Shop Dust Collection???

theworx

This is directed at the guys who have shops and have set up their own dust collection setup. I'm just in the process of setting up my shop (for mostly commercial millwork - lots of particle board to be laminated and MDF). Have any of you guys put together your own system to deal with the dust from the various tools we use to cut this stuff???

wolffhomerepair

My shop is would not be considered large but I have hard piped in 6" ducts that go back to a Grizzly 2hp collector. I added the 1 micron bag to it for all the finer dust as I am constantly using mdf board.

Leo G

Ask your question here

http://www.woodweb.com/cgi-bin/forums/dust.pl

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kklick

We just set up a new dust collection system about a year ago. We ended up going with a system from aireworks. http://www.intrafab.com/AireWorks/index.php

We have it ran to a 20" planer, 12" table saw, 12" radial arm, 18" straight line rip saw, 5hp shaper, drill press, bandsaw and a 12 miter box. We also have a few floor sweeps installed. I'll have to look tomorrow and see what model we have. I know its the 3 discharge unit and I think its the 10hp version but can't swear to it.

It handles our dust collection very well and was not too bad to set up.

Any specific questions feel free to ask. I learned a lot about dust and colleciton methods when we were researching a new unit. Getting the ductwork right is really the most important thing though.

theworx

Thanx for the replies guys. But I'm setting up shop in my 24'x24' garage. Many years ago a guy I met had a small shop in his garage and used a large shop vac as the collector (I think he lined it with garbage bags for easy disposal of the saw dust). He ran ABS pipe around to all his tools and either connected to them using flexible pipe or built shrouds around them with plywood. He also had valves on the pipe to control which tools the vac collected from.

Was wondering if anyone has "set up their own system" like this guy did. Can't afford to purchase a commercial collection system at this time !! Please note, you might be wondering what kinds of commercial millwork I could possibly do in a 24'x24' garage. My friend is a commercial millworker who is swamped and he wants me to take on all his smaller projects (kitchenettes for offices, display units for retail outlets, maybe a cash out counter or reception desk, etc...). I'm thinking it would be a good start after losing my large shop a few years ago!!! Thanx for any ideas ...

Teetorbilt

I put my collector outside. I don't care what system you are using, there will always be dust due to leakage. The fine stuff actually causes more damage than regular sawdust to you and machines. Everything inside the shop is low pressure, outside is high pressure.

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kklick

theworx,

You may want to have a look at some of these units from grizzly. http://www.grizzly.com/products/sear...dust+collector

I've got the g1030 set up on an 18 radial arm saw and another drill press. This is the unit that used to run our entire shop. Most of what I had listed above. We've had the unit in operation for over 8 years with no problems. Something like this would be great for a small shop. There are a few smaller ones that would suffice as well though.

I'd definitely suggest getting the .3 micorn bags for the top though. They filter out alot more of the small particles that the factory bags don't catch. The only problem with a shop vac is the filter capacity. We use one on a router table and its good for a bit but then the filter clogs and you lose alot of efficency and the small particles get blown back into the air.

The main draw back to using pvc collection pipe is static charge. Static will build up and can possibly cause an explosion hazard. They make grounding kits that you can run through the pvc. I can vouch for the static charge. We have about a 6' piece of 6" plastic flexible line ran from our planer up to the collection pipe. When planing that thing gets some serious static build up. It will pull dust up from about 6" away. I've never used pvc but I can say if I ran it in my own shop I'd ground it for sure.

Another thing you may want to consider eventually is an air cleaner. http://www.grizzly.com/products/g5955 They will help clear the air that doesn't get sucked up through the collector.

theworx

Thanx for the advice on the static thing (I didn't even think that could be a big problem)!!! Talked to my millwork buddy today and he's going to let me use one of his old smaller commercial units. It's a King and has worked fine for him in smaller applications. Best thing is I can pay him for it in insatallments as I do some work for him... I should have talked to him in the first place but, I'm the kinda guy who tries to take care of everything myself (well except for getting advice from you guys)..

Speaking of advice, I'll probably be picking your brains on pricing in the near future. I've done a lot of millwork for my boss (a commercial GC) but I get the plans, pick up the materials, do my site measurements, build and install. The pricing is all done by the boss and I just get paid by the hour to do the work. So I do have a basic ballpark idea but will need to refine my numbers I'm sure. My buddy will give me pointers but will not spill the beans on his actual pricing. I don't blame him !!!

Mouldings&More

If the collector is outside in the winter you are going to be losing a lot of heat. The way I did it was have the motor and blower outside and micron bags inside on the outlet side so at least conditioned air is going back inside. The more bags you can set up inside the beyyer it will be.

Leo G

Onieda 2 1/2HP Cyclone. 7" trunk to 6" trunk to 5" gates/downleads to 5" flex hose and 5" to 4" reducers. 55 gallon chip drum. 1440 CFM, most gates supply approx 600CFM to the machine hoods.

__________________
Sawdust Follows Me Everywhere

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Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

72chevy4x4

that's a great looking setup to say the least!

a looong time ago I made my own system for small stuff (circular saw and planer in the basement!). I used a large plastic trash can (35 gallon size??) and made a plywood top with an entrance for dryer vent tubing I ran to the machine and another hole to connect my shop vac. Believe it or not the system woked admirably-I planed a lot of oak and make shelving out of it.

Leo G

Thanks. I does the job pretty well. I got it at the right time. Free shipping at the time with their special promotion. Then a few months later it went up $250.00. It's nice now, you can usually see the floor after a weeks work without sweeping in between.

__________________
Sawdust Follows Me Everywhere

http://lrgwood.com
Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

RED HORSE 554

The king of dust collection http://www.industrialairtechnology.c...-collector.htm I have a 10.000 aq foot shop and this system dose a outstanding job.I have 1 lath 2 band saws 3 table saws 36 inch planer 2 shapers 2 jointers 3 table sanders and 2 cutoff saws and this company come in and detailed the requirments to the needs of all my shop tools. I n ending we remove 98% of the dust produced by our shop equeptment. I have a pic in my profile of a part of the shop with a tumblena i built for a raffel a school program was having.