# Dust collection, Air Filtration for weekend lumberjocks



## Keen1 (Nov 14, 2007)

Most every shop that is worthy of a picture has some sort of (what looks to me) elaborate dust collection system. Other than for keeping the shop clean how important is this for a weekend lumberjock who may spend 6 hours at most in the shop. I'm building my first dedicated wood shop now and I've two shop vacs I used to use just to keep the place clean. However, as I now plan to spend more time actually working with wood I'm wondering if these will do the job. I know I can buy all sorts of attachments and hoses to connect my machines and even filter bags to go inside the vac. Is this set up okay for a weekender? Do I really need one of those dust collection systems that look to be about the size of a large water tank? I really don't have that much room. I'm sure there are smaller versions, just curious if the shop vac will do the trick. One is a 6 1/2 HP 20 Gallon Size I plan on connecting to the router table, and table saw. The other is a 4 HP 10 Gallon that will be used for the tools I have on mobile bases (Miter Saw and planer are probably the two biggest on mobile bases) as well as another hose coming up the back of the workbench for general clean up. Of course If I am cutting pressure treated lumber or anything I know can be harmful, I take it outside if I can. Your opinions would be greatly appreciated.


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## Blake (Oct 17, 2007)

Wow, you have been busy posting questions. That's good, this is the place for them. This one I have an answer to…

I spend a lot of time in my shop making sawdust. I consider myself a pretty serious hobby woodworker. I just use a good-sized craftsman shop vac for dust collection. I hook it up to most of my tools and also just use it a lot to clean up. It is perfectly adequate for me.

One good addition to my shop though, was a Jet air cleaner/filter which hangs from the ceiling. I got a good deal on a used one. With the combination of the Jet filter + vac I am able to keep my shop very clean.

Their are several things that prohibit a full-sized dust collector in my shop: space, cost, power, and the fact that it's not just the dust collector you need but also all of the hoses, connections, etc. which also add up in cost and set-up time.

With any system it still takes YOU to keep it clean… I have seen a lot of shops with a fancy dust collector with four-inch hoses running everywhere and still there is dust on everything. So I would recommend starting out with a good sized shop vac and just be diligent about cleaning between and after projects.

Also, those vacuums often go on sale at Sears, etc. A few times I have gotten one really cheap and added it to my shop as a dedicated collector which stays connected on one machine.

...And one other thing: I also use a good respirator while running the machines which make the most dust (bandsaw, table saw, ect). I wear it for a few minutes past when I shut the machine off until the Jet cleans the air.


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## Keen1 (Nov 14, 2007)

You have no idea how many questions I have…. I'm just going to post them as they come up. Like I said, I've never been around a "real" workshop. My dad would use a screwdriver every now an then, most of the tools I started with actually belonged to my grandfather but he died before he could show me how to use them. I still carry his old pocket knife, that one I know how to use. Thanks for the insight.

As a follow up. If I have all the hoses connectors etc for each machine and leave them all connected, do I totally lose suction if all are hooked up. I'm pretty I know that I would. I have not seen (but haven't really looked, for a selector valve, set up where you could have one basically hooked up to each machine and instead of wasting set up time swapping hoses around, you simply move a selector to move over to only suck from that one machine. If there is not one out there, I may just have build one. Anybody seen one for a standard shop vac?


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## Blake (Oct 17, 2007)

Yes, the more air intake surface area you have the less suction you have… by a lot. Two openings= half the suction of one. Move the hose or spend a ton of money on blast gates… probably not worth it for 2 1/2" hose though. You also loose suction for each length of hose (more than you would think). So with a shop vac it is much better in my opinion to just move the hose.


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## alindobra (Oct 3, 2007)

Blake,

I would agree with you (I was using a shopvac for a year in my garage) but I managed to blow up two shopvacs. After that I got fed up and purchased a 1HP dust collector. There is no comparison between the two. The biggest problem with the shopvac I found is that they are not designed for prologued use. The last thing you want is to stop the planer or jointer because the shopvac got too hot (or died). You can get a decent dust collector for under 200$. My father always says that if you buy a good tool you cry only once but you cry all the time if you buy a bad tool.

The way I avoid having hoses all over the place is to hook the tool I'm using to the only dust collector. I loose 15 seconds but I do not fill in my garage with 4" hoses going to all the machines. If I ever build a shop, I'll put the dust collection hoses through the floor (I've seen that somewhere and I really liked the idea).

Alin


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## benomatic42 (Oct 21, 2007)

I have to second Alin's comments. I have a 1.5HP collector, used for my jointer and planer and a small shop vac, which I use for my contractor table saw-because my 4" → 2.5" adapter doesn't fit it, and for my orbital sander. The collector is fairly small, and on wheels, and I would use it for everything but the sander if I could. They're both loud, but frankly the collector is just less whiney and irritating, I don't have to empty it out nearly as often, and it simply works better (I used to use the shopvac on all of them). I have a couple of host clamps with nice tightening knobs, and it takes me 10 seconds to change them.

All that being said, I was thinking about posting a request for info on those hanging air cleaners like Blake seems to have. I was cleaning/rearranging my garage/shop, and kicked up enough dust/mold that I felt sick all day afterward. I foolishly didn't wear the dust mask the whole time, and regretted it.

Blake: does it do well, and in what kind of space? I'm in a 22×22' garage space. Does it run constantly (and quietly?) or do you switch it on just when you need, like everything else?


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## Karson (May 9, 2006)

Take a look at Todd Clippinger blog on Dust Collection he has some very nice points.


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## IowaWoodcrafter (Mar 29, 2007)

I have a 1.5 HP Craftsman dust collector which cost $300. When using the planer or jointer I create a huge amount of sawdust. I can't imagine having to stop every 30 minutes or so to empty the shop vac. My opinion is that it doesn't make sense to use a shop vac on a jointer or planer.


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## AbeLow (Nov 14, 2007)

Check out http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.cfm for what might be the most informative site on dust collection. Bill Pentz is the inventor of clearview cyclones and has done loads of research on woodworking dust since nearly dieing from it in the mid 1990's. If that link doesn't work do a google search for bill pentz to find it.


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