I cant imagine not having a dust collection system. Several American readers also wanted to express their patriotism. Consistently high readings indicate you should inspect your system for leaks. The typical method for determining what size dust collector to purchase involves finding the static pressure (sp) of your ductwork, the airflow in cubic feet per minute (cfm) required to move dust from your tools, and plotting those two numbers on the fan curve for a given dust collector. Our recommendation is to find a collector with a minimum of 2 hp, a 12" or larger impeller, and a rating of at least 1,300 cfm. Keep your favorite wines, stemware, and serving accessories handy in this stylish unit. Its much more comfortable than a dust mask or respirator. Jay Simmons, My dust-collection solutions run through a plethora of tools. For example, in our shop, a diagonal trunk to the bandsaw and router table would have reduced duct length and eliminated two elbows. Every layout involves compromises. So, plan your layout with short duct runs, minimal turns, and the least flex hose needed to connect tools to the ductwork. Collecting dust at its source not only makes you a tidy woodworker, it can keep you a healthier one, too. Dust collectors come in two types: single-stage, above, and cyclone, below. I studied central dust collection systems and even have the ceiling space to accommodate one. After separating the dust, the system exhausts outside. In-depth articles, up-close photography, and detailed illustrations. But we had to route the duct along the walls because the shop's drop ceiling provides no solid structure from which to hang the ductwork. A hood behind the blade of a radial-arm saw directs sawdust up to the dust-collection duct. There is no bag and NOTHING has ever collected on the wall, shrubbery or ground around this exhaust port. All Rights Reserved. Thankfully, we have no neighbors within 1,000 feet to complain about noise or dust if it didnt Overall, Im fairly happy with this rig. The high suction provides plenty of velocity through 212 " hose connected to smaller ports, such as on a router table or random-orbit sander. Large hoods, purchased or shop-made, can corral and direct dust to your collector [below]. Nah.

Its not perfect but works pretty well. Chuck Albright, I have a mobile Oneida 3hp dust collector connected to my large machines. Spiral pipe requires pop rivets or sheet-metal screws to connect fittings, and joints must be caulked or taped. A larger port may be hiding behind a wye adapter. Living in Florida and heavily reliant on air conditioning, I also wanted to find a way to return the air directly, instead of pulling in warm air from the outdoors. cyclone dust separator homemade mini vac collector works cyclones separators woodworking aspiradora extraction this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.

Freud 18 "-radius flute bit no. In the WOOD photo studio shop, we placed the collector in a corner with two trunks running from it [above]. Become an UNLIMITED member and get it all: searchable online archive of every issue, how-to videos, Complete Illustrated Guide to Woodworking digital series, print magazine, e-newsletter, and more. Just as a car can negotiate a large-radius curve faster than a sharp corner, a gradual transition in direction allows air to keep moving quickly, preventing dust from falling out of the flow. A dust extractor connected to the port of a random-orbit sander pulls dust through the holes in the sanding pad and traps it. Im now considering adding a dust collector that hangs from the ceiling as an additional measure of reducing shop dust. Daniel Raffety, My shop is only 18 x 18, and instead of doing a fixed system I have a Dust Right Separator paired with a Jet DC-650M dust collector. It doesnt take any more time to move my hose than it did to set gates and clear branch lines when they became clogged. Ken Bayer, I use a portable JET 2hp cyclone dust collector, although it is kind of permanent. I made that from plywood instead of metal, to dampen motor and fan vibration that would resonate through the walls. Collectively, these work well for me. Gary Petersen, First, Form follows function. My shop is a single 20 x 40 room in an old farm shed/barn (formerly occupied by mules until the arrival of Massey-Ferguson). I still have dust, just somewhat less. Although my woodworking friends say it cant be, I am sensitized to walnut dust. The plastic drum of the Dust Right is much easier to dump, plus it keeps the JET from getting clogged. Robert Garrott, I use the Rockler wall-mounted collector. Dust-collection fittings, adapters, and accessories: Woodcraft, 800-225-1153, woodcraft.com, Rockler. Start your 14-day FREE trial - and get building! Yes. UNLIMITED membership - Get access to it all. Run the largest pipe you can as close to the tool as possible. Theres a 4 Y connector at the vacuums intake port. Then there are brooms and a vacuum sweeper. Theyre similar to many othersI have a large single-stage collector connected to a large cyclone separator (Oneida Super Dust Deputy). Choose ductwork in a diameter that matches the inlet on your dust collector [ below]. It all works pretty well, except for the wood explosions caused by routers and the particularly odd placement of the dust port on my Grizzly planer. My solution was to enclose the filter canister inside a large plywood box, which directs the exhaust back into the workshop via an opening in the wall. I connect my shop vacuum to smaller tools, mostly my palm sander, via a Dust Right FlexiPort hose system. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission. Its in the room (garage) next to the shop with 6 PVC piping going through the wall to the shop. When running the planer and jointer, I often wish the barrel was much larger. The corn burns hot enough that I have very little creosote build-up from the wood. Dave Palas, My dust collection consists of a broom and dust pan, a shop vac with a Dust Genie Cyclone attachment and a larger dust collection bag unit with a large Dust Genie Cyclone attachment. Illustrations by Dan Thornton

