# HF dust collector mod????



## haskins (Jan 4, 2015)

I am located in 2 car garage, so space is quite limited i have been thinking about trying to incorporate some dust collection, however i do not want to be tripping over hoses (garage door keeps me from ceiling mount) i want to incorporate a dust collector into as small as a cart as possible(of which i will place a stationary sander or 2), if i can figure out how to go through with this then nearly all the tools in my shop will have dust collection.

- Originally i was thinking about making a negative space under the cart to mount the rockler wall-mount unit to, however it is 4 feet high, and that is higher then desired.

- now im thinking about modifying the harbor freight one which is 3x CFM, however because i am no expert on Dust collectors I would like to know if i have the exhaust of the HF dust collector running into the bag with which it came, would that be acceptable?? I mean isnt that basically what the rockler does??


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## WhyMe (Feb 15, 2014)

So you are going to ditch the cyclone separation on the HF and just use the filter bag directly as a collection bag? You can do that but it will shorten the time before the filter bag becomes clogged and will reduce the CFM's quickly.


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## haskins (Jan 4, 2015)

> So you are going to ditch the cyclone separation on the HF and just use the filter bag directly as a collection bag? You can do that but it will shorten the time before the filter bag becomes clogged and will reduce the CFM s quickly.
> 
> - WhyMe


yes, that was my intention. would the bag as big as it is allow me to just get it about half or two thirds the way through before a noticeable drop in cfm? why doesn't the rockler one suffer from this?


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## JBrow (Nov 18, 2015)

haskins,

I agree with WhyMe. As a dual duty dust collection bag fills, the volume of air pulled from a tool will be reduced. The maximum volume of air will be pulled from the tool when air is free to escape from the empty bag. This contrasts with a dust collection/filter bag that is half full of debris. Debris in the bag will block half the air from escaping the bag. Since air cannot escape the bag, less air is pulled into the dust collector at the tool. This holds for any dust collection system where the filter bags is also the dust and debris collection container.

Therefore a Harbor Freight dust collector set up with a debris bag on the bottom and a filter bag on top will offer greater air flow over a longer period of time than the Rockler single bag unit.

I looked at your workshop and the YouTube video of your shop. My impression is that the workshop has evolved over time as new tools were added. I suspect that some time spent reorganizing the shop could result in tools to which the dust collector would be connected being grouped together. Then, if the dust collector were parked nearby, a flex hose could be moved from one tool to another and thus avoid dust collection hoses all over the floor of the shop.

If you are interested, I too work in a 2 car garage dedicated as a workshop. A diagram of my shop layout is found on my Workshop page. Even though the tools you have differ from mine, it may give you some ideas should you elect to reorganize your shop. There may be other LJ workshop pages that could also provide some good organizing ideas.


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## WhyMe (Feb 15, 2014)

> So you are going to ditch the cyclone separation on the HF and just use the filter bag directly as a collection bag? You can do that but it will shorten the time before the filter bag becomes clogged and will reduce the CFM s quickly.
> 
> - WhyMe
> 
> ...


The Rockler one will suffer as the bag fills. I guess on a scale of economy you can turn the cheaper HF dust collector into the same style as the Rockler dust collector, but the modified HF one may be better because of the increased size of blower and bag. This is all a guess on my part *IF* the HF does move more air..


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

OK! Stupid as I might be, I put good bags from Highland Woodworking on my HF collector. They are felted bags, I empty them when needed, don't have to fool with all the ducting stuff 'cause I move the tube from tool to tool.
I often feel that the excess "stuff" used in collecting is needless.
My shop is 20' X 20', has TS, miter saw, band saw, and lathe. I DO clean as needed, am not a nut about the dust issue.
I don't minimize the need for collection, but how far does one need to go? The ambient DC does a great job and, when stuff gets out of hand, the compressor and leaf blower works.
73 years old, and I have not died yet from dust crap.
Does that make me a minimalist? 
Bill


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## Redoak49 (Dec 15, 2012)

It seems to each their own on dust collection…..and that is fine.

My view on dust collection is that the older I get the better I want dust collection. As you age, your lung capacity decreases and are more prone to breathing problems. I want to do woodworking for as long as possible and do not want breathing issues to stop me.

But, if you can see dust hanging in the air or fine dust on surfaces, that is not good. I have heard the same thing many times. I have been breathing dust all my life and no problems…...Good Luck


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## CharlesA (Jun 24, 2013)

This may not be the case for everyone, but I got more space this way with the HF:

Put it in the extreme corner of the workshop, mounted to the wall. I have a Thien separator, and then vent outside. I built a duct system with PVC, so I don't need space for the regular bag setup. Because it sits in the far, back corner and I don't have to push it around the shop, this setup gives me more usable floor space.


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## woodbutcherbynight (Oct 21, 2011)

If it is possible you could locate the central unit outside and make a surround for it. In my case when I added to the shop I made extra storage space for this purpose. This keeps the unit out of the shop, easy to get to when time to empty bag or work on, and keeps this bulky noisy thing out of the shop. You need power and a 4 inch hole in the wall to make your connection. Mine has been in operation since 2003 never had to do anything except empty the bag or the chip bin.


