DW745 Mobile Saw Cart (Proposed)

A proposed build: a small plywood cart on locking casters for a DeWalt DW745 10" jobsite table saw, designed so the saw can live in the garage with as little dust as possible. A jobsite saw’s body is an open frame, with holes on every side and an open bottom. A box under it would only catch what falls straight down, so this cart encloses the saw body on all four sides:

• a ½" plywood skirt rises from the cart top to a brush seal under the table;
• everything the saw throws out its sides lands inside the enclosure;
• a steep V-hopper below feeds a full-width slotted 4" manifold to my Rockler 650 CFM collector;
• a filtered inlet lets in enough air for the collector to actually pull.

Several fiddly parts are 3D-printed. The saw lifts out after you lift off the front skirt panel.

• Footprint: 28" W × 24" D. The DW745’s table is about 630 × 570 mm (24.8" × 22.4", per a retailer listing).
• Saw table height: 34" from the floor, a standard bench height, so a workbench can serve as outfeed.
• Enclosure: the skirt’s outside is 24" × 21". That’s inside the table’s footprint, so its top edge sits under the table, where a 1" nylon brush seals it. Inside, it’s 23" × 20" for the saw body. The front panel lifts off: its handwheel slot and switch window are open to the top edge, and printed turnbuttons hold it.
• Below: two ~50° ramps form a V that meets over a slotted 4" PVC manifold. The manifold exits the left side, so the cart can sit against a wall.
• Storage: a small drawer under the front ramp. The saw’s onboard fence and miter-gauge storage ends up inside the skirt, so hang those on printed hooks on the cart’s right side.
• Casters: 4 of my step-stop locking casters, plates inset 1", plus ~25 lb of ballast split either side of the manifold.

How the dust gets out

What’s enclosed. The skirt, cart top, hopper and manifold make one sealed volume of about 4½ ft³ gross around and under the saw. The saw’s side vents, bevel slot and open bottom all empty into it.

The saw’s rear port is the best pickup point, right at the blade shroud. Don’t waste it: run a 2½" hose from it out through a grommet in the back skirt panel to a printed 4 × 4 × 2½" wye on the manifold’s exit stub.

Openings in the front skirt. The DW745’s controls are on the front:

• Handwheel slot. The blade-height handwheel moves along an arc as the blade bevels. Template the arc by taping cardboard over the front of the saw, running the bevel from 0° to 45°, and tracing the shaft’s path. Cut the slot about ½" wider than the shaft and open it to the panel’s top edge, so the panel lifts straight up past the shaft. Close it with two strips of brush seal facing each other in printed retainers.
• Switch window. A cutout around the paddle switch, also open to the top edge, with a printed bezel and a foam edge.
• Bevel-lock lever. Check whether it ends up behind the skirt. If it does, extend the window to reach it.

Makeup air: give the collector something to pull

A sealed box starves the collector. With only the throat gap and brush leakage to breathe through (a few square inches), the air would have to squeeze in at over 6,000 ft/min. That costs several inches of water gauge before the hopper, slot and hose take their share, and a small single-stage collector can’t hold its airflow against it. So add a deliberate inlet:

• Size: at least the duct’s area. Use a 4" × 5" opening (20 in²) high on the left skirt side, near the motor, so incoming air sweeps past the motor and down through the body.
• Filter: cover it with a MERV 8–11 furnace-filter pad in a printed frame. Air only flows in while the collector runs. When it stops, the filter keeps settled dust from drifting back out.
• Tuning: the frame takes a sliding printed shutter. Start fully open, and close it partway only if the incense test at the blade throat gets weak.

The numbers.

• Airflow: the collector is rated at 650 CFM free air. With the inlet, a short hose, and this box, expect 350–450 CFM.
• Duct and slot speed: that’s 4,000–5,200 ft/min in the 4" duct and about 3,700–4,700 ft/min through the slot.
• Inlet speed: about 2,500–3,200 ft/min at the inlet.
• Hose: keep the hose to the collector short (≤ 10 ft) and smooth-walled.

Hopper and manifold.

• Ramps: two ¼" hardboard ramps run from the edges of the cart-top opening down to the crown of a 4" PVC sewer & drain pipe lying across the bottom at mid-depth. They’re about 50°, well past sawdust’s 35–45° angle of repose.
• Slot: about 22" long, cut along the pipe’s top between the two ramp feet. Taper it from ½" wide at the exit end to ¾" at the closed end.
• Ends: the far end of the pipe butts the right side, which caps it.
• Offcuts: the slot stops larger offcuts, but thin slivers that fall through the throat can still reach a single-stage impeller. Use a zero-clearance throat insert, and consider a cyclone separator ahead of the collector. A printed bucket-lid cyclone works.

Above the table: the part a cabinet can’t catch

For truly minimal garage dust, plan on four more things. The enclosure handles everything below the table, but the top of the blade still throws fine dust toward you.

