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Help with dust extraction
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=37649		 Page 1 of 3
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 8:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Help with dust extraction
I am building a simple, 12 x 20' workshop. I have a large and small disk/belt sander, a large and small bandsaw, a drill press, jet 10/20 drum sander, small jointer, an oscillating spindle sander, and a random orbital sander.
I did a search on the topic of dust extraction/collection on the forum and was lead to Bill Pentz's website.....which is a wonderful gathering of knowledge, but raised as many questions as it answered.
So I am hoping for some ideas and guidance on how best to use the collectors I already own. I have a small Rikon wall mounted collector and was given a Kong Sen 2 HP collector.
Some specific questions are:
Should I build a small outside addition for the 2 HP collector, or leave the larger collector inside the shop?

Better to create a duct system, or move the collector from tool to tool.....understanding that it is on a wheeled cart?

If I read Mr Pentz's information correctly, he is saying that I would need 6" ducting to realize the highest CFMs. Also, he talks about the problems with transitions to tools with smaller dust ports. My hobby sized tools have ports from 1.5 to 4". Is there any point in having 6" ducting if the ports reduce to 4" or less?

Lastly, because I live in a hot, dry place, I'm building the shop with no windows, blown in insulation, a humidifier and mini split HVAC system. Is there any concern about too little shop airflow if built too tight (this not related just to dust collection, but general air quality).

Thanks in advance! Beth
Author:  Kent Chasson [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 9:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
It's a complex subject and it ultimately depends on your goals. Designing a system that keeps huge piles of dust and chips from accumulating is very different than designing a system that keeps the finest, most harmful particles out of the air.

Some people don't mind breathing dust. Some people (like Bill Pentz) have serious immediate reactions.

If you want to keep the fine particles out of the air, plan on putting some serious work into every aspect of it. You need a cyclone separator, large ductwork, a good filter, and you will need to modify most of your tools to allow the greater suction to work.

If you are not willing to put that kind of work into it, then I suggest ignoring Bill Pentz's info and going with whatever is cheap and easy. If you are concerned about breathing dust and don't want to go the full nine yards, wear a good respirator.

Putting the collector outside is OK (makes it quieter and saves space) if you return the air back to the shop. If not, you have have to provide makeup air (a hole in the wall) and you will quickly lose all your temp and humidity control.

Another good resource is this section of the Sawmill Creek forum. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/forumdispla ... -WorkShops
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 10:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Thanks Kent! And I am worried about the fine dust, not the chips and bigger things. I'm not averse to modifying my tools to accept the larger ductwork, but really don't know how in the case of, for example, the bandsaws, which have a metal 4" opening. l do wear a mask when hand or ROS sanding, even with a downdraft going.

I'd love to see pictures of some of the setups that builders have in their shops, and hear strategies that are being used.
Author:  Spyder [ Wed Sep 05, 2012 11:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
My shop is not much bigger, it is 16 X 24. I have two main dust control devices, an overhead box hanging from the ceiling and a large dust collector. Both are made by Jet. The overhead is very nice, keeps the air clean in the shop. I have to pull the filters all along and clean them with a shop vac, otherwise they work fine for me.

As for the large collector, I went to Woodcraft and bought one of those plastic cyclone lids that fits on top of a metal garbage can. It made the unit a lot more efficient, since the heavy stuff doesn't go into the bags, but stays in the can. I put the dust collector against the wall, and built a sled with casters for the trash can. Coming out of the can I have a long 4 inch flexible hose that will reach most everything in my shop. Only my band saw and downdraft box have a 4 inch connection, everything else is smaller. But you can still catch most of the dust, just get a bit of stiff wire, and hook it to the tool so the hose is mostly over the port. Works surprisingly well.

Now I will admit that I still get a fine dusting all over the place, but after installing and using this stuff, I no longer feel like I'm inside a dust cloud.

One thing to consider is extra filtration on your AC unit. This fine dust can coat the coils, causing the unit to freeze up due to lower air flow. That's a pain in this heat!


Hope this helps,
Author:  ChuckB [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 6:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
If you can swing it, a cyclone is the best way to go. It will seperate the chips and fine dust particles so you will maintain a higher cfm of dust extraction without clogging your filter. I started out with a 2hp HF dust collector which worked fine, but I needed to continuosly clean the filter or lose cfm. Just a few months ago I built a cyclone from Pentz's site. The difference is amazing, even with the 4" pipe ducting that I am currently using. Pentz's site is full of valuable info.