Match your duct to the inlet size, not the wye. Is it OK to copy projects from the magazine? If you had to recommend three, which hand planes should I start with? Then 4 PVC comes up through the floor in five places for the table saw, band saw, planer, jointer and one extra for whatever. It takes 1300 .3-micron particles side by side to span 164 ". All working together with a recently installed one-ton mini-split A/C makes woodworking in south Louisiana enjoyable. Lynn Barbier, I still use mostly an old-fashioned broom and dustpan for most my dust collection and a shop vac to get in the machines and tight spots. Alexa, start the vacuum, or Alexa, stop the vacuum. It works. Spiral duct [above] and Quick-Clamp pipe [below] and their fittings are purpose-built for dust collection. I use the box fan/furnace filter-type air filtration, and it works well. Connecting the hose to each piece of equipment is sometimes a pain. Since my shop is in the basement of our home, keeping the dust under control is important so we have a healthy environment. The problem is finding a fan curve: Most manufacturers don't provide them. Our testing shows that in most cases, halving the claimed cfm provides a truer measure of performance when attached to ductwork. Our initial testing shows that the three motors create nearly ten times the suction of a standard collector, and two to three times the cfm of a shop vacuum. Quick-Clamp uses snap-tension clamps that latch onto the lip at the end of each pipe and fitting. Diameters of 4" and up ensure that you find the size best suiting your system. Avoid filters labeled "HEPA-type" or "HEPA-like," or that make vague claims such as "removes up to 99 percent of the smallest particles." One branch goes directly to the compound miter saw setup, while the other branch goes to the 20 of 4 hose with a quick-release connector at the business end. The higher cfm proves sufficient for drawing dust through 4" duct connected to stationary tools. If you have more than 20' of ductwork in any one run, you plan to open more than one branch at a time, or use lots of flex hose, bump up to a higher cfm, which may mean a 35 hp model. Sign up for eletters today and get the latest techniques and how-to from Fine Woodworking, plus special offers. A channel routed around the opening in this bracket cradles a Quick-Clamp gasket to secure the duct. Attaching flex hose requires adapters. 2022 The Taunton Press, Inc. All rights reserved. Heres how. You'll be glad you did. My main system is an Oneida Air Mini Gorilla that I connect to my larger tools via a flexible hose. Let Mother Nature be your co-designer as you build dazzling projects with wavy edges, bristly burrs, bark inclusions, and other flaws that give wood a look of unrefined beauty. They need not be right next to the tool's dust port. A well-planned dust-collection system traps the tiniest of particlesthe ones that can cause the most lung damagebefore they become airborne. They have been certified by a third-party tester to trap at least 99.97 percent of .3-micron particles. So the Oneida dust centrifuge WORKS! But if this puts ducts in walking paths and work areas, vertical branches may be required. When I built my shop four years ago, I decided to forego a central system with ducts and to use a portable Mini-Gorilla from Oneida Air Systems. Rout the recesses right to hold a lid upright. We shadowed two experienced makers and installers of custom cabinetry to bring you simple tips and tricks that will keep your built-in projects (and your sanity) on the bubble.. The bandsaw, a less-demanding tool, sits at the end of the longest trunk. Get instant access to over 100 digital plans available only to UNLIMITED members. Anyway, you asked for it. Manufacturers determine cfm in a variety of ways. In a cyclone, the airflow pulls dust into a conical chamber where it spins around, gradually losing velocity so the majority of the material falls into a collection bin. Big? Theres no heat/AC and ambiance aplenty! This serves my larger generators well (table saw, planer, jointer, etc.). To save even more floor space, I raised the shop floor to allow the ducting to pass below it and emerge where its needed, eliminating hoses underfoot. Unfinished garage becomes a woodworking haven. After sealing them, you'll know whether the dust-collector filter does its job well or requires an upgrade. Click for full details. I have a 3hp Delta dust collector with a 4 inlet. Tom Fuchs, I guess I have four dust collection systems in my shop. (See Sources for the bit we used.) When calculating the full cost of a system, save money on ductwork, if needed, to invest in a better collector and filter. In last issues eZine, Rob wished our U.S. readers a happy Fourth of July (Independence Day in the U.S.). A gasket in the clamp creates an air-tight seal. The 4" and 6" diameters match the inlets on many collectors, but collectors with 5" inlets require adapters, and the mismatched duct reduces system performance. Enter now for your chance to win more than $2,000 worth of woodworking equipment from Woodpeckers. If a collector spews fine dust back into the air, it's doing more harm than good [ above]. I have two shop-made box fan/air filter assemblies that I use when Im sanding larger pieces. This makes emptying all this built-in apparatus much easier. Response to Floor Question: Dont Forget the Appliances, Woodworking | Blog | Videos | Plans | How To, Rob wondered what your solutions are for dust collection, Order Woodworking Plans, DVDs and Supplies. In spite of its spaciousness, theres not enough room to permanently mount my floor-standing machinery, so over the years Ive castrated two table saws, two band saws, one heavy 5hp planer, a jointer, a two lumber organizers/racks, router table, belt sander, maple workbench, shop vacuum, etc. Each branch has a blast gate that I have to set whenever I get ready to use a specific tool. Consider these pointers to keep your shop and your lungs in great shape. Thin-wall PVC costs less than schedule 40 and proves plenty sturdy for dust-collection use. WOOD magazine Design Editor John Olson fabricated a holder [below] to secure vertical duct runs.

