Slab saw with dust collector and method of dry-cutting pavement

A slab saw for making a cut within a surface comprising pavement or other hard material, said saw comprising:

• a frame;
• a support for supporting the frame on the surface to maintain a selected depth of cut;
• a rotatably driven circular blade mounted within said frame and extending downwardly therefrom to cut into said surface by a variable depth;
• and
• a shroud assembly mounted to said frame for collecting debris discharged from said blade, said shroud assembly comprising a pair of opposed spaced apart sidewalls, an at least partially open front and bottom configured to receive a portion of the blade within said shroud assembly, upper and lower segments displaceable relative to each other to vary the top to bottom length of the shroud assembly, a mount to fasten the upper segment to said frame whereby varying the length of said shroud assembly permits the shroud assembly to maintain a constant spacing above or on the surface as the depth of cut is changed, and an opening for connection to a vacuum source for collection of debris generated by said blade.