dust collection unit

[chunkylover73]

I'm anxious to get back to building some more stuff but I think I'm going to invest in a dust collection unit first. If anyone can offer any advice as to brand or model, it would be appreciated.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

My back yard is my dust collector. When working I hang a fan in the doorway of my shop to exhaust it, when done I blow the sawdust into the back yard with a leaf blower.

[tdogg]

I'm anxious to get back to building some more stuff but I think I'm going to invest in a dust collection unit first. If anyone can offer any advice as to brand or model, it would be appreciated.

yeah if youre working with hardwoods its not a bad idea. the particulate from some hardwoods is highly toxic stuff. when i have the space ill get one too. currently i just to what bill does, but when im using woods that i dont want to breathe in (ash, wenge, zebrano, etc) i put on a mask and hook my shop vac up to whatever saw im using.

[jswingchun]

I have this guy from Harbor Freight:



Modified with this baffle:

http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm

As described very well on this post on this post on his forum:

http://www.cgallery.com/smf/index.php?topic=145.0

The DC is often on sale cheap (right now, in fact, for $190) , and you can find a 20% off coupon in lots of magazines. They also have a starter kit with extra hoses and connectors that is very reasonable.

[Gregory East]

I'm pretty sure I was reading in here, some time ago, about a DIY "vortex in a rubbish bin" gizmo that was supposed to do a very good job of collecting very fine dust with no filter.

[jswingchun]

I'm pretty sure I was reading in here, some time ago, about a DIY "vortex in a rubbish bin" gizmo that was supposed to do a very good job of collecting very fine dust with no filter.

Check out my post above with the links to the Thien Baffle. It can be used on a DC or scaled down to whatever. Some use five gallon buckets on shop vacs with the baffle to great success.

[bzb]

I'm pretty sure I was reading in here, some time ago, about a DIY "vortex in a rubbish bin" gizmo that was supposed to do a very good job of collecting very fine dust with no filter.

Check out my post above with the links to the Thien Baffle. It can be used on a DC or scaled down to whatever. Some use five gallon buckets on shop vacs with the baffle to great success.

This. With a $50 Rigid shop vac, too. I'd love to get a nice DC, but I don't have the space in my garage! I also want to build a nice router table... but then I'd need to get rid of my PA equipment

[jswingchun]

I'd love to get a nice DC, but I don't have the space in my garage!

For some stuff, the shop vac works better than the DC. By the time you downsize hoses on the DC to fit smaller tools, there is almost no suction there. The DC works well for the table saw, the shop vac works better for the orbital sander. I am going to end up building a two stage five gallon bucket deal for my shop vac to supplement my DC.

I am also getting ready to modify my circular saw for dust collection as it makes a huge mess. All that will leave is the router.

[bzb]

Router is my worst offender. I take the cabs out in the yard when rounding them.

BB definitely is some nasty stuff. I got a helluva sinus infection when I built the OTs.

[el_ingeniero]

Router is my worst offender. I take the cabs out in the yard when rounding them.

BB definitely is some nasty stuff. I got a helluva sinus infection when I built the OTs.

MDF makes BB look as mild as organic baby food.

[bzb]

Other than using a circle cutter, why would you ever use a router on MDF?

[chunkylover73]

I like the idea of just opening up the garage door while I'm doing my work but unfortunately we get two seasons here: July and winter . I'm not so concerned about the big stuff, I can easily remove that with my shop vac. It's the fine layer of dust that is just about everywhere that bothers me. I think I'll pick up a Delta 50-760 locally, it got pretty good reviews and seems to do a good job with the small stuff.

[el_ingeniero]

Other than using a circle cutter, why would you ever use a router on MDF?

to round off cab corners? Anyways, every power tool generates fine dust from every type of material. I'd rather inhale BB dust than MDF dust any day. But I use a dust mask anyway.

[Tom Smit]

+1 on the Thien Baffle.

A guy that works as the same place as me built a box with a fan inside. It's hung from the ceiling. The fan draws air through two stacked furnace filters and expels the air out the opposite side. After a certain run time, the external filter is discarded, the internal filter is moved to the external, and a new one is installed in the internal position. This would be good for the "fines" that escape the suction hose.

[jswingchun]

+1 on the Thien Baffle.

A guy that works as the same place as me built a box with a fan inside. It's hung from the ceiling. The fan draws air through two stacked furnace filters and expels the air out the opposite side. After a certain run time, the external filter is discarded, the internal filter is moved to the external, and a new one is installed in the internal position. This would be good for the "fines" that escape the suction hose.

Or you can take the next evolutionary step from that and build one of these like I did:



It's the third project down the page. It seems to work pretty well. It would probably work even better in an enclosed environment. I work in a garage with the door open, so the airflow in the room is affected by the outside conditions.

http://www.kevinsbrady.net/DustCollection.html#6

You could build this with double filters, put an expensive filter to the inside and a cheap furnace filter to the outside. That would make the more expensive filters last a lot longer.