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Small Shop Dust / Chip Collection, whatcha using?

Started by samandothers, January 05, 2014, 12:59:07 AM

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samandothers

I did a search and read some topics from several years ago.   Thought I'd ask some questions about shop dust collection.  The tools I have are in a basement shop.  I had not had dust collection beyond plugging the shop vac up to the band saw type of collection.  Recently while running the table saw I had enough dust stirred up to set off the smoke detector in the basement outside my shop door.  So I got to checking out dust and dust collection.

I have also read some of Bill Pentz postings.  He had some bad reactions to wood working dust and did a great deal of research on wood dust and also protection against it.  So enough about what brought me to this post and get onto the question.

What do you use for your shop dust collection?  Do you use a vacuum or a dust collector with bags or with cartridge filters to a low micron?  If dust collector what HP?  Do you use a chip separator of some sort such as a trashcan topper, Thein baffle or cyclone?

I am looking to add something to my basement shop.  I am thinking dust collector with a chip separator such as Thein baffle that I build versus a cyclone and a cartridge filter versus bag.  Don't think I want to just blow it outside (versus filtering), though this seems to be Pentz's approach to have a cyclone of his specs and then vent outside the air from there.

Andy White

samandothers
I am using a Delta collector and a filter on the ceiling. They are both rated for 1 micron filtering. The collector really works well when I remember to open the blast gate. My system uses 4" pvc and hoses. I had to empty the collection bag very often, and that was a pain, so I got a 55 gal. plastic drum, and built a Thein separator for it, and it really works. I can dump the drum several times before the collector bag needs attention. This system works well when I remember to use it.  Make sure to get a remote starter for it, and save some more steps!  Andy
Learning by day, aching by night, but loving every minute of it!! Running HM126 Woodland Mill, Stihl MS290, Homemade Log Arch, JD 5103/FEL and complete woodshop of American Delta tools.

WDH

This is the one that I have and it works very well.  The canister filter is easy to clean.  Just turn the handle to clean the pleats.  You never have to take off the canister filter, it filters to 1 micron, and at 1700 CFM, it will easily handle a large shop planer. 

http://www.grizzly.com/products/G0548ZP
Woodmizer LT40HDD35, John Deere 2155, Kubota M5-111, Kubota L2501, Nyle L53 Dehumidification Kiln, and a passion for all things with leafs, twigs, and bark.  hamsleyhardwood.com

Larry

My first DC was a 1 HP double cloth bag roll around unit.  A big step up from the broom and dustpan, but I don't think it caught much of the harmful fine dust.  Next step was a trashcan separator lid.  A low cost improvement that made it a lot easier to handle the dust and also improved efficiency.

Than it was on to a 5 HP blower I built that would blow all my dust outside into the next county.  I pointed it north... :D

Present configuration is a 3 HP Murphy Rogers blower on a short tower outside the shop.  It drops the dust into a pile that I haul off with the FEL on the tractor.  Dedicated pvc pipe to most of the machines with a 6" trunk line.  To help out I have a ceiling hung Delta air cleaner.  Its amazing how much fine dust that thing catches.  I'm pretty happy with this setup, but I need to add a couple more drops for additional machines.

A common question is about blowing all the conditioned air outside.  I don't air condition the shop but I do heat it.  Even though a lot of air is moved out, the shop doesn't cool down in winter near as much as one would think.  Last night I ran the DC for over an hour to pull out flumes from spray painting with rattle cans.  The temperature only dropped about 2 degrees.  When doing actual woodworking I only run the DC when a machine is running, so normally the temperature doesn't drop at all.  Of course other folks results will be different.
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

Den-Den

I use a Grizzly 2 HP cyclone to collect dust / chips from the planer & CNC.  It is also used to collect dust from the lathe when sanding (I do not attempt to collect shavings from lathe, just scoop them up).  I also have a ceiling mounted air cleaner to collect fine dust from misc sources.  I still have plenty of dust in the shop but not nearly as much as before.
You may think that you can or may think you can't; either way, you are right.