Chuck
Author:  bluescreek [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 6:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
I have a grizzly Cyclone and would tell you it isn't worth the room it takes up. Clear view or Penn state industries may be better. I have a main duct for it and run lines to all the tools with a cut off gate.
When looking at the dust collectors you really need to look at filtration. On my there is a canister filter. This blocks up with fines and is very difficult to clean out. The cyclone doesn't do a very good job of separation and the filter mechanism to clean out the filter is difficult to work. When it was new and in the show room it seemed perfect , in the real work application no so good.
I also run a air scrubber that has a 2 stage filter , this is pretty good at pulling out the fine air circulated dust. You want as small a micron filter as you can get but the smaller they get the faster they block so look for double staged filters.
If you have heat , placing the main collector outside will also pull out any heat or controlled environment outside as well.
Author:  bluescreek [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 6:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
I used PVC pipe and did a 4 inch main the first time ( NOT GOOD ) I now have a 6 inch metal ducting. If you use plastic be sure to use a metal tape and ground it. I like Todd's recommendations as they make sense . When you think about it now , You can build in a big mistake or you can build in an investment.
Doing it right the first time beats ripping it out and doing a redo. I did convert may drops to flex line . This is commercially available at most industrial supply houses
Author:  Markus Schmid [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 7:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Todd Stock wrote:
[...] For band saws and other tools, just carry the 6" as close to the tool as possible, then minimize the length of the 4" transition. Most of the static pressure loss from a restriction will be recovered if the length of the restriction is not much longer than 2x the diameter of the restriction and the transition is reasonably smooth. [...]

In addition, a bandsaw (and also some other stationary tools) require ideally more than just one hood, so splitting up the cross-section of the 6" duct in two smaller ducts with approximately the same total cross-section "surface" makes sense. Bill Pentz covers this here.
Author:  bluescreek [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 8:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
I do have 4 in drops and they work well for me but for the belt sander , you need a 6in depending on your main unit. It all comes down to your Cu Ft Min pull. Again if the filter system is not designed properly your Cu Ft will drop dramatically
Author:  Kent Chasson [ Thu Sep 06, 2012 11:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
I've had great results with the Clearvue cyclone. A good cyclone is essential if you want to keep small particles out of the air. No matter how good your filter is, if you immediately clog it up with fine dust, your suction will drop and you defeat the purpose. The Clearvue seems to live up to it's efficiency rating. I've had mine for about 18 months and it's hard to believe how little dust makes it to the filter. And the filter area is huge which keeps it working better longer.

If you want to avoid breathing fines, an air cleaner is a waste in my opinion. Had one for years. It does a good job of filtering the air nearby but there are always eddys and the fine dust accumulates there, settles, and gets suspended again with any air movement. Maybe you get less overall but I felt like it did more harm than good. I would think I didn't need a respirator but I was still breathing the most harmful particles.

For modifying tools, you really have to get creative and be willing to cut metal. Below are some of the solutions we came up with. Wish I could take credit for all of them but my many were designed and built by my awesome helper. After 18 months, you can still run your finger on top of an upper shelf and only find a small amount of dust.

Here's the cyclone. I bought the larger impeller (17" ?) and started with 8" and branched to two 6" lines. You should be fine with a smaller impeller and one 6" line. You can also see the home made dust hood for the edge sander.

Image

Here's the band saw. Bandsaws are tough because you can't have a large opening around the blade in the table. We split a 6" line in two to make one over and one under. We also removed some steel that was blocking air flow and added flexible rubber shields below to help direct the air.

Image

Here's an example of making a 4" opening into a 6" in a jointer/planer.

Image

This was my helper's genius idea for the pin router and binding router. I thought the router would throw dust too hard for this to work but it works great.

Image

This was my best contribution. A downdraft table for the drill press. The rectangle in the middle is replaceable so I don't worry about drilling into it. I can also remove the rectangle and attach a spindle sander to the drill press.

Image

This one gets the prize for most awesome looking and worst performing. I'm at a loss as to how to deal with a buffer. This doesn't work.

