# Dust collection advice?



## Zac80 (May 17, 2016)

I have a small 1 car garage shop. Using mostly power hand tools and radial arm and table saw. What type of system is required for that space and tool usage. Any advice or product in particular? Thanks, much appreciated.


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## MadMark (Jun 3, 2014)

At that level a shop vac is all you need.

M


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## Ger21 (Oct 29, 2009)

I'd get a 2HP Harbor Freight. 
A ShopVac is useless with a table saw.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

> A ShopVac is useless with a table saw.
> 
> - Ger21


Pretty much true with an RAS as well.


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## BinghamtonEd (Nov 30, 2011)

I work in a 2-car garage, but a large portion of it is taken up by storage, so I know where you're coming from. I had the shop vac and dust deputy for a couple years, and it did well, but still left a lot to be desired, especially from the table saw. I had a RAS for a year, and got rid of it. I couldn't justify losing that much space for cuts that could be done on the table saw. If I had a larger shop, I'd have kept it. So, something to consider. In that same space I was able to park my planer and jointer.

I recently upgraded tp a 3HP DC with a trash can separator (I got a good deal on it, it's more than I need). I stuck it n the corner and ran the hose along the ceiling, with a single drop in the center of the shop next to a support pole. Since all of the tools are mobile, and stored against the walls, they get wheeled to the hose when in use.

I picked up one of the grizzly air filters about a month or two ago, and hung it from the ceiling. I think it was on sale for around $110. That made a very noticeable difference. The table saw, even with the DC, would still kick up a lot of very fine dust. Before, that dust would hang around the entire time I was in the garage. Now, I can see the dust getting sucked into the air filter, and within a few minutes, its gone.

I still use the shop vac for tools like my random orbit sander and my handheld router.

So, a couple things to consider :
- A DC, with a separator, is going to take up some space. Probably about the same space as that RAS you have. Do you use the RAS much? They have their benefits, but in a one car garage, I don't feel the benefits outweigh the valuable floor space they consume.
- The shop vac with the dust deputy works good for smaller tools, not well at all for the table saw, and mediocre for a planer. Better than nothing, and if you're stuck with a shop vac, the dust deputy is a great way to keep it from clogging filters.
- A DC generates a different noise than the shop vac. In my house, the kids' bedrooms are located over the garage. So, I can run the shop vac while they're sleeping, but not the dust collector. Both are noisy, but the dust collector sound carries through the house much more, whereas the shop vac noise gets killed pretty well by the insulation around the garage. So, if noise is a consideration, there's that.
- Even with the DC, I still wear my respirator when I'm using the table saw or the router table. It's a 3M with the replaceable cartridges, I have different cartridges for dust and finishing. Definitely worth the money (I think it was around $30).
- If you go the DC route, verify that your electrical can support it (110 vs 220, how much load is on the circuit, etc). Our garage does nto have 220, so when I run the DC, I have a short extension cord that can plug into the dryer vent, which si located just inside the garage wall.


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## Notw (Aug 7, 2013)

I agree with Ed, I have a 1 car garage shop and use a 2HP HF dust collector with a Thein top hat separator. I used PVC to pipe everything overhead because I didn't want the hose to be a tripping hazard. I have a blog about what I did if you'd like to check it out.


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## jesinfla (Apr 15, 2015)

I have a 2 car garage and only use 1 side of it - the tools I use are some battery drills, a table saw, a miter saw and now a drill press.

I tried to cut corners in the beginning by using my Rigid shop vac - it worked but was a real pain because I had to keep emptying the bin and cleaning the filter - this really sucked.

I found coupons for the harbor freight 2 HP dust collector and paid $159 for it - I now can run dust collection not only to the tools I currently have but can expand as my usage grows.

In addition, I have hoses to reach all over the garage to every work station I create

The wife also uses it to vacuum the cars LOL


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## rwe2156 (May 7, 2014)

If the machines are fairly close together, a portable 1 1/2 unit with 4-6" flex hose will work fine for what you're doing.

