There have been many approaches used for band saw dust collection. But I have not seen much in the way of detail on these. I tried this simple approach and got very good results. I am sure that others have done better and do not intend to imply that this is the best way. It is just "a" way.
With one 4" collection point on the cast iron side of the Delta 14" saw I still got LOADS of dust on the floor below the table and plenty of dust above the table. Dust would also collect in the lower wheel housing. This was unacceptable to me as I want better health protection and, to a lesser but important degree, better housekeeping.
I bought Rockler's "Tabletop dust fitting" #26412 on sale for $16.
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page ... ust%20hood Here it is before modification:
Attachment:
IMG_2444 reduced.JPG
Here it is cut to fit around the body of the saw with material removed to miss the lower wheel door handle, etc. The silver tape is metal tape added where I cut a little too much off. The thin weather stripping on the top flange of the fitting is for sealing to the table.
Attachment:
P1000607 fitting lined and cut reduced.jpg
This is one of 2 identical simple "L" brackets that fit on the side opposite the fence rail. My goal was to be able to install the dust fitting without tools and very quickly. These two brackets are hand tightened to capture the fitting and hand loosened to remove the fitting. It only takes about 15 seconds to install or remove the fitting on the saw. I made the brackets from some scape metal.
Attachment:
IMG_2449 bracket & bolt reduced.jpg
This is one of 2 identical "L" brackets that are permanently installed on the fence rail side. The dust fitting edge is first installed on these and then under the loose brackets that are hand tightened.
Attachment:
IMG_2456 fixed bracket reduced.jpg
Over sized foam rubber is taped under the table with double sided tape. It holds and seals well. The rear could have been completely sealed, but was left very slightly open as an air source to pull air across the blade from the rear to the front when cutting .
Attachment:
P1000604 foam cut and taped reduced.jpg
Here's the table rear underside with 3 pieces of foam in place for sealing. One piece has the table stop through it.
Attachment:
P1000605 table rear with all foam reduced.jpg
Foam under the front of the table. I cut slices partly through the foam to fit around and over the webbing of the cast iron under the table to provide a continuous seal. The center is not continuous so blades can be changed.
Attachment:
P1000606 table front foam reduced.jpg
This is a side view of the installed dust fitting with a Rockler 4" quick disconnect fitting on the end. The 4" opening in the cast iron body is also shown. Using these two 4" connections improved the dust collection drastically. The bottom wheel housing stays completely clean and no dust comes under the table.
Attachment:
P1000610 fitting side installed reduced.jpg
I also replaced the throat plate with a zero clearance plate in which I drilled many holes. This is a significant help in pulling air down from the table top around the blade. The holes provide the air source to allow this. This is not shown in these pictures.
Using these two 4" collection points work very well. (I run a meter to measure 1/2 micron particles in the air which is very fine dust. The air quality remain good even when sawing.)
Many folks may not have the collection capacity for two 4". I believe the under table collection across the blade is doing the most good.
If your collector can handle 3 points, then the Part 2 shows where I added the 3rd collection point here:
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