Texas Ranger

I have two Delta's have replaced the wheels with larger wheels, and move them around as needed.  Have a trash can with cyclone seperater on both, rarely empty  bags.  Also wear a mask, you cannot get it all and the sinus can no longer take the punishment
The Ranger, home of Texas Forestry

hardtailjohn

I have a Shop Fox 1hp system. ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/151111306455?lpid=82 )  I'd say it isn't quite big enough, but it's a lot better than the shop vac I was using. That being said, I think any system is better than none at all!  I'm going to throw one of the trash can separators in front of it, to try to keep the big chunks from going through the impeller, and the next step will be a bigger collector....but that's down the road just a bit. (gotta make some $$ to pay for this stuff!)
One thing I did do, is use metal pipe for the runs on the wall, instead of PVC.  I read an article about the static buildup on the PVC, and it totally made sense to me, having been around grain elevators, and seeing one that blew up from a static discharge one time. I think grounding is pretty important! 
I may grab one of the ceiling mount filters, just to catch the stray dust, as mentioned on here, as my wife (my main helper!) doesn't do well with the airborne dust.  My wood shop is 20x60, with most of the wood work machines in one end of it, so it shouldn't take that much.
John
I'm so far behind, I think I'm ahead!

SawyerBrown

I went the cheap-o route.  Besides hooking either the Jet or ShopVac to the individual machines, I made my own filtration system using two good (washable) filters and an old furnace blower.  I suck the air up in the middle of the room and then blow it down both ends (using the space between floor joists).  I'm not sure of the micron rating on the filters, but they do collect a LOT of dust!  Samandothers, sounds like you want to go the "deluxe" route, but if you're interested I could post some pictures.  It isn't very complicated.
Pete Brown, Saw It There LLC.  Wood-mizer LT35HDG25, Farmall 'M', 16' trailer.  Custom sawing only (at this time).  Long-time woodworker ... short-time sawyer!

Larry

Quote from: SawyerBrown on January 05, 2014, 12:26:15 PM
I made my own filtration system using two good (washable) filters and an old furnace blower.

I tried making something similar but used a cheap window fan.  It did work some, but overall I called it a failure.

Using a furnace blower is the right way to do it.  The other secret is proper filtration.  There is a big variety including replacement filters for the commercial models.

I picked up my Delta with very slight shipping damage from a liquidator...one of those Amazon.com things. 

Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

mudhog

I have a Oneida 5 hp. stationary for main machinery and 2 2hp. older delta units ( 1 5" & 1 6") with zipper bags that fit on 55 gal. drums  with wheels that I use on a double drum sander & the radial arm saw. Noisey!
Doing the right thing might not be easy,but it's always right.

Ask, Seek, Knock

pineywoods

I use a 2hp harbor freight dust collector blower. Trashed the cyclone and bag, just use pvc pipe out through the wall. Pointed north, that's toward Larry  ;D Hooked to an 18 inch planer, 12 inch planer, shaper, a radial arm saw, and a table saw. I have 2 of these units, the other one is on my mill. It also blows the sawdust out to the woods behind the sawshed. The on/off switch croaked on both of them, otherwise no problems...
1995 Wood Mizer LT 40, Liquid cooled kawasaki,homebuilt hydraulics. Homebuilt solar dry kiln.  Woodmaster 718 planner, Kubota M4700 with homemade forks and winch, stihl  028, 029, Ms390
100k bd ft club.Charter member of The Grumpy old Men

Larry

I've been worrying about those big dust clouds I see floating by.  Now that I know there coming from another FF member I'll be at ease. :D
Larry, making useful and beautiful things out of the most environmental friendly material on the planet.

We need to insure our customers understand the importance of our craft.

samandothers

Thanks for all the feedback!  Seems some communication between Larry and Pineywoods via 'dust signals'.

Mudhog, from what I have read the Oneida collectors are great units.  While I may not build from scratch as SawyerBrown, though from the video of the tongue and groove it looked like it did great, I will probably cobble something together.

