Space Saving Ideas-Dust Collection

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Guys;

I have a small basement shop, which, after 22 years , has evolved into a pretty efficient layout. Floor space is always an issue and its efficient use a priority. Rather than using a centralized dust collection system (not enough height foe a cyclone), I opted for grouping machines in a cluster and having separate systems for each cluster. I decided on this approach after reading many articles on the do/don’ts of dust collection- including the menace of PVC and plastic hose(a myth for small cfm shops), and the design parameters of steel ducting- finally concluding that starting a 3 hp central system everytime I wanted to cross cut a board was ridiculus.

Since I’m a one-person shop, only one machine is running at a time. I employed blast gates, mounted on a simple sealed box, as the core of the collection system.

In the first pics below, the cluster contains the planer, jointer, and belt sander- with additional gated inputs at the top for attaching a cleanup hose, and at the bottom of the jointer for a dust sweep. Open the gate of the device you need, flip the switch on the pole, and you’re ready to go. The cluster is designed so that each machine has a clear path for material, but only what it needs. The collection box is made from plywood-glued, nailed , and sealed. The planer and sander gates are on top, the jointer on the bottom, and the dust sweep at the top of the sweep.

This arrangement has saved me a lot of space- and really works great . It doesn’t need a lot of cfm to operate efficently.

The second cluster(next pics) contains my small bandsaw (big one is in the garage), the Performax drum sander, and my wood lathe. The collection unit occupies a small corner in my supply/parts room. I also added an additional port (below sander port) for a shop cleanup hose or table collection hose for the bandsaw.

I’m working on the third cluster- my radial arm saw , router, and chop saw. The 4<SUP>th</SUP> will be a standalone collector for the Powermatic 66 table saw, with maybe a pickup for the drill press. The 5<SUP>th</SUP> is already done-long ago I disconnected the home vac system (wife said it has poor pickup) and connected it to cutout on my workbench top, covered it with a grid, relocated the on/off switch- and ended up with dust collection table for hand sanding.

All in all, I recognize that this is not an esoteric solution to the dust collection problem, but it worked for me. I welcome any questions or comments.

GM Perzel

[Mike Cutler]

George. Your solution just proves "That there's more way than one to skin a cat" I like the concept of your idea. Is there a seperate DC associated with each "Dust Collector Box" or is the box a central plenum for that particular group of machines? Do you not use a tablesaw? or is that machine located in a seperate area?
I don't have the space restrictions to deal with that you do, but i still like the concept of "grouping" machines into logical sets. Nice post.

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Mike;
Each cluster has it's own central plenum (box) and DC. See orig post-table saw is 4th cluster-to be done- may even just duct it out under the deck into a barrel and forget trying to recirc air-saw not on that much for long periods.
George