My 20-year-old Dewalt Miter Saw finally needed to be retired. I had always intended to put a ZCI on that one but I never did. My new model has a grate on the bottom that traps small cutoff bits. A big challenge with dust management on these is that so much dust ends up under the saw.
So, I’m building a ZCI that is sealed on the bottom. I start with a piece of oak (way too nice for this, but it was the right size). I’m adding a block of plywood (from tearing down a pool table years ago). I keep cutting pieces away until the plywood block drops in easily. Now I can glue it together. I make sure that the block is biased to the right for when I tilt the head.
Now I can bolt the ZCI in place and lower the blade to get the zero clearance. I find that the blade has passed through the block in a few places. It turns out my earlier trimming was a bit excessive.
I file some faces flat and add blocking back in.
Now all the dust is directed at the back of the blade and into the dust collection chute. It’s not perfect but a huge improvement.
I suspect that when I tilt the blade that the blade will break through the side of the plywood block. I’ll see if I can add material once that happens.
