PVC or landscape duct for dust collection duct?

[Matt Meiser]

Sean, you are in luck--Carter Lumber in Monroe carries a lot of 4" and 6". Its at the N. Dixie Hwy exit off I-75. Head west toward Monroe, go under the railroad overpass and it will be on your left right after the big curve.

And if they don't have enough of what you need you can jump back on I-75 and head to the Menards in Toledo at Alexis Rd which is also right off 75.

Lowes in Monroe also stocks 4" fittings/pipe and 6" fittings, as does the one in Ann Arbor. The pipe they carry is heavier. Generally Lowes that are closer to rural areas carry the bigger stuff, "city" ones don't in this region.

If you are in the Warren area much, there's a place called Warren Pipe that carries everything.

For all of them, fitting wise, a complete shop DC system will probably exhaust their stock at least once, several times for Lowes. It has to really mess with their inventory


For strapping, buy large screw eyes and large zip ties. You can put in the screw eyes and loosely put up the zip ties to hold everything, then snug it up when you are done. Also easy to rearrange later.

[Sean Rainaldi]

By zip ties do you mean those plastic tie wraps?

[Bas Pluim]

Do they sell that sewage pipe at HD or Lowes?
Or where could I buy it?

Try a local landscaping supplier, e.g. John Deere. Some suppliers charge consumers a lot more than contractors, so if you have a friend that owns a business, that could help. Cheapest place I found for fittings online is acehardwareoutlet.com.

For strapping what do you guys use to strap the sewer pipe to rafters or ceiling?

Plastic pipe strapping (comes in metal too, but why make life difficult?) It comes in a big roll, cheap. Lowe's/ Home Depot carries it.
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[paul cottingham]

I use thin wall (I think it is S+D) pvc, and join it to flex using the 4" splice sold at Lee Valley. Works great.

[Sean Rainaldi]

Forgot to ask you guys, what should I do for a blast gate?

Could not find anything at Home depot for that...

Any of you improvise and rig up your own gates?

They had some schedule 40 pvc caps there but they are asking about 8 bucks a piece for them...

[paul cottingham]

I use the metal self cleaning ones. fortuitously. they fit in the pvc I use. A little teflon tape, a couple screws, and they stay put well. In fact, I often just clamp them with a screw clamp.

Don't scrimp on this, you'll probably just wind up going to them in the end.

[Sean Rainaldi]

So the only line with suction then should be the one collecting dust at a machine?

Any suggestions how to get the blast gates to fit around 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 OD pipe?

I was thinking about buying that Hancor HDPE triple wall pipe they sell at Home Depot...for sewer and or land scaping i think...and use it with blast gates sold at rockler or woodcraft...

[Matt Meiser]

This is what I mean by zip tie: http://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Cable-...ata/B002C0SKBW but all the big box store sell very long ones that work great for hanging duct from screw eyes.

I made my own blast gates. Very easy to do and they work well. I've got two different versions, but any new ones will be like this.

[Sean Rainaldi]

Wow that's pretty cool matt did you seal the joint somehow between the two pieces of plywood that you screwed together?

[BOB OLINGER]

FYI, I got my 4" at Lowes, however, it's not in the same department as schedule 40. Check in the department handling drainage stuff - like sump pump pits, drain tile, etc. for fittings. At mine, the pipe was outside in the garden department.

[Jamie Buxton]

Is Snaplock cheaper than the schedule 30 sewer pipe?

Yes, and it is lighter, so it is easier to install.

[Bruce Wrenn]

For transition from 4" sch 20 PVC to 4" flex, Lowes stocks a fitting that is designed to go between 4" sch 20, and 3" sch 40. 4" flex slides right over 3" end. There is a molded stop inside, which I remove with a long flush trim bit. Tag says" NDS L3P12. UPC # 52063 33712 8. For blast gates, some brands of sch 20 are a little thicker wall, and will fit snuggly over 4" aluminum blast gates. I have a length, and use short pieces of it as a "bushing" in fittings at blast gates.

[Sean Rainaldi]

Thanks bruce,

Is the stuff you use similar to that Hancor HDPE triple wall pipe they sell at home depot in their garden section?

that stuff goes for about 75 cents a foot. The Snaplock stuff seems more expensive.

[Sean Rainaldi]

thanks Jamie,

Is Snaplock the stuff sold in heating section for heat ducts?

Both Lowes and HD carry it?

[Jim Matthews]

The drain pipe idea is impractical, as the material is difficult to terminate and rather inflexible.

I hear no mention of spark suppression and grounding in this discussion. Sawdust explosions can take out a garage wall.

Dust goes BOOM!