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## haskins (Jan 4, 2015)

> This may not be the case for everyone, but I got more space this way with the HF:
> 
> Put it in the extreme corner of the workshop, mounted to the wall. I have a Thien separator, and then vent outside. I built a duct system with PVC, so I don t need space for the regular bag setup. Because it sits in the far, back corner and I don t have to push it around the shop, this setup gives me more usable floor space.
> 
> - CharlesA


 I very much like this idea as it would keep me from having to deal with a separator and bag. The outside of the garage is brick, how would i create a 4 inch whole in it? could i pipe it up from a sanding station, therefore have it blow the dust up pvc about 6 feet and then about 10 feet horizontal till it exits the shop?


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## haskins (Jan 4, 2015)

> If it is possible you could locate the central unit outside and make a surround for it. In my case when I added to the shop I made extra storage space for this purpose. This keeps the unit out of the shop, easy to get to when time to empty bag or work on, and keeps this bulky noisy thing out of the shop. You need power and a 4 inch hole in the wall to make your connection. Mine has been in operation since 2003 never had to do anything except empty the bag or the chip bin.
> 
> - woodbutcherbynight


having the impelar outside sucking from the inside would be OK if i didn't have to have drops to each machine (the garage door prohibits that.) , however i think i like the idea of having the impelir in the same spot but pipe it out.


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## myxology (Jan 2, 2015)

haskins,

I have put my table saw and workbench (or more properly, assembly table) which also functions as my outfeed table, in the middle of my 2 car garage. I am with you on not wanting cables and hoses on the floor, so this is the solution I came up with. I also put my jointer next to the table and the saw maximizing the unused area around the tools and table. I attached a "services" post to the ceiling and to the leg of the table and ran my dust collection and power over the top. It's working out great! More photos are in my Workshop area.

My future plan is to run real power the correct way, with conduit, later. I am also going to be moving my DC unit outside and intend to build a shed to cover it. If you take a close look you can see how close I got it to my garage door so as to not interfere with it opening but still serving the purpose I need. I am now running my jointer and table saw into the DC from the middle of the floor, along with a long 2" flex hose that I can clean the table with. Future plans also include overarm dust collection on the table saw and possibly building in a down draft table into the assembly table.

I also built a small table (which is going to get rebuilt really soon) right above the right hand side of the table saw to put things like push sticks, ear protection, micro jig, etc. I love not having to move all that crap any time I want to slide the fence over.





































Hope this idea helps or gives you another idea.


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## myxology (Jan 2, 2015)

haskins,

I have put my table saw and workbench (or more properly, assembly table) which also functions as my outfeed table, in the middle of my 2 car garage. I am with you on not wanting cables and hoses on the floor, so this is the solution I came up with. I also put my jointer next to the table and the saw maximizing the unused area around the tools and table. I attached a "services" post to the ceiling and to the leg of the table and ran my dust collection and power over the top. It's working out great! If you take a look at the photos in My Workshop you can see how close I got it to my garage door so as to not interfere with it opening but still serving the purpose I need.

My future plan is to run power the correct way, with conduit to serve the power needs of the jointer, table saw, and other power outlets. I am also going to be moving my DC unit outside and intend to build a shed to cover it. I am now running my jointer and table saw into the DC from the middle of the floor, along with a long 2" flex hose that I can clean the table with or connect other mobile tools that use the 2" fitting. Future plans also include overarm dust collection on the table saw and possibly building in a down draft table into the assembly table.

I also built a small table (which is going to get rebuilt really soon) right above the right hand side of the table saw to put things like push sticks, ear protection, micro jig, etc. I love not having to move all that crap any time I want to slide the fence over.

!If you take a close look you can see how close I got it to my garage door so as to not interfere with it opening but still serving the purpose I need. !

Hope this idea helps or gives you another idea.


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## myxology (Jan 2, 2015)

hey peeps… sorry for the double post and confusion… I can't seem to get the site to work for me today for some reason. haskins, there are other pics in My Workshop if this idea will help. Best of luck to you.


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## AshTheArtist (Dec 6, 2016)

I have mounted mine on wall as well as the 3 metal rods it comes with (upside down, screwed in ceiling) holding the separator. Since I have 2 stage filteration (thein style), My plastic bag is less than half the original size (it barely gathers any dust/chips) which hangs may be like 15-18 inches from green separator.


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## haskins (Jan 4, 2015)

> hey peeps… sorry for the double post and confusion… I can t seem to get the site to work for me today for some reason. haskins, there are other pics in My Workshop if this idea will help. Best of luck to you.
> 
> - myxology


Im thinking that i will just pump it straight out the eave of my attic roof, and in that case all i need is the motor and none of the bags is there anyway i can buy the fan and motor assembly seperate to save some money?


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## brtech (May 26, 2010)

If you don't have some kind of separator, you are going to get a pile of chips below the vent, and a streak of sawdust down the side of the garage. That may not bother you, but you can generate a pretty decent pile of chips that way. If you leave them, they may start to compost and get warm. That may be a good or bad thing. They will probably attract rodents however.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I guess that my last comment would be why do you want to use a small DC to do what a zillion bucks in mods would achieve?
You either use the HF system with good bags, or ya go for high dollar stuff in the first place.
Not dead yet, but could happen any minute.
Bill


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