I have a 4 hp Grizzley dust collector I just picked up off a CL add for a good price with some piping and blast gates.  Size wise is more than I need now given the size of my shop but gives me some 'growin' room!   :D  The bags are 30 micron I believe so I will need to do something different with filters.

Seems several folks have had good luck with the Thein style baffle so I think I'll add that prior to the impeller to keep only small dust going to impeller.

I'll have to do something new for filters and may check into some cartridge filters.  Not sure what yet about filters.

I appreciate being able to see what you folks have used and ideas you have.   Thanks for all the responses! 

21incher

I also use the Grizzly 2 hp canister type collector with PVC pipe and blast gates at each tool ( run a continuous bare copper ground wire in all the plastic pipe and terminate it at each tool to avoid explosions). On my planer I use one of the garbage can cyclone lids in the line to allow easy emptying all the chips and so the collector does not fill up to fast. Then on my sanding bench I use a heavy duty box fan with a 3m pleated furnace filter mounted to it that catches most of the fine sanding dust. The only thing about the dust collector is that it is quite noisy.
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

samandothers

My basement shop is oriented next to my attached garage that is at the first floor level.  I believe I will be able to place the dust collector in the garage so the noise will not be in the same room.  If I get to measuring and working on that and it does not appear to be working out then I will probably put the dust collector in a different area of the basement to keep the noise out of the shop and also to keep from losing the shop space.

Lud

I use the 4" pipe to a barrel separator I built to a 2 bag unit in the bottom of the barn to isolate the noise somewhat and use a remote.  Last year I got another remote and use that to turn on the compressor which is over in the garage....noise again and no reason for the compressor to be on all the time.

I do run a box fan through the exterior wall about 3' to the left of my lathe and have a couple of small fans to my right and over my right shoulder so there is positive flow and I don't booger up even when turning for hours.  There's a difference between sucking and blowing but sometimes you need both! ;D ;D
Simplicity mill, Ford 1957 Golden Jubilee 841 Powermaster, 40x60 bankbarn, left-handed

Busy Beaver Lumber

Have two systems, one is a delta, the other is a jet, both i hp with 30 gallon garbage can cyclone seperators and both work just fine. I use the one at home the most and just about fill the can every week, Both are RF activated.



Woodmizer LT-10 10hp
Epilog Mini 18 Laser Engraver with rotary axis
Digital Wood Carver CNC Machine
6 x 10 dump trailer
Grizzly 15in Spiral Cut Surface Planer
Grizzly 6in Spiral Cut Joiner
Twister Firewood Bundler
Jet 10-20 Drum Sander
Jet Bandsaw



Save a tree...eat a beaver!

trim4u2nv

I use a galvanized cyclone with 6 inch inlet and 7 inch outlet from a guy on ebay.   The blower is a harbor freight 2hp with 2 bags and the barrel is a 55 gal drum with a removable ring lid.  Works great.  I also keep a few spare barrels with the same size lid around to switch out the full ones.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cyclone-Separator-for-Dust-Collector-/281067825681?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4170f2aa11

DR_Buck

Been there, done that.   Never got caught [/b]
Retired and not doing much anymore and still not getting caught

samandothers

Dr Buck, nice shop. I heard good things about the JDS.

Trim4u2nv - I'll have to check out ebay and the cyclone.  I have been concerned about cyclones and whether the extrac cost is worth the extra money over the benefit of a simpler separator and dust bags.  Don't get me wrong.  I'd like to have a Clearvue, Onieda or some other if I felt the extra money was worth the benefit gained.

Lud and Busy Beaver, I like the thought of a remote and need to check into that or a remote switch if I put the collector in a different room.

Thanks for the feedback.

