Laguna dust collectors

[Alan Schaffter]

I've heard someone may be re-engineering Laguna's DC line-up.

[Matthew Robus]

I have had a Laguna 2hp cyclone for about a year now. I chose it because it sits low enough to easily fit under my ceiling and because its roll-around configuration met my needs. Its got a strong motor and heavy duty impeller and seems to have plenty of 'suck' for my small shop layout. HOWEVER, I immediately found that this unit had a significant 'scrubbing' problem - there was enough airflow & turbulence down the cone that it lifted chips right out of the collection bin and sent them up through the impeller to the bag under the final filter; I could turn on the machine without even collecting any dust and hear it stirring and lifting stuff out of the collection bucket. As a result, there was quite a bit of bypass and I had to empty the bag under the final filter just about as often as the main bin. After living with the issue for most of a year it dawned on me that I might be able to install a Thien baffle to reduce scrubbing. After learning about the baffle design on Phil Thien's forum I took a leftover panel of MDF and jigsawed out a circle of the same diameter as the barrel of the collector above the cone and then created a 1.25-in slot around 240 degrees of the circumference. I hung this inside the collector from 3 lengths of allthread and firmed it up with a few screws through the outside wall of the collector barrel into the edge of the MDF. The disc is oriented with the full-diameter 120 degree portion centered under the intake from the dust collection hose; the level of the baffle is a couple of inches under the outlet from the separation chamber. Although I did this quickly and rather roughly as a first try, it works remarkably well - the dust and chips in the collection bin stay there, the whole thing is much quieter, the final filter bag hardly picks up any dust now, and suction in the system remains very good. Sorry for the labored description here, but if you're looking at a Laguna cyclone be aware of the scrubbing problem (maybe due to the short cone as described in one of the posts above), but also know that a baffle can really improve the situation.

Photo shows baffle installed at bottom of collector body where cyclone cone attaches (unit is swiveled upside down for work)
IMG_0050.jpg

[john Intosa]

Wood magazine May 2013 compared filter efficiency of 10 different dust collectors by sanding a 12x48 piece of MDF and measuring >1micron airbourne particle count. Some cyclone units, some bag units. The Oneida V3000 had 4x less airbourne particles than the Laguna. Laguna and JDS look the same, but what about the motor and filter? Warranty? The Oneida was clearly more expensive, but for me a better value.