Record Power Sabre 350 bandsaw dust extraction

[eezageeza]

I took delivery of my new Record Sabre 350 bandsaw last week (cracking bit of kit btw!) and am now turning my mind to dust extraction.

Deciding whether its worth it, and if so which sort to buy is proving harder than choosing the saw!

I've used the search facility and read lots of old posts about dx on bandsaws, and the general consensus seemed to be that it can be pretty ineffective.

The sabre 350 just has one 4" port on the bottom cabinet, which is clearly a long way from the point at which the dust is generated, so intuitively it looks like you'd need to generate a huge amount of suck to get the dust to go that way. The saw manual seems to suggest that many of Record's dx gear would be good for the job however!

So, my question - I know quite a few peeps on here have got this saw - if you have, do you have dx on it, if so what sort, and does it work ??

 

[sunnybob]

You MUST have dust extraction, your health and life depend on it! :shock: :shock:

its not too difficult to rig up a dust catcher under the table to catch most of it. There are several methods on here and you tube.

 

[eezageeza]

Yeah, I know its important, and I'm pretty paranoid about it, which is why I'm probably overthinking the solution!

But it does beg the question, why don't tool manufacturers build in better dust collection facilities, why do users need to mess about with home grown solutions??

 

[fezman]

I've got the RP Sabre 350 and a DX1000. it gets some of the dust, but not much. Frequently have to clean inside the wheel cabinets.

As sunnybob says, it really needs something just under the table. I must get round to making one.

BTW i don't think it is the DX at issue here, I use on my AC250PT planer thicknesser and it gets everything.

 

[sunnybob]

Theres no logic when it comes to designing machines to fit a certain price range. Unfortunately. (hammer) (hammer)
Mine came with a silly alloy blade guard that took up all the room under the table. i removed that and made a very basic (VERY BASIC :shock: ) surround box out of 4mm ply, and diverted it all down the 4" port.Now the only dust on the table is what comes all the way round with the blade.
It doesnt have to be furniture show quality, just something that puts the dust where its supposed to be.
The axminster 350 has one of the most stupid dust ports I've ever seen. Its on the back at the bottom of the lower cabinet. Its a 4" hole that is directly behind the wheel. Of course, sub normal person could stuff their entire fist in there and get it chewed off by the wheel.
Their answer? No, not a plastic cross guard, a 3mm thick solid metal plate welded across the inside, blocking off (at a guess) 80% of the air flow (hammer) (hammer) (hammer)
I just blocked it off completely and use the 4" port at the top of the lower cabiner nearest the blade.

I made my diverter with a flat back piece, and a 3 sided cover that holds in place with tiny magnets on the rear piece. That way I can just pull it straight off for guide adjustment, or if I want to cut at an angle.

 

[eezageeza]

Thanks guys. I was hoping for 'I've got dx on mine and it works a treat', so not exactly the replies I was looking for, but not really a surprise either!

Looks like I'll have to get creative then. There seems to be plenty of space under the table on this saw, so hopefully it wont be too difficult to get something working under there.

 

[sunnybob]

Just remember to make it easily detachable for when you want to tilt the table. That doesnt happen often though.

 

[MikeJhn]

Most of the debris gets dragged downwards towards the lower guides by the blade gullet, it then gets spread everywhere by the guides rather than going into the lower cabinet, as others have said you will need to make and effective extraction point around the lower guides possibly T'd into another extraction port on the lower cabinet, but not essential if your upper extraction is effective.