The Need for a full Cyclone System

[Don L Johnson]

My wife asked me a fair question. "If you just go out into the shop a couple hours a day, do you really need to have a supper dooper dust collection system? Aren't the good ones just for commercial use?"

Well, I've gotten caught up in all of the DC talk and have grandios plans...should I pursue those plans, or is my wife right? I'm out in the shop making dust about 10 hours a week on average.

[George Morris]

well you could say the same about a saw stop ,only for production shops or if you use it 1 hour a week and loose a finger who needs it more?
You only get two lungs ! also if your shop is in the basement or garage the whole family may breath the dust also. It sure is a slippery slope !! Just may thoughts!! George

[Rob Will]

Hi Don,
I think a DC system is worth installing for speed, saftey and convenience.
Perhaps one way to look at this is that your shop time is limited and you don't have an employee designated to go around and clean up.......Now all of a sudden you have even less time. A DC can make your shop a better place to be.

Unfortunately, a lot of DC systems get over-engineered like they were designed to serve multiple machines 24/7. (You're right, the sky's the limit when it come to DC's). However, in a one-man shop you can have a basic cyclone with very simple piping.

You might think about Oneida's Dust Gorrilla series. I would run a 6" main pipe down the wall and a few 4" drops off of that. At the bottom of each drop you can put a "Y" so two machines can share a drop.

I would start off with the basic setup and add to it (or not) as you see fit.

Rob

[Bruce Page]

I think if I had a bigger shop that I would have a hard plumbed cyclone DC. That setup isn’t practical in my garage shop because of built in lighting fixtures, garage doors, attic access, etc. I think you are just as well off if you have good heavy felt bags or a canister setup on your roll around DC and a good JDS type air cleaner.

[David Giles]

Which power tool runs the most hours during a year? The dust collector has to be first on the list followed closely by the ROS. It is the one tool that you will always use in conjunction with most other power tools. In many cases, it's a tool that is upgraded 3-4 times. We start with a small, cheap dust collector with a bag, then we upgrade to a canister, then we add a preseparator and mess with the ductwork some more. Finally, we spend the money and buy a bigger cyclone and 5-6" ducts.

My recommendation is to buy a good cyclone with filters once you know that woodworking is a serious, long term hobby for you. Then never read another dust collection thread as long as you live!

Or you could avoid rationalizing your hobby and just threaten to buy a boat or motorcycle.

[Chuck Burns]

My wife was skeptical when UPS sent a truck out with nothing on it but the eight boxes of my Oneida 2.5 HP Super Dust Gorilla. Now that it;s installed and in use she is amazed at how clean the garage is and that there isn't any sawdust in the house (the garage is attached). It is SO SO much more pleasant to work out there and you spend virtually no time cleaning so you are much more productive.

As it has been pointed out; if any machine is on the DC is on - it runs as much as everything else combined. So in my opinion a good cyclone DC is a necessity. And if you plan and buy right you won't have to upgrade. And as someone else pointed out you won't have to read any more DC threads; which are as contentious as SawStop threads!

[Wilbur Pan]

Check your life insurance policy. Maybe she's trying to kill you.

[Steven Wilson]

Well if you only have sex once and awhile do you need a condom? If you generate dust you need to collect it. If you don't your lungs will. BTW a real commercial system designed to collect from multiple tools would start at 10HP and go up. Our little 2HP-5HP system are designed for small runs, to small tools, running one tool at a time.

Of course if you open up your garage doors, run a large exhaust fan, and wear a respirator then you don't really need a great DC. A chip collector will work just fine. I don't like doing that when it's 3F outside like today.

[John-Paul Murphy]

Hi Don
You really did not give many details about your needs so it is difficult to make recommendations.
I can give things to consider.
Is it intended for health reasons or ease of cleanup?
Must the area be heated and or cooled?
How much do you have to spend?
How much dust do you make? A hand saw and hand plane make a lot less dust than a power sander…
It is a known fact that wood workers have a higher instance of lung cancer than the general population. Is that because more wood workers smoke or because we breathe more sawdust???
There are many options available. Once the application and needs are determined the best equipment can be selected.

I personally question the logic of sucking the dust up pumping it through a bag that is released right back into the room I am in. You just built a recycler that insures that the fine dust particles stay airborne. So if you go cheap make sure it will work to the minimum standard you set.
I believe that in every instance of wood working some form of dust control should be used.
What ever you do make sure it is convenient enough that you will use it!!
I love these DC threads!!

[Mike Monroe]

In my particular case, 14 x 24 basement shop, a cyclone has made a huge difference for the amount of airborne dust. I don’t regret the purchase one iota. And I don’t spend that much time in the shop as a lot of guys do.

[Vic Damone]

Simply as a hobbyist I worked for several of my younger years in an unfiltered space. Now at the age of fifty-nine I have bronchitis which flares up with every little cold. Exactly just how much of my shop time contributed to this condition is anybody's guess.

In hindsight I wouldn't roll the dice, I'd make it a very high priority with not only dust collection but circulating dust filtration. It's a drop in the bucket of the quality of life.

DO IT!

Vic

[Al Killian]

The better the system the less time you will be cleaning up the shop. A permant system will save you time as you do not need to move it around and it will pull more air, which catches more fine dust. Health issues already coverd. My system will be a system with all the machine hooked up and will have the power needed to do it. What are you using now for dc?

[Prashun Patel]

I believe you do need a dust collector.

However, the 10-hr a week woodworker (like myself) might not need a cyclone. A cyclone's main benefit is that it keeps the filters clean.

But, with a conventional dust collector, if yr willing to do the legwork of pounding and cleaning filters when they get clogged, they can be good substitutes for cyclones.

The prob with most single-stage dc's is that they come with crappy filter bags. Notable exception: The Delta 50-760 ($300ish) comes with a 1 micron bag and gets great reviews.

As a part-time woodworker, also appreciate the mobility of the lighter dc's vis-a-vis their cyclonic counterparts.

[Jim Solomon]

I made the cyclone dust collector featured in Wood magazine a few years ago. I live in the country(yeah, the sticks) and vent it outside through a dryer type vent housing. I purchased the motor and 12" impeller blower housing on the auction site and am very pleased I went this route. I had a 1 1/2 hp Jet and to put it bluntly it was a pain with those bags. It may be the hp (2hp) or my imagination but it seems to work much better than the other one. I have a galvanized 40g garbage can for the colletor. The plan even has a add on filter and muffler if you can not vent it outside. I could have purchased one, but I am on a fixed income and try to save every penny I can, as I'm sure most do; plus I just like to make things. If you are interested in this shoot me a PM and I'll find the issue for you. You do not need any special HVAC skills as the cyclone is in 3 parts pop riveted together. Mine is going on 6 years and still works like a champ.
Jim
This is it here:
Here is the page link:http:http://woodstore.net/cycduscol.html//

[Paul Johnstone]

Well, about a year ago, I bought some tools from a guy that spent his life doing woodworking. He was selling his tools because he was on an oxygen tank.. He blamed the dust. No way to know for sure, but tell your wife that story.. Does she want to risk the same thing happening to you?

It was a sad day to see him have to give up his hobby and passion (he taught classes). Nice guy to talk to. He really wasn't that old either, just in his 50's..

Tell her that you're willing to put off retirement a few more months to pay for it.. :lol: I've been playing that game all my life.