, but the metal is about 50% too thin. I'd like to know what your solution is. I have been thinking about it for months now, and I thought about TIG welding some metal reinforcements around the bottom perimeter of the stand to hold the legs on much more securely.

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    Жыл бұрын

    My plan at the moment is to make a whole bunch of Jer Schmidt's modular cabinets for my workshop and my electronics workbench - I am going to use a few of those to create a stand and a long support table to the left of the saw. My shop is set up for working with 8' long boards, so being able to cut 8' with a stop block on the left side of the saw is going to be awesome. I actually did screw the bottom of the legs into some 2x4s temporarily - that did improve the stability quite a bit. I bet if you TIG welded some cross bracing it would help a lot - if I was going to do that I'd probably go from the bottom of each foot to each other foot, and then do some diagonal X bracing across the back and sides. I'm sure if you did that, it would be more than good enough!

  • @michaelshelnutt3534
    @michaelshelnutt3534 Жыл бұрын

    why not a mini gulp or something like it right behind? TIA

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    Жыл бұрын

    It would probably work pretty well, but I think having a smaller opening closer to the blade is going to be slightly better. I will probably experiment with something similar as my current solution prevents using an Incra fence on the left side of the blade… Thanks for watching!

  • @foodparadise5792
    @foodparadise5792 Жыл бұрын

    Seems impossible to buy a modern RAS these days in America.

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    Жыл бұрын

    They are VERY expensive for sure, but if you really want a modern one check out Original Saw Company. In my opinion, you would be better served by a cheap old one like this or, for that kind of money, a modern table saw.

  • @foodparadise5792

    @foodparadise5792

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JimPudar Original saw just raised their price on their RAS. Last week 4999, now 5999 for the smaller woodworker model. Crazy these days. Only choice probably Maggi junior 640.

  • @billymurphy3
    @billymurphy3 Жыл бұрын

    How far along are ya on that BASE cabinet?

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    Жыл бұрын

    Still in the planning phase. Not sure exactly where I want to keep the saw in my shop. I’m thinking about getting a metal lathe so I’m trying to come up with a good layout.

  • @brucewelty7684

    @brucewelty7684

    Жыл бұрын

    @@JimPudar SketchUp!

  • @JimPudar

    @JimPudar

    Жыл бұрын

    I am a long time Fusion 360 user and I’m currently migrating over to FreeCAD and OpenSCAD. I’m a software engineer by trade so I really love OpenSCAD