Nice sled, and I like the idea of incorporating dust collection. I modified the guard for my TS as shown in the attached photo, and it does a nice job of collecting most of the sawdust that would be thrown out into the shop. The only problem is that it's a little nose heavy and I sometimes have to pick it up a little to start the piece through the saw - maybe the hose attachment needs to be further back, or maybe the idea would be to have a support arm coming across the saw with a spring or bungee cord taking up the weight of the hose. I wonder if the same idea would work with the sled - make a three-sided tunnel out of Plexiglas to fit between the ends of the sled and let it float up and down based on the thickness of the material being cut.

 

I have been considering this for a while. What did you use to cut the hole? I am concerned about the plastic breaking.

 

I like your setup but I no longer have the guard so I'd have to make that, as well. And I might do that one day. I have some other ideas on dust collection for the sled but I'll use it a while and see how it performs like it is.

 

I'll use it a while and see how it performs like it is.

I'd like to see follow up on how it performs, if it is worth it

 

Both are good ideas. Tom you might be able to bolt an arm on the back of the guard that has a counterweight at the end to keep the nose at just above zero weight or enough to prevent bounce.

 

@Cherryville Chuck

The counterbalance sounds intriguing, might be worth a quick mock-up. The present hose is 2-1/2", I've since acquired a lightweight 1-1/4'(?), bought to use with my sanders and router that may help, and I also have the Rockler hose/cord support that would clamp to the outfeed table - all options. Thanks for the suggestion.
@denniswoody

I just used a new (sharp) hole saw and ran the drill at slow speed/minimal pressure. I did find a wood scrap the width of the inside and sanded a chamfer on the top edge so the it fit tight to the bottom so the plastic was well supported. I had concerns about the plastic splitting or cracking but guess I lucked out.

 

Thanks tomp913 I am going to try that tomorrow I think.

 

I think about 50% of the dust coming off my saw is above the blade so it's got to make a difference.

 

I recall seeing something like this before, but the builder had made a sort of floating bridge that spanned the whole length of the blade's path. So nearly all the dust from above was trapped and removed. It was made of clear plastic and the suction hose was hanging down from above the saw so it didn't get in the way. But this would certainly make a difference on crosscuts to workpieces 6 inches or less width. To trap even more, you could extend the plastic channel out another few inches, just above the maximum height of the blade.

 

I started to do just that, Tom, but kept it about an 1/8" shy of the edge of the 2x4 in the event I need to stand something up - not sure what that would be at this point but just in case... I am looking at the possibility of extending a removable piece of the plastic to the rear 2x4 just to trap more of the airborne dust. I've used it a few times and very little dust makes it to my shirt and shorts now so I've accomplished my goal. Now the fine tuning and tweaking starts!