A shop vac is the best way to go for routers, miter saws, sanders, etc.


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## RichardHillius (Oct 19, 2013)

I work in a 2 car garage and tend to bring my tools to the dust collector instead of the other way around. I have a oldish Delta DC similar in design to the HF which has a single 20' collapsable hose attached to it next to the open spot where I wheel all my tools to. The hose is also long enough to hook to the tablesaw. I also have a shop vac that I use for connecting to hand tools. I don't feel like I have the room to work at my stationary tools where they are stored but some of that is also very limited power as well so when I want to use something I wheel the tool over to the open working spot, hook it up to the DC and use it from there. I do a lot of swapping back and forth especially between the jointer/planner and I would love to have fixed spots for everything so I didn't have to and have the DC ducted to them (would upgrade to a cyclone if I did that) but given the space/power constraints I work with what I have. I at one time had piping around my shop but when I moved I never reconnected it as I found I only ever used one or two of the drops anyways because I didn't leave enough space around my stationary tools to work at without moving the tool out of storage.

Handheld power tools don't work very well connected to a full sized DC and stationary power tools don't work very well connected to a shop vac. You really need both but if you can only swing one of them I would probably go with the shop vac and clean up manually. A DC is a specialized tool that serves one purpose where a shop vac while not ideal for gathering dust from larger tools can be used for a number of other clean up jobs as well. However when you finally get a planer you will want to consider how you are going to handle dust collection on that thing as they don't work well without a DC (unless they have it built in) and a shop vac is way to small to deal with it. A planer is the one tool in my shop that I won't every run without the DC hooked up to it. The others I can get by cleaning up after with the shop vac if I want.


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## ScottM (Jul 10, 2012)

Same setup here. I don't have any fixed position tools. Everything is on wheels; table saw router table, band saw, planer, oscillating sander, etc. I just use a shop vac with the Dust Deputy cyclone on the cart at Woodsmith. Works fine for me. Yes, there is some cleanup but you'll never get away from that.


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## Zac80 (May 17, 2016)

Rockler has a small DC UNIT for 200 that can hang from the wall, which I thought would be good for space saving. Any opinions on that one?


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## 01ntrain (Jun 21, 2015)

> Rockler has a small DC UNIT for 200 that can hang from the wall, which I thought would be good for space saving. Any opinions on that one?
> 
> - Zac80


If it's the one I'm thinking about you have to have the retractable hose system to work with it? Which isn't cheap, either. The bag is not a fine dust collector, either.(i.e. will not filter fine-dust) For $200 you can get the HFT DC and have money left over for pipe runs and whatnot.

Don't let space(or lack of it) be the determining factor for your health.

There are lot's of ideas out there to turn that HF DC into an adequate machine with a somewhat small footprint. Honestly, in my small shop, if I didn't already have a Jet, I would buy one in a heartbeat.


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## Rentvent (Jan 28, 2016)

+1 vote for the HF DC.

Here's my favorite modification:
http://lumberjocks.com/projects/106615

It also proves that if you add a good separator, you don't need the big clear plastic baggie and can use the space for something else.


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## MinnesotaSteve (Dec 17, 2015)

> If it s the one I m thinking about you have to have the retractable hose system to work with it? Which isn t cheap, either. The bag is not a fine dust collector, either.(i.e. will not filter fine-dust) For $200 you can get the HFT DC and have money left over for pipe runs and whatnot.
> 
> Don t let space(or lack of it) be the determining factor for your health.
> 
> There are lot s of ideas out there to turn that HF DC into an adequate machine with a somewhat small footprint. Honestly, in my small shop, if I didn t already have a Jet, I would buy one in a heartbeat.


I have the Rockler unit. There's no reason why you have to use the retractable hose with it… you can hook it up with pipe just like any other dust collector. But the retractable hose is an option if it works with your space. Really if you look at any of these, they all have this core motor and impeller and the differences is where and how they direct the flow of air… into a filter bag, or a two bag, or cyclone, filter canister, etc. but the core of moving the air is pretty much the same design.