Seal them with weather stripping, tape, or caulk. Look for filters labeled HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air). Dylos DC-1100 Pro air quality monitor, woodmagazine.com/dylos. In addition, I have a box fan situated above a furnace filter close to the ceiling. I have a smart-home switch that activates the dust collector. Of the options shown here, PVC pipe [below] costs the least and many home centers stock it. The dust collector is so quiet in the shop that I had to hang little tape flags in the opening to see when it is running. But running ductwork up before routing it back down increases a run's length, adding resistance. I have added four hanging air filters to the shop over the years. Cut the 4" hole in a 1 1267" block, drill screw pilot holes, then bandsaw the block in half. Upgrading to an aftermarket filter [below, Sources] can improve a collector that offers sufficient cfm but poor filtration. Plus tips, advice, and special offers from Fine Woodworking. So heres my cut on dust collection. In both styles, a motor-driven impeller pulls debris-laden air through an inlet. Airflow drops as dust coats the filter bag interior, but filtration typically improves. I STILL have and use a shop vacuum on my few tools that dont have 4 ports installed. So I take dust control seriously in my shop for myself and any visitors. Operate gates [below], whether shop-made or purchased, by pulling or pushing the gate open or closed. Blessed with an eye for potential, David Willett looked at his dark, unfinished 112-car garage built in 1956 and saw the bones of a workshop.

I installed it after a year of spreading sawdust everywhere.