Super Simple and Inexpensive Dust Collection

[Tom Clark FL]

I keep reading many of the dust collection threads, wondering if my simple system I have used for the last 20 years is adequate. This latest thread I have been following for the last month is very interesting, but definitely not something I would want to do. I must be a bit claustrophobic, but having a system that looks like a giant octopus about to swallow everything in sight doesn't suit me all that well. It might make sense for a commercial shop that runs 8 hours a day, but not for a hobbiest who spends a few hours a day playing in his shop. This system works for me, but it would be interesting to hear your thoughts.

Years ago my first dust collector was a one-horse-power Grizzly. It was a bad joke when hooked up to my planer. I purchased a two-horse model that did the job. The one-horse was hooked up to a bandsaw that always seemed to be in the middle of a cloud of dust when in operation, and the little dust collector worked just fine to solve that problem. I just wired it into the bandsaw, so when it is turned on the dust collector starts also.

I should mention that my shop has been moved four times over the last 30 years, so having a permanent huge system installed would be a problem if you had to move…

The two-horse collector sets in the middle of the machines that it is hooked up to. All the flexible hoses are fairly short and the machines can be rearranged when the whim strikes. All have excellent suction, and the trashcan separator does a nice job extending the time between bag emptying.

I built my own shop air cleaner 25 years ago, after reading an article in one of the wood magazines. It uses a 1500 CFM furnace filter and a 4" thick filter in front. It really solved the cloud of dust floating in the air when using hand routers and sanders. No shop should be without one of those.

I might add that the shop has several old shop vacs that are used on smaller machines for the rare times they will be used for more than a few moments.

There are many ways to solve a problem, and we all have to work with what suits us and our shop.

[Rick Markham]

Nice shop! Looks nice and clean to me! I'm currently building my first "official" shop, going from no dust collection to one that is overkill is something I am looking forward to. I will definitely agree that moving a shop (even a small one) is a Royal PITA, and I would agree, a centralized dust collection system would increase that "fun" factor significantly. If it works for you that's what is important, you're shop looks nice and tidy!

The big cyclones like the clear vue excel at getting the ultra tiny particles out, which is the stuff that a lot of us are concerned about.

[Ole Anderson]

Tom, that really is a nice shop! If your collectors are that old, you probably have bags that catch the chips but not the fine dust, which after all of your reading, you probably know is the bad stuff for our lungs. You might want to invest in new 1 micron bags for your existing collectors, that way you keep the same setup you like, yet ramp up the fine dust collection. Ambient air filters are good, but if they are working to constantly remove the dust already in the air, it means you are already breathing it. You need to try to catch it at the source. And on your vacs, invest in upgraded filters.

[Tom Clark FL]

Thanks for the explanations Rick and Ole. However, one more point to make. I make far more dust with my hand routers, hand sanders, and other hand tools than I do with the major machines. Sooooo, it's nice that the big collectors work on the machine dust, but they won't do a lot for everything else. Is seems like anything the shop dust collector misses is going to get us anyway. So far, after 30 years of woodworking, I am not noticing any problems or allergies. What is the answer? Wear a mask all the time?

By the way, the shop is closed with heat or air half the year, but the doors are usually open spring and fall…

[Ole Anderson]

Tom, I hear ya! After 35 years in my shop, I finally got a dust collection shroud/hose for my PC ROS and use my cheap 10 gallon ShopVac with an upgraded filter which works very well. That one really helps on the larger pieces. On the small ones I have a downdraft table I set on top of my TS and hook up with a 4" hose to the DC. My DW 621 router has dust collection, but it is a pain and still doesn't work very well on edges, but I am trying to use it more. When I am using a power sander, even with DC, I am wearing an N95 mask now as well as running my ambient air filter. I have had allergies to mold and house dust since I was a kid. It has morphed into a low grade asthma as well. I don't want it to develop into anything worse, so I have upped the precautions the last few years.

[Steve Friedman]

Tom,

No advice to offer, but just wanted to comment on what a compliment it is to the SMC community to see you posting here for advice about how to improve your award-winning shop! By the way, I didn't realize you moved to New Mexico and would love to see you post a pictorial of what that move looked like. I assumed you moved the observatory too. Wow! I'm picturing a convoy of 18-wheelers crossing the country.

Steve

[Andrew Joiner]

Thanks for the explanations Rick and Ole. However, one more point to make. I make far more dust with my hand routers, hand sanders, and other hand tools than I do with the major machines. Sooooo, it's nice that the big collectors work on the machine dust, but they won't do a lot for everything else. Is seems like anything the shop dust collector misses is going to get us anyway. So far, after 30 years of woodworking, I am not noticing any problems or allergies. What is the answer? Wear a mask all the time?

By the way, the shop is closed with heat or air half the year, but the doors are usually open spring and fall…

I agree Tom. So much of my dust comes from routers and sanding contours with my RO sanders.
Your thread begins with "simple and inexpensive". You can't get much simpler than a mask and a fan if weather permits.

According to Bill Pentz in this thread :http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...one-Test/page4

Bill Pentz says:My doctor eight years ago said most small shop woodworkers would be a lot better off if they would always wear a good fitting dual cartridge respirator mask and run a big fan in that open doorwaywhile making fine dust. I think you said the same thing. In my running all over the California a year ago testing air quality in various shops, those who had the least residual dust problems were not those with the most expensive dust collection systems, but instead those who kept a good sized fan blowing in an open doorway.

[Ray Newman]

Tom, re the slider on your TS. OEM or an after-market add on?

[Michael W. Clark]

Nice shop Tom!
Most of the commercial shops I have visited only used the baggers or used much larger central systems. When you can, the big fan and the outdoors is your friend for reducing exposure to dust. "Dillution is the solution"

Its the times when you can't (or won't) go outside to do certain operations that can lead to less than ideal situations. Like Ole said, an upgrade to 1 micron bags may be a good idea. If your bags are older, they may even be less efficient than you think.

Mike

[Tom Clark FL]

Tom, re the slider on your TS. OEM or an after-market add on?

Ray,

The sliding table is a Powermatic ST-1. I saw it at the Atlanta Woodworking Show in the early 90s, and ordered one. Then I went back to FL and started looking for a used Powermatic that it would fit on. The table was $1000 with shipping, but got the saw for $800 and it was almost new. It was the first siding table I had seen that would crosscut 48". I had a little one called a Mule that was on my little Delta contractor saw. It only cut 30" wide. The 48" table has been the greatest time saver in the last 20 years.

I make mostly large telescopes and cabinets, so there are lots of small hand tools, like the six sanders, five routers, and two belt sanders, and it would be impossible to have worthwhile dust collection on each one. The bags they come with are a bad joke probably fostered upon us by lawyers. However, the home made air filter shown in the first post had worked very well all these years. Before it there was a constant cloud of dust floating in the air.