Dust Collection

WOW! Todd great information. Thanks!

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

I am so excited to have figured this all out!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Great tips here – especially the Festool hose only idea! I’ll need to do something about dust collection one of these days…the shop vac can only do the trick for so long…

I’m really in the dark ages when it comes to dust collection, but then, I work in such a small space and I haven’t wanted to give up floor space to dust collection…maybe I should mount a collector under a lean-to outside the shop…hmmm…

Wasn’t thinking about dust collection – and now for some odd reason I am…

-- Dorje (pronounced "door-jay"), Seattle, WA

Thanks Todd! I know I need to collect dust but have never thought serious about it but I’m going to look in to it now.

-- " All Things At First Appear Difficult"

I especially like the idea for the chop saw idea.

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

A very practicle essay on Dust collection .

I am full up to here with those babbling discusions about Specific Gravity and which 2 hp turbine sucks the most.
Ultimately it is insignificant to the average one man shop.

Good job Tod

Cheers Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Todd Thanks. I also recommend the Hepa filter that they sale at Home Depot and Lowes. They cost about $30.00 in USA but I’ve actually filled up my shop vac with dust and chips and it still kept sucking until the hose got full. But you just tap the filter and it frees up the dust and reinstall it into the vac.

I believe that they are also washable. But I’ve put the vac on a drywall sander and had no dust come out the exhaust of the vac. Which is usually a problem with other filters. They don’t take out the really fine dust.

I good tutorial on hooking up tools. I like the idea of the Craftsman control switch.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

Hey guys-I forgot to list price points so I just added them in the blog.

Karson – I have had great performance from the HEPA filter too working on drywall in a museum. They were impressed and loved me for working so clean. I use compressed air to clean my filters from the inside out and they usually last about 8 months to a year. Yeah, I know it’s hard on them but it works great. You have to realize as a business it is a consumable item for a tool that gets used all the time in the shop and in the field.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I have to agree with Bob#2 – sometimes things can get technically nitpicked.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Thanks for the info. I like your no nonsense attitude about adaptability. I like it that you are using several different ways to attach machines. I just don’t have the time/money to install a whole shop dust control system. A couple of small ones seem to be easier for me to handle right now.

Steve

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

SPalm- you’re right. I dream of having whole shop dust collection someday but sometimes you don’t actually need it.

I better throw in the cost of the dust collectors to the blog.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

What we need now is a shop vac that dumps itself.

I recently acquired a blower from an old forced-air furnace that I’m going to incorporate into an air cleaner for the shop. It’s a pretty straightforward design of a box with filters on each end and the blower in-between. What I’d really like to build is a clycone type dust collection system that would get the stuff off the floor as well. Has anyone out there seen plans for such a unit?

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

There is one in Shopnotes issue 13 volume 3 and I believe Wood magazine had one a few years back.
I made this one for a 1 hp turbine and it works fine. I would build it a bit larger and go to 2 hp next time.
1 hp is just barely enough.
the cyclone thingie works fine / I spent around $100.00 for plywood felt some latches and galvanaized tin and some silicone.
It took a morning to build.

Bob

-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner

Dadoo – I salvaged a really nice blower to do the same sort of thing. I did break my rule of “don’t drag crap home from the job” but it was such a nice unit. I plan on building it up in the attic, with a flat filter holder against the ceiling. I will duct over to the sides of the room to circulate the “scrubbed” air. This will create a circulating effect cleaning the air, circulating the heat in the room, and it will not be hanging into my shop space.

Right now I use a Jet air scrubber in both shops. Air moves through these but it does not really create as much of a circulating effect in the room.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I was discussing that “ceiling mounted” air cleaner just last night with my sister-in-law. She does a lot of Artsy-crafts stuff in her little barn and would really benefit from a dust collector. Her problem is that she’s got a low (appx 6’5”) ceiling. So the Jet type would prove to be a head banger. So anyhow, I was thinking of cutting out an area of the ceiling and installing the blower in the attic. Still need to exaust it though…New problem. Would be easier to just build it outdoors with the filters covering a hole in the wall. Kinda like one of those built-in airconditioners.

I try and maintain your same rule of not dragging crap home which is why I don’t frequent the junk yards. Lord knows that I have too many logs on the proverbial fire as it is. Those blowers are great for moving air though on those hot summer days and real easy to rewire.

Bob#2: I’ll check on those plans. I remember seeing the ceiling/wall mounted box type awhile ago. That’s probably the design I’ll build.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

I’m using a Ridgid Shop Vac with a 2 1/2 inch system. I have it run through a Lee Valley cyclone lid on a 50 gal. drum. It isn’t really big enough but will help until I decide what to do next. I still wind up with way too much dust in the shop from hand held routers and sanders. It also doesn’t do as good a job as I would like on the table saw. I have my planer, TS, jointer, chop saw, and router table on it. In the drum I use plastic garbage can bags and have a 30 gallon Rubbermaid gabage can with the bottom cut out to hold the bags down until some dust acclumulates. It really works pretty well, especially with the DeWalt planer. The 735 has a blower that assists the vac. If I need to move my router table to work on long stock. I just hook the vac to the back of the fence. I have blastgates at each machine. If I don’t have one open the vac will pull the plastic cyclone top down in to the drum. Scares the crap out of me. I’ve gotten pretty good at watching for that. I have a double plug in on the switch on the router table and keep the shopvac plugged in to it. I pull the plug on the router and the switch is several steps closer to my work.

