# Small basement DIY dust collection



## Jeff Reed (Oct 17, 2020)

I live in a small house with an equally small full basement. I found wood flooring while remodeling and finished it so I do not have a subfloor. I need to be pretty meticulous about dust if I'm going to do woodworking in my 720 sq/ft home. I'm just getting started with woodworking so the only tools in the basement are typical hand tools and router table with dust collection I'm currently making. After the router table I'll make a miter saw table with dust collection.



I work in heating and air and have experience with piping as well as making sheet metal. I have my pick of used blower assemblies out of furnaces and can replace motors with whatever spec needed. I plan on using one to build an air filtration rack. Between wood and metal work I can probably hang it from the open joist ceiling in my basement. I'm thinking I'll stack a .5 micron over top of a .1 micron filter.


I live in the suburbs so I'd have to be careful venting any system outdoors, BUT I have a full covered front porch with an egress door access. I could vent outside right by the egress door with some kind of collection canister I could clean out. I could build a muffler if noise is a problem. I can bring in fresh air, heck if I wanted to go all out I could buy (at cost)a fresh air intake system we use for my work.



My question is, can I purchase a dust collection motor and housing and build the rest myself? I can make a separator. I can make a sheet metal canister as tall as 4ft high, though that size would be overkill. Just getting started with all this I don't really want to invest in a prebuilt dust collector...cause I don't know how far I'll go with this new hobby. That and with my heating and air tools and access to materials I can build one. I can check static pressure, I can measure air flow. I know I'm new to all this but I believe I can educate myself and build a good system which I can upgrade later if needed while saving some money.


I've seen people buy Harbor Freight collector and then modify it. With my profession I see no reason why I can't simply buy a motor/housing and build the rest myself. BUT I don't know how many HP and what kind of air flow I need to build this for. The community's help in sourcing the correct motor/housing would be wonderful.


----------



## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

I would just buy the HF and be done....the biggest thing with a basement shop is an air cleaner....


----------



## Jeff Reed (Oct 17, 2020)

Rebelwork said:


> I would just buy the HF and be done....the biggest thing with a basement shop is an air cleaner....



I can build one. I have two spare blower motor and wheel assemblies sitting in my garage which I was going to use over the winter to create some push pull air movement to use next summer. I can use one of those for an air filtration system like you posted. I can buy the filters and I work with sheet metal. I can bend up brackets and spot weld to hold the filters and build the frame out of metal and/or wood. I can get at cost whatever sized motor I might need.


----------



## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

If your motors are big enough how about a down draft table?


----------



## Jeff Reed (Oct 17, 2020)

Rebelwork said:


> If your motors are big enough how about a down draft table?



Oh, I had not considered a down draft table. I like that idea. I'll have to do some research on that.


As far as motors, the ones I typically work with range anywhere between 600-2000 CFM. I just have to wait for whatever sized equipment to be come into work and be marked for scrap. I can buy whatever I want at cost, including commercial/industrial sized which can range well above 2000 CFM, but I typically don't work with those sizes daily.


----------



## B Coll (Nov 2, 2019)

I have a full shop in a stand alone building. I only have a 1-1/2 hp cheap ass dust collector that has a chip separator made from a garbage can before it. It is hard piped along the ceilings with blast gates at every machine. Believe it or not it handles my 15" planer, 5 hp cabinet saw, 5 hp spindle shaper, radial arm saw, band saw, and long bed jointer. Only occasionally will my planer bog it down. I would not worry too much about motor power if I were you. As long as you hard pipe it, do not have leaks all over, and use good quality blast gates you should be fine. Post a pic when you are done making it, we would love to see it.


----------



## Rebelwork (Jan 15, 2012)

B Coll said:


> I have a full shop in a stand alone building. I only have a 1-1/2 hp cheap ass dust collector that has a chip separator made from a garbage can before it. It is hard piped along the ceilings with blast gates at every machine. Believe it or not it handles my 15" planer, 5 hp cabinet saw, 5 hp spindle shaper, radial arm saw, band saw, and long bed jointer. Only occasionally will my planer bog it down. I would not worry too much about motor power if I were you. As long as you hard pipe it, do not have leaks all over, and use good quality blast gates you should be fine. Post a pic when you are done making it, we would love to see it.


But your system will not handle an overhead sander...After years of having a hobby shop and working in Profesional ships I've figured out most hobby shops ignore buying the correct Air compressor , dust collection and putting enough power in to handle future purchases....


----------

