So I am venting my dust outside but...

[Reuben Strangelove]

Hello everybody.

Ok, I setup a temporary shop in my back porch 'till I build an outbuilding. It's tiny tiny being 12' x 16'. Considering it's not heated or cooled I decided the best solution for dust is outdoor venting.

If I could I would just vent directly outdoors but I have close neighbors everywhere! Check out the attached pictures of my current setup... as you can see my rig job is a mediocre solution. What I really want to do is fabricate an exterior separator to collect the chips and let the dust settle wherever it wants.

I don't want a precollector separator inside due to my tiny shop situation so I guess it's best to make a outdoor cabinet to collect the chips, etc. It will need to be weather resistant, cheap, and have little impact on air flow. It will only be used till either the end of this summer or the next.



Does anyone have some ideas for this? I guess I can get a big trashcan and make a cyclone inducing top for it and continue to have the dust exhaust under the deck.

[Van Huskey]

How about any sort of large container with a large opening just covered in fiberglass window screen, keeps the large chips in but lets the fines escape. You could also use cheapo furnace filters as the covering if you want the exhaust particles smaller (I am talking about the really openweave ones).

[David Giles]

Why not gain some more floor space by moving the blower underneath the porch? Just turn it on and let it rip. Tell the neighbors that the dust is caused by a termite problem.

[Reuben Strangelove]

Why not gain some more floor space by moving the blower underneath the porch? Just turn it on and let it rip. Tell the neighbors that the dust is caused by a termite problem.

LMAO. That's a good one.

For some reason I think they would realize the distortion of the truth when they see plumes of dust while hearing the cries of table saws and routers through out the day all while an inconspicuous black hose is pathed to the source of the oddity.

It was considered to place the DC outside but I really don't want to risk exposure to moisture and the cost to insulate the unit while providing cooling air flow would negate the spirit of a el cheapo temporary solution.


Van, that's interesting and will possibly work good for a exhaust route with minimal air flow resistance.

[David Hostetler]

Pick your DC motor / impeller up, spin it sideways, and use it to suck through a drum and Thien lid. No more floor space used than what you are already taking up, and very effective...

[David Giles]

Since you took my joke so well, here's a serious idea. I stuck my 1.5 HP DC outside the shop in a large Rubbermaid shed. I used the blower and a Thien baffle plate. If I were to do it again though, I'd install a cyclone for the big stuff and just vent the smaller stuff to the outside.

Good luck and nice shop! Small spaces make you efficient!

[Jamie Schmitz]

I am nowhere near an authority but what about putting a cloth bag over the end and then covering the bag with a wooden box. It seems that if you completely cover the duct it would constrict it somewhat.
One other thing is to make sure your duct is grounded for antistatic becuase it is under your house.

[Angie Orfanedes]

That DC Looks a lot like mine (HF 2HP) before I modded it - built it onto a 40 gallon refuse can and added a Thein baffle, and then exhausted outside. Hardly anything is visible in the exhaust because the baffle does such a good job. Check this out and my other posts on DC's.
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=109166

[Reuben Strangelove]

Yep, it's a HF DC.

Angie, wow, good work.

I really like that design, it would be nice to vent out without using the nasty flow restricting hose I am currently using, and I can use the chips for mulch. Then, if I wanted to go overboard I could attach a DC bag sized box on the exterior porch wall , with the bag upside down and a hole on the bottom of the box, and vent through that. Knaa, I don't want to loose the CFM.

I will implement the Thien baffle as well according to this link... http://www.cgallery.com/smf/index.php?topic=100.0

Thanks, I will post pictures when I complete it.

[Jason Hallowell]

I did something very similar to Angie, but I use 60 gal plastic barrels. Even running the planer, the exhaust rarely has enough dust in it to be visible. The recepticle, or even the whole unit could easily be mounted outside. Here's what mine looked like when I was first putting it together-http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=125292

[Reuben Strangelove]

Ok, this is what I have so far....

A bit scrappy, but I like it. It seems to be working great. After I removed that black gutter hosing from the exhaust and replaced it with the original 5" hose the CFM really picked up.

The next step is to build a wood shoot on the outside of the porch that will reach closer to the ground. This will be relatively large, my thinking is 12"x12" at the least. I might put the collector bag upside down in the shoot, I haven't got that far yet.

One thing I noticed is that the weight of the motor is compressing the blade housing slightly. The support board the motor is mounted probably won't take any of the weight, so I will keep and eye on it, but it should be fine.

[Brian Kincaid]

Reuben, love the faceplate on the 'scrappy build'
-Brian