New dust collector on table saw

Yesterday I cut a ton of wood on the table saw. The new dust collector was turned on, but when I was cleaning up at the end I realized that there was a huge pile of saw dust on the ground behind the table saw and the level in the dust collector bag hadn’t changed. It looked like dust was escaping at the hose connection site.

There was sawdust piled up behind the saw today, but not bad. The metal Grizzly barrel is the primary collector now. It was full to the brim today. People will need to be mindful of that, rather than just check the bag. I’m hoping we put a detector and warning light for the barrel. There is an observation window on the barrel, but you have to tap the side of the barrel to knock the dust off of it to see in.

Good to know! Shouldn’t excess saw dust still go in the bag if the grizzly is full instead of coming out behind the saw? It may be good to email the folks who use woodshop or print something out with info on how to maintain it. I didn’t even realize we had a new system until someone pointed it out a couple days ago.

I think the IVAC blast Gates are still broken. I’m not sure if they’ve been fixed yet. They open and close When manually switched opened or closed, but just don’t Automatically respond. I don’t believe the IVAC tool sensor is communicating with the switch and The blast gates. If they’re not open or the suction is not on, The dust will not be sucked into the collector. I know several people were working on it. Probably will be fixed soon. I haven’t been There today, so I don’t know if it’s been fixed yet. It was broken last time I looked.

Last time I played with the dust collection and emptied and tightened everything, the blast gates were working fine. If the blast gate isn’t opening on the table saw when it kicks on and the hose is attached you’ll know it because it will basically suck the slack out of the hose and try to make a straight pipe formation almost. Also it will more than likely pull the grizzly can towards the table saw as it is on wheels.

This might also be a good thing to make a short instructional video on (properly checking and emptying dust collector). I’m happy to help get it up on our YouTube channel if people want to put something together. I can do some basic editing cuts on the video as well if needed.

I figure, especially for visual learners, if we have the process clearly shown and in a place that’s easy for others to reference, there’s no excuse for not taking care of it or at minimum recognizing it needs to be done and seeking help doing it.

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