Miter Saw Dust Hood Modification

Miter Saw Dust Hood Modification

by Dan "Photog" Chan

This statement first appeared in a thread on theWoodNet woodworking forum. It was compiled and reproduced here for easier public consumption. All text and images are the property of Dan Chan unless otherwise noted.

Anyone who has connected a DC to their miter saw's itty-bitty little dust port knows that the dust collection is ineffective. A shroud is what's needed to suck up the spray of dust and the Big Gulp is a very good shroud. Despite its efficiency, the 10"x13"x16" shroud needs to be directly in the path of the dust cloud and is usually mounted statically to a bench or stand. When used on a multi positional tool like a miter saw, the Big Gulp looses its effectiveness unless you reposition it back into the spray path as you change the saw's miter positions.

I devised a way to mount the shroud to the saw so that it follows the saw's movements and is always directly in the spray pattern, tracking the saw on all miter cuts. It also had to be detachable since I store my CMS inside the Ultimate Tool Stand.

Here's a shot of the set-up ready for a compound cut.

It did necessitate drilling into the DW706's center column, but I was able to keep it down to two ¼" holes. The mounting bracket consists of two small pieces of angle aluminum slotted and bolted into recesses in the column. This gave me a perpendicular surface to mount two 3/8" bolts that are the receiving prongs. These slide into the tubing modification I added to the shroud.

Here's the Big Gulp with the added ½" square steel tubing sleeves. A piece of ¼" MDF was sandwiched between the shroud and tubing to add strength. A short piece of hose with a quick release is attached for easy removal.

Here it is in action swallowing up nearly 100% of the dust. I set up a work light from behind, backlighting the shroud and could see only a few stray particles floating around that the Big Gulp missed. This is one time I'm happy my efforts really sucked.

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