I have always had a dust collection system connected to my miter saw, and it has always been terrible. Recently cleaning the shop, I found the internal pipe completely blocked and realized it hadn’t been working in a while. Think about that, it’s so bad when it is working, I didn’t even notice when it stopped. I had seen the Shop Nation videos and decided to give it a go.
I bought the DeWalt version but it looks like he had models for most major saws. It was very simple to install. Once you remove the old tube and it’s bracket, the Shop Nation fitting bolts to the old holes with the old screws. They are pretty tight, I ended up using an impact driver to get them loose.
Once installed, you can hear the difference. It’s not flawless, but I had no expectation it would be. That being said, it seems like at least 60-80% improvement over the factory solution and that’s well worth it in my opinion.
I would have loved to have room for a permanent miter station. My solution was a moveable station with a 4′ fence on one side. I used extruded aluminum to build the fence and made a heavy hardwood stop block. I also made a hardwood zero clearance plate to keep my cuts clean. Now that the dust solution is sorted, I am really happy with it. I have some rolling material holders so I can cut long pieces.
