Dust hood has big appetite, and a mouth to match

To catch the shotgun blast of dust that comes off the back of my DeWalt 12" mitersaw, I bought a "Big Gulp" dust hood (Penn State Industries, 800/377-7297 or pennstateind.com). It worked well with the saw set to cut square, but caught less when I rotated the saw for a miter cut. To maximize dust collection at any angle, I came up with a way to mount the hood to the saw so that it always remains directly in the spray pattern—even when I'm beveling and making compound cuts.I first fashioned a pair of L-shaped mounting brackets from 3/16" aluminum stock, bolted them to the saw's support column, as shown, and installed long bolts through each bracket. Next, I made an MDF stiffener to match the base of the hood and bolted it to both the hood and a pair of square steel tubes spaced the same as the long bolts now protruding from the back of my mitersaw.To install the hood, I simply slip the tubing over the bolts. The weight of the hood and hoses keep the hood from slipping off, and the hood tilts and rotates with the saw blade.—Dan Chan, North Highlands, Calif.