Image
Author:  Don Williams [ Fri Sep 07, 2012 5:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Nice stuff there Kent. Serious equipment!
I only have a 2HP Grizzly with the canister filter on top, but it does pretty well in the same space that you have Beth. I swapped out my old 4" pvc pipes for 5" metal pipes and sealed it up carefully, and it really moves air now from all my tools. It wasn't all that expensive to do either. I think I only had at most $300 into all the metal ductwork including the nice round elbows (not the swivel kind for the 90's) I used metal duct tape (aluminum) to seal it all up, and sealed all my blast gates with silicone. It really sucks now! In a good way.
All that said...if I had it to do all over again, I'd want an Oneida. I know several folks who have them and they are great. I can't speak to how good the Clearview stuff or others are.
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Fri Sep 07, 2012 9:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Really helpful, everyone! Kent, I love that drill press downdraft table. Todd...those specifics are great to know. For now because of cost, a cyclone is not in my future, but I should be able to maximize my effectiveness with these tips, using the big extractor. I really don't know if I should continue to use the wall-hanging one, because it sucks into a bag and I'm not sure the finest particles aren't just escaping anyway. There is no filter like the big unit has.
Author:  ChuckB [ Fri Sep 07, 2012 7:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Wynn Environmental, http://www.wynnenv.com/cartridge_filters.htm , sells filters to replace the bag on most dust collectors. Can get you down to .5 micron.

Chuck
Author:  Ed Haney [ Fri Sep 07, 2012 8:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Beth,

Exhausting the dust collector's air outside may not practical for AZ due to the heat. A decent sized dust collection system will pull all the air out of your shop (air changes) in a few minutes. So a cool air conditioned shop will turn into a hot shop quickly if you exhaust it outside and replace it with the hot outside air. Also, your humidity control will be gone. Your dry AZ air will rule.

I have the ClearVue and it works great. I ran a 7" dia duct on an original sized unit so I can run a 7" drop, or 6" & 4" drops, or three 4" drops from the 7" main. This gives me more flexibility and more air at each machine than a 6" main system. Here in the Houston area, 7" metal spiral duct and 7" HVAC fittings were MUCH cheaper than 6" PVC Sewer & Drain pipe. Besides, you can't get 7" S&D pipe. HVAC duct is too flimsy (spiral wound is needed), but the HVAC fittings work fine. If you look for a fabrication shop in your area you may be surprised at how cost effective the metal system may be - and grounding is easy.

Kent was right in pointing out that you need to decide if you are just doing housekeeping or if you doing housekeeping AND protecting your health. Housekeeping is fairly easy. Protecting your health takes more thought, more design at each station, more time and more money. But a health problem can be a lot more costly.

Wearing a respirator sounds like a practical cheaper solution to protecting your health, it really is not. Why? Most people take the respirator off almost immediately after doing an operation. The fine unhealthy dust will continue to spread through the shop and stay suspended for a long while - easily hours if you do not have other HEPA dust filtration in addition to the cyclone. As Pentz points out, you don't even have to do a woodworking task to stir up unhealthy dust. All you have to do is walk around your shop and the air currents will stir it up into your breathing air. Are you going to wear a respirator the entire time you are in the shop? If so, that would work, but it is not practical for most people.

Just some points to consider.

Ed
Author:  Kent Chasson [ Sat Sep 08, 2012 3:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Ed Haney wrote:
....

Wearing a respirator sounds like a practical cheaper solution to protecting your health, it really is not. Why? Most people take the respirator off almost immediately after doing an operation. The fine unhealthy dust will continue to spread through the shop and stay suspended for a long while - easily hours if you do not have other HEPA dust filtration in addition to the cyclone. As Pentz points out, you don't even have to do a woodworking task to stir up unhealthy dust. All you have to do is walk around your shop and the air currents will stir it up into your breathing air. Are you going to wear a respirator the entire time you are in the shop? If so, that would work, but it is not practical for most people.

Just some points to consider.

Ed


This is the crux of the whole thing. If you are someone who can stand wearing a respirator 90% of the time and has the tenacity to actually do it, then a respirator is probably the better solution. Certainly the cheaper and easier one. But as Ed points out, most people don't.

There really are no easy answers. If I was only exposed 5-10 hrs a week, I would be less concerned. But as much as I'm in the shop, it's a good investment. I know a few woodworkers who have great respiratory health after 30-40 years of full time work with few precautions. But I've seen more who are 50 and struggle on the 2nd flight of stairs. And then there are people who have extreme reactions to small exposures. Makes it hard to figure risk/reward.

