[deadherring]

Hi,

I recently finished my first 'real' project and since you all have been a big help to me with my woodworking in general I wanted to post it here and say thank you.

I made a miter saw stand/cabinet with drawers:

And, recently added a kreg fence alongside it:

It's not perfect but I'm pretty proud of how it came out.

Now for the question. I am in the process of building this dust collection system for the miter saw: http://lumberjocks.com/BlankMan/blog/12079

As you can see from picture 2 and 3 in the link above there is a plenum box that goes in the back of the main box. The problem is that there is a support beam for the house behind my saw that is in the way (see pic below) and I'd have to build the plenum box around that support pole (it will sit below the cross piece of wood that is back there, tho). I was thinking I could spray some spray foam in the joints that meet the pole and hopefully that will make it pretty air tight. http://i.imgur.com/HWiLaUI.jpg

My question is
1. Will this approach work? Is there an alternative approach to dust collection for the miter saw that would be easier to engineer? As you can see from this video his approach seems to work pretty well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRCgwTqJhqM&feature=youtu.be

2. How do I mark and make the cuts on the wood that will become the box so that it fits around the pole? I think I'd want the joint to be as tight as possible on the box around the pole to avoid vaccum leakage.

Thanks,

Nathan

 

[MNsawyergp]

I have to ask how much you use your saw for cutting angles? If you swivel the head very much, the only way to create a dust shroud is to build a box for the entire area behind the saw and put a dust collection tube in the top and bottom of the box. This shroud needs to go right up to the back of the fence, over the saw motor, and come in around the sides. It is almost easier to make it out of canvas and rods which you can shape to fit the odd profiles. I made a crude one for my saw which easily disassembles when I want to move the saw. I don't have a dust collector so the box fan sucks all the dust into the filter and I clean that. It works for me...

https://mnsawyerswoodworkingandartworks.shutterfly.com/pictures/117

 

[deadherring]

I do make some angled cuts--the system I am attempting to build:
http://lumberjocks.com/BlankMan/blog/12079

is a box that goes around the saw as you describe.