It's well made, and I didn't find it to be very loud, it's certainly quieter than a shopvac. It's about as loud as my Jet AFS-1000B on it's medium setting.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

For that size shop and hobby use, any 1.5 to 2 HP single stage DC will do you just fine.

Filters are better than bags, but if there's plenty of fresh air exchanged in the shop (overhead doors open) a bag system will be fine.

You can go as far (and spend as much $) with this as you want, but a single stage is all you really need.


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## wormil (Nov 19, 2011)

I have a Delta 1hp. Not enough power for running a bunch of lines but more than enough for one machine at a time, which is fine for me as I have a small shop. Having it is 1,000,020X better than no dust collector.


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## Viking (Aug 26, 2009)

I bought the HF 2hp DC and installed it and 30 gallon trash can pre-separator on a rolling deck for portability. Then changed the bag filter for a cartridge filter. Works well. I have never moved it around much but, can if I need to.


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## kizerpea (Dec 2, 2011)

Another for harbor freight.. Then if you decide to build a cyclone you have your blower . many guys have.


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## Zac80 (May 17, 2016)

Sounds like HF is where i need to be. Can anyone explain the process for adding on and improving the DC or maybe a link to a video so i can learn what to do and why i am doing it. Sorry for the ignorance, but hey, im new to this. Thank you for all the responses. I really appreciate it.


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## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

Plan"B" If your so inclined running your DC unit outside saves floor space,noise and the need for any add on accessories ,it's pretty simple to do and makes emptying you DC bag much easier,I too use HF DC.


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## 000 (Dec 9, 2015)

Leaf blower! Takes up very little space, and, No bags to empty!
(Be sure to move the wife's car first.)


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## Viking (Aug 26, 2009)

Google "harbor freight dust collector mods" and you will find lots of ideas.


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## Rentvent (Jan 28, 2016)

Here's a good example of a two-stage thien separator modification:










Changing the position of the motor makes the assembly more efficient. The thing sitting on top of the trash can is a thien separator. It puts probably 99% of the sawdust into the can. The 5 micron baggie on top was replaced with (probably) a Wynn .5 micron filter. You can also find similar filters at a truckstop.

And this is mostly the same modification except he added a bunch of storage and got rid of the baggie at the bottom:










Here's a good build of a thien baffle:










He used a bellmouth inlet and also mounted a little flashlight on top to light up the inside of the trash can to see if it's full


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## pathfinder027 (Mar 17, 2015)

Zac80, As in Viking's photo, you can buy a trash can ($25 at Lowe's or Home Depot) and the Woodcraft cyclone top ($30 at Woodcraft, or $25 on sale there) and hook them together with 4" pipe. The HF DC can be used as a portable DC unit, since it comes with 4 casters and a platform, or can be mounted different ways in a corner of your shop, with pipes (with "blast gates") run to your major tools. A good reference is Woodshop Dust Control or Dust Control Made Simple, both by Sandor Nagyszalanczy. Or, you could watch several YouTube videos on how to modify the single-stage HF dust collector and make it a 2-stage DC. http://tinyurl.com/HF-DC-mods


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## Zac80 (May 17, 2016)

Thanks for the information i really appreciate it


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## Viking (Aug 26, 2009)

Yep, 30 gallon trash can, Woodcraft separator, Wynn 35A filter. At some point I plan to build a Thein top for the trash can and reconfigure the unit into a more efficient, smaller footprint unit. It will still be portable though.


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## jgt1942 (Mar 25, 2013)

At a min I'd suggest a 2HP, if you plan to move into a larger shop in the future then get a 3+ HP. For the Thien separator (I HIGHLY suggest this) go to http://www.jpthien.com/smf/index.php?PHPSESSID=12guc0t5hb8i5amd7744rj4mp6&board=1.0 The cost to build is almost nothing and the savings is SUPER.


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