I will add that the one drawback of the Clearvue is that it puts out a lot of heat.
Author:  Don Williams [ Sat Sep 08, 2012 4:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Kent Chasson wrote:
I will add that the one drawback of the Clearvue is that it puts out a lot of heat.


My Grizzly can pump out the heat too. I have to wonder if this is a factor on all of them. Heck, my shop vac (Fein) can pump out the heat as well.

I will say that the canister filter that replaced the bag on my Griz has cut down on a lot of the fine dust particles that were escaping the bags. You should also seriously consider a good air filter in the shop as well. I have a Jet, which seemed to have specs that were as good as the JDS units at Woodcraft for a little less money, and it does wonders at keeping the fine stuff out of the air. It has to be placed carefully though, as it sets up an air movement pattern which keeps the air in the shop moving to accomplish the task (supposedly). It's a good investment. A cleanable filter is another good thing...
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Sat Sep 08, 2012 7:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Todd Stock wrote:
The practice of linearly scaling down dust collection systems is common in the guidance you see for small shop systems - sort of "the big guys use this, so we use the same reductions in line size to match their duct velocities" - but as duct size goes down, wall turbulence and other factors dominate and rapidly choke the flow, so it just does not work well in practice. I would not recommend any drop be less than 6" - going to 4" drops cripple a system by capping max CFM at about 400 CFM or less - well under what is required to collect the fines that are the real hazard here. You can hook a 10 hp DC to a 20 foot 4" duct, and it won't move any more air than a 2 hp DC will...stick with 6" stuff for drops (5" if you just cannot fit 6"), go to 7" or 8" for mains if your system is in the 5 hp range, and unless the installation is for a 1-on-1 collection system (e.g., point collection on a machine with very short duct), don't bother with anything under 2 hp, and shoot for at least 3 hp.


It would be fairly easy for me to do a 1 on 1 collection system with this 2 HP unit I have. If I did that (used the cart to take it to each machine) and had a very short 4 or 5" run (the opening on the collector I have is a 5"), would it be okay that the tools themselves have the smaller dust ports, and that the short "duct" I'm using between the tool and collector is only 4 or 5 "? Or would I still need to have the 6" ducting and try to modify and enlarge the tool ports?
Author:  meddlingfool [ Sat Sep 08, 2012 11:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Honestly I believe that hauling your collector from machine to machine will grow tiresome very quickly. Very. It will also lead to a lot of 'oh I just need to do this one quick sand/cut/whatever so I won't hook it up just this once' incidents. FWIW...
Author:  SteveSmith [ Sun Sep 09, 2012 8:23 am ]
Post subject:  Help with dust extraction
Good point. I have to keep on myself to turn the collector on for the little tasks. I doubt I would bother if I had to drag it across the room. Maybe you have better self discipline.
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
SteveSmith wrote:
Good point. I have to keep on myself to turn the collector on for the little tasks. I doubt I would bother if I had to drag it across the room. Maybe you have better self discipline.


Not really. I have been guilty of not starting the dust collector for short or small tasks up until now, when I have only the 1 on 1 system with the smaller motor. And my methods to date have been suboptimal for sure. But some of that was not really understanding the issues of fine dust and air movement. Not knowing or realizing that just moving through the shop suspends that left over fine dust. Not knowing that, even if you have the best collector and great main ducting, how you do your drops and attach it to your tools can make or break your success. Now that I've read Bill P's site, and had this discussion, I want to be a lot more proactive and am willing to be inconvenienced a bit in order to work safer. Even though I am not in a position to spend thousands of dollars to get the very best system and ductwork right now, clearly there is a lot I can do to improve my current, tepid practices, and I will be much less willing to let "just a quick" operation slide without some protection and/or collection.
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Sun Sep 09, 2012 12:12 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Don Williams wrote:
Nice stuff there Kent. Serious equipment!
I only have a 2HP Grizzly with the canister filter on top, but it does pretty well in the same space that you have Beth. I swapped out my old 4" pvc pipes for 5" metal pipes and sealed it up carefully, and it really moves air now from all my tools. It wasn't all that expensive to do either. I think I only had at most $300 into all the metal ductwork including the nice round elbows (not the swivel kind for the 90's) I used metal duct tape (aluminum) to seal it all up, and sealed all my blast gates with silicone. It really sucks now! In a good way.
All that said...if I had it to do all over again, I'd want an Oneida. I know several folks who have them and they are great. I can't speak to how good the Clearview stuff or others are.


