As one of the members pointed out to me, the dust collector is to help keep the shop clean, but not for lung protection. You still need a respirator while generation airborne particles. I you are thinking of HEPA for improved lung protection, I think that is not helpful.

I do wear a mask as well while generating dust but the cleaner that the air/floor etc is then the less dust gets into the house or worse yet into the HVAC system (separate from the shop with good filters). I'm also getting an air scrubber as well in order to reduce the fine particles in the air faster. Every little bit helps.

As one of the members pointed out to me, the dust collector is to help keep the shop clean, but not for lung protection. You still need a respirator while generation airborne particles. I you are thinking of HEPA for improved lung protection, I think that is not helpful.

Joey--

I don't have personal experience with the Laguna, but for the amount of money you are talking about spending on dust collection, I would go with a Clear Vue CV1800. They cost a bit less and you get a far better collector. I love mine, and I think most folks who dig into the topic of dust collection would say that Clear Vue has a great reputation.

If you want to spend less money, you can always go with a Harbor Freight blower, paired with a separator and a HEPA filter. You get a lot of collection for the money that way. But when you want to go big and spend about $2,000 or more, I think Clear Vue wins the value race.

I bought one for a project at work...

That thing is fantastic. Its worlds better than the cheap units you see all over the place.

One of the big advantages is that it was designed right from the start.

It flows about 50% more cfm's than competitors models.

The cyclone and filter package is amazing. In real life - the vast majority of the dust ends up in the bin - not in the filter.

If I had the money - I would have one in my shop.

The general criticisms of the Laguna style machines is that the specs are way, way overrated. The clearvue specs can be trusted more to real life figures. I would do a lot of reading before making a decision...

Joey--

You are about 4 hours away from me, but you are welcome to come see my Clear Vue dust collector in person, if you want.

Keep in mind that you can mount the Clear Vue in lots of different ways. I have mine mounted lower than you probably imagine. It just takes some thought about what works best for your shop.

I agree with the post from Ed about not taking the CFM ratings from Laguna at face value. It could be a great dust collector, but they probably fluff those numbers.

You are welcome to visit at any time; just give me a heads up, so we can make sure I will be in town and available to show you around.

On the issue of how to run the pipe, there are all sorts of things to consider. On the one hand, you should want to keep the diameter of the pipe as large as you can for as much as you can. On the other hand, 8" pipe that works in this situation is not cheap. I used 6" thin wall sewer and drain PVC, and it works great. But my Clear Vue starts with a smaller inlet than yours, so 6" is not a reduction for me. It would be for you.

Keep the last few feet before the inlet as straight as you can.

Don't use 90 degree corners; use a pair of 45 degree corners, and make the bend more gradual.

Here is the biggie: where you can, make the dust collection ports on your machines bigger, and run big pipe (6") all the way to the machine. If you have to work with 4" ports at the machine, use more than one. For example, my drum sander hood was crap anyway, so I built my own replacement hood with a 6" port. On my table saw, I use a 4" port underneath and a 4" connection to a guard above. My bandsaw has a 4" port, so I use it with a 4" overhead flex hose. You get the picture. If you drop to a single 4" connection for every tool, you are not taking advantage of the dust collector's power.

Install blast gates at every tool drop.

You might want to read a bit over at the Sawmill Creek forum. Lots of discussions of serious dust collection systems over there.

Good luck!

Not an answer to your question, but something that might be worth thinking about. If you're building this up from scratch, consider getting the self clearing blast gates.

https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywo ... s0pfo4qg_e

I consistently have to open and close mine several times and I can hear more debris going through the pipe. I used aluminum piping. what I believe is happening is bigger particles are getting hung up on the lip if the gate and building up. Just a thought anyway. If I had it to do over again I'd spend a bit more and get better blast gates and get the self clearing kind.

If you go with 6" PVC, thin wall sewer & drain from a plumbing wholesaler is the way to go for the pipe and the elbows.

For the blast gates and 6" to 4" transitions, you can do a lot worse than the Clear Vue products. Even though you bought the Laguna dust collector, I think Clear Vue does a great job on plastic parts for the piping, if you are focused on 6" and 4" pipes and hoses.