Holmes

 I put a Clear Vue in my shop. It sucks every thing up.  6" pipe to the table saw top and bottom, jointer and, sliding mitre saw.  the unit works great but it's a tat LOUD.  I surrounded the motor with a couple of layers of wood to muffle the sound. I would buy another one , remote switching would be great.
Think like a farmer.

samandothers

Holmes, Those Clearvue's are nice!  I looked at their web site and decided against the system.  I  thought about buying the cyclone and rigging the motor and impeller off the unit I bought onto the cyclone.  Decided I'd first try a home made separator first before parting with the money of the cyclone.   I could drive to their location for less money than shipping.  Does the material to to cloud up or scratch over time?

I do need to check out a way to get a remote on my unit.  It has a magnetic switch but no remote.  I had thought about adding longer wire from the switch to motor and relocate the switch to my work shop area which is between the power feed and the dust collector. 

Holmes

 I will admit not using it a lot. It has not clouded up and every thing is very visible. Kind of neat to watch all that stuff spinning in the cyclone.  It would be quieter if I could have vented it to the outside but not a good idea in this cold climate. It would be like leaving a window open all winter if I did that.
Think like a farmer.

21incher

Quote from: samandothers on January 08, 2014, 08:19:32 PM

I do need to check out a way to get a remote on my unit.  It has a magnetic switch but no remote.  I had thought about adding longer wire from the switch to motor and relocate the switch to my work shop area which is between the power feed and the dust collector. 
I built a remote for mine using a 30A 2 pole 220 volt contactor with a 120 vac coil and one of those Christmas tree light remotes you get at Lowes. I use the lo cost remote to switch the 120 volt coil on the contactor on and off to turn on the collector. It works from anywhere in my shop with my 2 hp collector that does not use a magnetic switch. Maybe you could just mount a 110 volt solenoid (on a spring loaded to off rocker) to actuate the mag switch using a lo cost 110 volt remote.
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

samandothers

21 Incher
I need to look up these magnetic switches to see how they work. I am not familiar with them.  Where there's a will there's a way.

sawwood

If you look in my gallery you will see my dust collection system. Its a 2hp bellsaw blower
with a collection box on the out side. I have all the piping over head and it works good.
I do need to make larger the out let size on the planer to 5" and may later this summer.

Sawwood
Norwood M4 manual mill, Solar Kiln, Woodmaster
18" planer/molder

samandothers

Sawwood
The photos were nice.  I believe I'll run a 6" rigid as the back bone and Y off to the equipment.   Is the black pipe a smooth flexible pipe, versus a corrugated drain line?

sawwood

Yes most of the black pipe you see is the plastic flex type. I hope to make the 5" out
let on the planer and buy some metal pipe this summer. Will help with the air/dust
flow.

Sawwood
Norwood M4 manual mill, Solar Kiln, Woodmaster
18" planer/molder

MattJ

One item that makes a huge different if you have a dust collector is the bags used.  I switched to the sintered wool ones from highland hardware and the amount of dust making it through went down a lot.  I also think the CFM that the collector can pull went up.  I bought them a few years ago but I imagine they still sell them.


terrifictimbersllc

1st one a 55 gal barrel with Delta 2hp mounted on top, bag hanging off the side.  Hook it up to each machine as needed. A pain to lift off the heavy collector and empty that barrel.
2nd one an Oneida cyclone, 1.5hp, internal filter, 35 gal drum on bottom.  5" ducting permanently to machines.  Much better but the small internal filter clogged up fast.
3rd one Oneida cyclone, 2hp baldor, large external filter about 15" x 48" or so.  Although the 35 gal barrel fills fast when planing, very much better and all I need.
DJ Hoover, Terrific Timbers LLC,  Mystic CT Woodmizer Million Board Foot Club member. 2019 LT70 Super Wide 55 Yanmar,  LogRite fetching arch, WM BMS250 sharpener/BMT250 setter.  2001 F350 7.3L PSD 6 spd manual ZF 4x4 Crew Cab Long Bed

samandothers

Matt
Thanks for link!

The Oneida systems get a lot of thumbs up from customer feedback I have read.  They seem to be great systems.

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