Dust Collector Switch Access & Storage Mod

My Single Car Garage Shop is busting at the seems. I spent a month or so playing with Sketchup and some shop planners to create a better setup for logical work flow. This meant making some footprints pull double duty (i.e. router in TS wing, flip top planer cart, mobile bases everywhere).

Today was the Dust Collectors turn. You can see the image of my generic DC below. The switch sits a foot or so off the ground which seems like a very poor design idea. The tubing from the motor to the bag is longer than it needs to be as a result of having to attach to the motor at a lower level. I wanted to raise the motor/switch to be level with the bag connection. This makes the switch easier to get to. I used a spare kitchen base cabinet to do this. The cabinet is a typical one top drawer and one door design. I shortened the cabinet by cutting off the top drawer and most of the footing. I now have about 2-3 cubic feet of storage in a space that was previously unused. The piping is now only 8” long vs. 3’. The DC base rolls well with the added weight. Bit more stable. Real pics will be posted shortly as a project submission.

All of the machine hook ups are lower then the DC intake. My one concern is that the suction is now working against gravity. I wouldn’t think it would be a big deal. Especially since the duct work is now shorter.

The other DC improvement was to increase suction to my Table Saw / Router Wing. Both have vast hollow spaces which quickly decreases suction in the machine. I decided to mount a small 12” x 12” x 4” fan on the interior of the motor cover. This blows the dust toward the DC port. I added a furnace filter to the fan to hopefully prolong the motor. I connected the fan’s power supply to a switch.

-- Jeff, South Carolina