Thread: How much dust from your tablesaw

Hi folks. I was wondering if some of you could tell me how much loose sawdust you get from your tablesaws.

What I'm getting at is this. I've always used a contractors saw (not a cabinet or panel saw). Its cuts a bit rough but thats never bothered me because I know I'm always going to do some type of darkside cleanup of the sawcut anyway. However, I've recently started thinking about the dust and wondering if I really have to put up with it. Even with a dust extractor attached I reckon about 30% of the dust escapes, ultimately ending up on the benchtop, the floor, floating about the room or in my lungs. Nowadays I always use a dust mask, but its a pain what with glasses and all. Also, the dust is insidious, because its being produced inside a confined space it gets everywhere and probably still represents a hazard when I'm doing other things and not wearing a dust mask.

So, I'm curious. What percentage of dust do you reckon escapes from your tablesaw/dc setup ?

As a guideline. I have one of those Hare and Forbes 13 inch portable thicknessers attached to a 2hp dc. I estimate that it collects about 99.5% of dust/shavings. I base this on the fact that after a fairly heavy bit of use there is usually about half a cup of small chips inside the machine, below the rollers, and a few chips spilt outside, perhaps a couple of teaspoons full. It would be great to have a tablesaw that performs the same.

Obviously I'm only talking about visible dust. There isnt much I can say about the microfine stuff.

cheers
Arron