# What to buy?



## Stilts (Dec 2, 2010)

I have slowly turned my garage into a workshop and my wife has been pretty understanding about it. But the dust is a problem. Before it wad a workshop I put up some racks to keep all the shoes out there. That was a great idea until I had to spend 2 hours picking sawdust out of her suede boots. I am now just covering them up with a tarp which has mixed results. There is also the pain of just cleaning it all up. I never really thought I would do enough out there to need a dust collector but turns out this is kinda addictive. Who knew. Anyways, I was looking for some suggestions and price points. I live in Canada. Thanks for the advice.


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## Paul W Gillespie (Jul 7, 2011)

I am no expert, being a newbie myself, but I saw this Harbor Freight model on sale for 189.00 and they have a 20% off coupon code of GOOGLE20 bringing it in at 151.99. Several other folks on the forum said it was decent and they had it. I have it in my shopping cart now, just deciding if I can put out the money this week or wait. I just made some big shop purchases.

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-hp-industrial-5-micron-dust-collector-97869.html


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*what ever DC you get do this*

Make a thien baffle like in these threads. You can add a separator, but that takes up floor space. You can exhaust it outside but take removes the conditioned air in your shop and creates anegative pressure which will suck furnace gases back into the shop if so equipped. The Thien modification is simple and takes about an hour.
It will work on any brand of DC, I have a Jet and Grizzly. The HF unit is really a great deal, except the bag is not fine enough to catch the smallest particles, it's a 5 micron. 
My experience with "collecting" dust is that no matter how many devices and systems you have, some dust gets in the air and settles on everything. I have an air filtration unit overhead, dust collectors and a shop vac hooked up over the blade....what else can I do? Turn on the ceiling exhaust fan, put on a dust mask and get out the leaf blower a couple of times a year. :laughing: bill


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

A couple of items you are going to want / need...

#1. A proper dust collector. The HF 2HP unit is fine, except the filter bag is worthless. $151.99 is a decent enough price for it. HF right now has free shipping until I think the 28th...
#2. While you are at it, get the Dust collection accessory kit from HF. Less than $50.00
#3. Get a 1 micron dust bag from Highland Woodworking.
#4. Build and install a Thien baffle in the inlet ring of your DC, OR build a trash can Thien separator. I went with a 55 gallon drum as I do a LOT of jointing / planing and turning, a 30 gallon trash can fills up too fast...


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