Don, this sounds like a setup I could afford to do at this point. Can you tell me what gauge or brand of metal ducting you used? Did you buy it from an HVAC place, or a big box store? Thanks, B
Author:  Ed Haney [ Sun Sep 09, 2012 10:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
f
Beth Mayer wrote:
SteveSmith wrote:
Good point. I have to keep on myself to turn the collector on for the little tasks. I doubt I would bother if I had to drag it across the room. Maybe you have better self discipline.


Not really. I have been guilty of not starting the dust collector for short or small tasks up until now, when I have only the 1 on 1 system with the smaller motor. And my methods to date have been suboptimal for sure. But some of that was not really understanding the issues of fine dust and air movement. Not knowing or realizing that just moving through the shop suspends that left over fine dust. Not knowing that, even if you have the best collector and great main ducting, how you do your drops and attach it to your tools can make or break your success. Now that I've read Bill P's site, and had this discussion, I want to be a lot more proactive and am willing to be inconvenienced a bit in order to work safer. Even though I am not in a position to spend thousands of dollars to get the very best system and ductwork right now, clearly there is a lot I can do to improve my current, tepid practices, and I will be much less willing to let "just a quick" operation slide without some protection and/or collection.


Beth,
You may be motivated at the moment, but when you are in a hurry, or tired, or whatever, the temptation to not pull a dust collector around is huge. VERY few people will maintain the self discipline/motivation to relentlessly do this.

If you just do not have the money to get a more powerful dust collection system, you could consider this as a secondary option:

1. Get an air quality monitor so you actually know what the dust situation is (amount in the air) at all times in your shop. You need this if you get a good expensive dust collection system or if stay with what you have. Since you can't see the harmful dust, unless you have a monitor you will never know how good or bad you are doing with dust collection for your health. If we do not measure our air quality, we do not really know how well or poorly we are doing at collecting the fine dust and keeping our breathing air clean. Here is a common monitor http://www.dylosproducts.com/ornodcproair.html

2. Get a HEPA Filter and run it 24/7. Even better, get 2 of the same filters to more quickly clear the air after a dust creating task. Something like this $140 Hunter will work fine since your shop is so small to save money over the ceiling mounted units. Besides, most of the ceiling mounted expensive units sold at woodworking stores are not even HEPA rated anyway. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CCYSV8/?ta ... B000CCYSV8

3. Mount one or 2 ceiling fans and run them 24/7. This stirs the air up all the time which stirs up the dust more so than your walking around and doing non dust creating activities. The fans constantly stir up dust that is collected by the HEPA filter(s) so that when you go into your shop you will find excellent quality air as measured by the monitor. There is little left to stir up by your walking around.

4. Wear a respirator with P100 filters when the air quality is fair or worse. (With the HEPA running, the air will clean up so you can remove the respirator when it does according to the air quality monitor. This will not take as long as you may think because of the fans and the HEPA filters)

5. Determine if your current system is a 1) Chip collector and dust blower OR 2) Chip collector and dust collector. Only Use your existing system if it is a dust collector. Otherwise, modify the final filtration so that it collects fine dust. You should NEVER see ANY dust in the air of your shop. If you do, you are guaranteed that you have extremely unhealthy air quality.

These suggestions total several hundred dollars, but not several thousand as can be spent on a good cyclone dust collection system. And everything in steps 1 thru 3 are useful with a good cyclone system too.

Good luck.

Ed
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Sun Sep 09, 2012 11:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Ed Haney wrote:
f
Beth Mayer wrote:
SteveSmith wrote:
Good point. I have to keep on myself to turn the collector on for the little tasks. I doubt I would bother if I had to drag it across the room. Maybe you have better self discipline.


Not really. I have been guilty of not starting the dust collector for short or small tasks up until now, when I have only the 1 on 1 system with the smaller motor. And my methods to date have been suboptimal for sure. But some of that was not really understanding the issues of fine dust and air movement. Not knowing or realizing that just moving through the shop suspends that left over fine dust. Not knowing that, even if you have the best collector and great main ducting, how you do your drops and attach it to your tools can make or break your success. Now that I've read Bill P's site, and had this discussion, I want to be a lot more proactive and am willing to be inconvenienced a bit in order to work safer. Even though I am not in a position to spend thousands of dollars to get the very best system and ductwork right now, clearly there is a lot I can do to improve my current, tepid practices, and I will be much less willing to let "just a quick" operation slide without some protection and/or collection.