1. Over-blade collection. A blade guard with a dust port, or an overarm guard, run on a 2½" line to a second branch on the wye. Check that one fits the DW745 before buying; the stock guard has no port.
2. A fine filter on the collector. Single-stage bag collectors often pass the finest dust straight back into the room. Check your bag’s micron rating, and upgrade to a 1-micron bag or canister if it’s coarser.
3. An ambient air filter running during and after cutting.
4. A respirator for long sessions.

A current-sensing auto switch for the collector is worth it too. The collector starts whenever the saw does, and the motor-cooling rule below takes care of itself.

Measure first

Three measurements set the build. Take them all before cutting:

1. Body clearance: the saw body’s footprint below the table must fit inside 23" × 20" (the skirt’s inside) through full blade-height and 0–45° bevel travel.
2. s: from the saw’s feet to the top of the table.
3. g, measured along each skirt panel’s line. Mark where each of the four panels will stand (24" × 21" outside, centered under the table). At each mark, measure from the saw’s feet up to the underside of the table or fence rail directly above. Don’t measure at the table’s perimeter: the skirt is inboard of it, where the underside can be higher. Each panel gets its own height: g + 1½" − ¼", from the cart top.

Carcass height H = 34" − s − c − 1½", where c is the caster height and 1½" is the support rails.

The s = 12" and the 11¾" skirt in the example are placeholders. Ramp angle = atan((interior − 4.2") ÷ 8.6").

Brush seal. Use 1″ bristle strip so it bridges uneven gaps and compresses lightly against the table’s underside. Where a panel runs under a telescoping fence rail, leave ~1/16″ between bristle tips and rail so the rails slide freely. The small leak there is just more makeup air.

3D-printed parts

Print these in PETG or ASA, which handle garage heat better than PLA, with TPU where noted for seals and pads. Use 4+ perimeters and 30–40% infill.

Cut list

Sizes are for the example H = 16″ and an 11¾″ skirt. Adjust the heights to your measurements.

¾″ plywood (one 4×8 sheet):

½″ plywood (a 2×4 handy panel):

¼″ hardboard (a 4×4 panel):

Other:

Hardware

Build

The order matters: several parts get sealed in early.

1. Measure (see above) and adjust the drawings to your saw.
2. Print the parts above. Test-fit the rear-port adapter and the foot cups on the actual saw.
3. Bottom panel: bolt the caster plates on, inset 1″, with the heads inside. Counterbore the front pair.
4. Manifold: cut the tapered slot along the pipe, then cut the U-notch in the left side’s bottom edge.
5. Box: glue and screw the sides to the bottom. Slide the pipe in through the notch, at mid-depth with its slot facing up, and fit the back. Caulk the pipe to the bottom and to the right side, which caps its end. Fit the printed collar over the notch.
6. Under the ramps: set one ballast weight on each side of the pipe. Fit the drawer-bay back, then the ramp cleats.
7. Ramps: glue and screw them on so their feet land on the slot’s edges. Caulk every edge.
8. Front panel, then the top: caulk the wall tops and ramp heads, then glue and screw on the top.
9. Support rails and foot cups: set the saw on the rails, mark its feet, and screw the printed cups there. Lift the saw out again.
10. Skirt, without the saw: fit the back and both sides with their outside cleats, and caulk them to the top from inside now, while you can reach. Cut the inlet in the left side and fit the filter frame.
11. Front panel: set the saw in its cups, template the handwheel slot and switch window against it, then cut them open to the top edge. Fit the brush retainers, switch bezel, foam gasket and turnbuttons.
12. Brush seal: fit the brush along each skirt top so the bristles lightly touch the underside, leaving ~1/16″ under the fence rails.
13. Hoses: connect the rear-port adapter and its hose through the back grommet to the wye, then the wye to the collector.
14. Test: check with incense that air is pulled in at the throat, the brushes and the inlet. Then run the blade through full bevel and height and confirm nothing rubs.
15. Drawer and hooks: build the drawer, and fit the printed hooks.

Using it safely

• Never run the saw with the collector off. The DW745’s motor cools itself with air, and inside the skirt it would recirculate its own heat. The auto switch handles this. Without one, start the collector first and run it 10–15 seconds after the saw stops.
• Lock all four casters before you turn the saw on. Point the swivels outward as you lock them, which widens the stance.
• Mind the tipping point. Loaded and ballasted, the cart weighs about 125 lb, with its center of gravity centered by the split ballast. With the casters’ contact about 2¼″ in from the edges, a push of roughly 36 lb front-to-back or 43 lb sideways at table height would tip it. Support long stock with a workbench or roller stand.
• Removing the saw: unplug it, lift off the front skirt panel (the handwheel and switch pass out through the open slots), and lift the saw out of its foot cups. Do this to clear offcuts from the hopper. Never reach in through the blade opening.
• Check your collector’s specs. Rockler lists its 650 CFM Dust Right wall-mount (TADC-34WN) as ¾ hp. Measure your inlet and print the adapter to match.

Buy instead?

DeWalt’s DW7451 compact stand is listed for the DW745. It folds and it’s quick, but it has no dust control at all. It’s the better choice if the saw travels a lot. This cart is built for one job: a jobsite saw in a garage with the least dust that a saw like this can practically manage.