Good post, Todd. A lot of good information here.

-- Thos. Angle, Owyhee Design, Oregon

The horizontal bag dust collectors will collect off of the table saw pretty good too.
Routers are hard to capture most of the material from.

Dadoo – The concept I have for the air scrubber is that the blower would be built in the attic and ducted in the ceiling like a furnace.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Todd, if you look at Bob’s pic you’ll notice his walls are unfinished as well! What is it with us? LOL!

Yes, I have the same idea of putting the blower into the attic and putting the filter on the ceiling. Isn’t that the concept they use in automotive paint booths? Why wouldn’t it work?

You know, I’m also wondering…If you install a box and filter at the “tool” end of your dust collection system, would it clean the air? Seems to me that it would.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

At least Bob has rock up and it is fire taped. My walls are completely done or they don’t have sheetrock on them at all. If I sheetrock it I completely finish it so I don’t have to pull anything back out.

Are you talking about point of use air scrubbing?

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I think the best thing you can do is create a good circulated air flow. Home furnace and A/C ducting is laid out to do this for efficiency and comfort. We would be doing it in the shop to maximize air cleaning.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Yes…Point of use air scrubbing. Just plug it into say a 2’ box with filters installed. Could go anywhere in the shop. Maybe even install more than one.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

I thought I saw some posted a comment that they tape a 20X20 filter on a box fan and let it blow.

-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com

I think some of the guys have made the box fan air scrubbers haven’t they? Actually I can see the practicality of them now I think about it. I will probably push forward with my ducted plans when I get home.

I think I will push forward with some sheet rock too. The really bad part is that I have enough sheetrock to do another wall. It is stored with the sheetgoods.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Todd, I’m a dust collection fanatic myself. In my small shop, I have a 1HP DC dedicated to my router table, mitre saw, and now drum sander. The 2HP DC takes care of the bandsaw, jointer, planer and tablesaw. My router, circular saw, sanders and lathe sanding is handled by a Festool CT22 vac with hepa filter. Over at the OSS, I have another 15G shop vac that handles it and the drill press as well as chip cleanup and general shop duties.

Your discussion is very good. I’m also quite tired of the great dust explosion, impeller size, 4 vs 5 vs 6, cfm discussions. Get the dust off the tool how you can.

Thanks

-- You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. (Plato)

Mot – I hear ya brother!

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Well done Todd. A lot of practical advice and how to for building a dust collection system. We sometimes forget they do not need to be too elaborate, especially in home shops. A business setting may require special considerations to meet codes, but sometimes a simple solution will work as well.

-- Bill, Turlock California, http://www.brookswoodworks.com

Thanks all for the very informative topic discussion. I am working out of my garage. Sharing space with the one car we currently have in the two-car garage along with boxes and sports equipment stored in the garage makes clean up after some woodworking a continual chore.

Information from your discussion, provides me with several ideas on how I can begin to reduce the dust from woodworking.

Dalec

This is just what I needed. I am just starting to purchase and install my dust collection system. Your post has been most informative and will prove to be helpful throughout my endeavor. Thanks

Chris

-- All donations should be made out to me and in the form of wood or tools ~Chris

I will say this, if you are working out of a basement shop or garage shop attached to the house, dust collection is even more important to harmony in the house.

And remember, you will never be able to keep the shop dust free as you work. That just does not happen.

I use a clean as you go system in addition to the dust collection. Between woodworking operations I will clean up to clear the shop, think of my next part of the operation, and regain control of the space. This is just the way that I work and isn’t a forced habit. Some say it is anal retentive.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Very good information, Todd.
I have a Delta bag-type collector. Currently used mostly with the table saw.
You’ve given me some good food for thought!
Thanks!

Anyone got info on construction of a system with PVC? I know there’s a static discharge issue??
I’m new. Is there a forum or blog dealing with dust collection?
Thanks again! Great site!!

-- Blessings, Steve. Upstate NY. http://www.campingclassics.com

Just wrap some copper wire around the pipe and attach it to an electrical ground rod, cold water line, or to the ground wire in your electrical system. It allows the static to continually run out. The first two methods meet code for grounding the electrical panel. The cold water line works because it runs into the ground where it enters the house, assuming it is copper.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Everybody should be aware that if you have any electrical questions your best bet is to talk to an electrician personally and have them look at your situation. I deal with electric on a regular basis when I tear into remodels so I am familiar with it.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I’m a journeyman 37-years. I work in automation. I’ve only done collectors for industrial applications, in welded duct or spiral pipe. Wasn’t exactly sure about plastic. I was thinking of drilling screws here and there just through the pipe, and add the wire as suggested.

I whole-heartedly agree with Todd’s comment about consulting a pro when doing anything that you are not ABSOLUTLY sure about.

-- Blessings, Steve. Upstate NY. http://www.campingclassics.com