Beth,
You may be motivated at the moment, but when you are in a hurry, or tired, or whatever, the temptation to not pull a dust collector around is huge. VERY few people will maintain the self discipline/motivation to relentlessly do this.

If you just do not have the money to get a more powerful dust collection system, you could consider this as a secondary option:

1. Get an air quality monitor so you actually know what the dust situation is (amount in the air) at all times in your shop. You need this if you get a good expensive dust collection system or if stay with what you have. Since you can't see the harmful dust, unless you have a monitor you will never know how good or bad you are doing with dust collection for your health. If we do not measure our air quality, we do not really know how well or poorly we are doing at collecting the fine dust and keeping our breathing air clean. Here is a common monitor http://www.dylosproducts.com/ornodcairqum.html

2. Get a HEPA Filter and run it 24/7. Even better, get 2 of the same filters to more quickly clear the air after a dust creating task. Something like this $140 Hunter will work fine to save money over the ceiling mounted units. Besides, most of the ceiling mounted expensive units sold at woodworking stores are not even HEPA rated anyway. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CCYSV8/?ta ... B000CCYSV8

3. Mount one or 2 ceiling fans and run them 24/7. This stirs the air up all the time which stirs up the dust more so than your walking around and doing non dust creating activities. The fans constantly stir up dust that is collected by the HEPA filter(s) so that when you go into your shop you will find excellent quality air as measured by the monitor. There is little left to stir up by your walking around.

4. Wear a respirator with P100 filters when the air quality is fair or worse. (With the HEPA running, the air will clean up so you can remove the respirator when it does according to the air quality monitor. This will not take as long as you may think because of the fans and the HEPA filters)

5. Determine if your current system is a 1) Chip collector and dust blower OR 2) Chip collector and dust collector. Only Use your existing system if it is a dust collector. Otherwise, modify the final filtration so that it collects fine dust. You should NEVER see ANY dust in the air of your shop. If you do, you are guaranteed that you have extremely unhealthy air quality.

These suggestions total several hundred dollars, but not several thousand as can be spent on a good cyclone dust collection system. And everything in steps 1 thru 3 are useful with a good cyclone system too.

Good luck.

Ed

Thanks so much for those helpful suggestions, Ed. My "new" (recently given to my by a builder who upgraded to the cyclone) 2 HP unit is both chip and dust collector. I haven't put it in use yet, because it is a 220 machine and I'm just building the shop now in which I will have the electrical upgrade. I did plan to get a couple of the HEPA units, so I'm glad to hear that those will help. I had not thought about a way to measure the air quality, and will definitely look into doing so.
And you are correct that I am unlikely to be disciplined enough to use the 1 -1 collector every time. Thanks for taking the time to make this outline. Beth
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:49 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
For what it's worth, Oneida makes a cyclone for those two bag dust collectors, that will really prolong filter life. It's really a Dust Deputy, but a bit larger and with bigger input and output ports. I'd guess it will make a big difference in overall performance.
Author:  John Killin [ Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:56 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Help with dust extraction
Don Williams wrote:
You should also seriously consider a good air filter in the shop as well. I have a Jet, which seemed to have specs that were as good as the JDS units at Woodcraft for a little less money, and it does wonders at keeping the fine stuff out of the air. It has to be placed carefully though, as it sets up an air movement pattern which keeps the air in the shop moving to accomplish the task (supposedly). It's a good investment. A cleanable filter is another good thing...


Don,

Are you talking about the overhead air clearer type filters? I have a Delta that I'm about to hang. If so, do you know of any information on positioning these? My plan was to get it close to the outlet. laughing6-hehe

Seriously thought I am installing in a garage so I need to be able to clear the door when it is up and either clear where future lights are going to go, or plan the lighting around it. I have a spot that should work and is over where I create the most dust, but if there is some guide that would help cut down the trial and error, that would be great.

My plan for the thing is to turn it on when I’m done for the day to clean the air rather than stir it up while I’m working.


Thanks,

John
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