# shopbuilt dust collector?



## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Lots of folks have been talking about air cleaners from old furnace blowers. 

What about shop built dust collectors for piped systems? What kind of motor/blower do you need for that?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*All "dust" is not equal*

The small airborn dust that you can see with a flashlight in the dark is what the Air Filtration units collect on their filters on the outside of the box or unit.
The other type of dust from table saws, jointers and planers has some of the smaller particles but a whole lot more larger ones, up to 1" sometimes.
The difference is that a squirrel cage blower will not pass the larger chips and chunks and they will get stuck in the vanes and clog the blower in a heartbeat. The other difference is more technical and involves the amount of static pressure which is necessary for effective dust collection. 
Think of a Shop Vac, high velocity-low volume, vs a dust collecter, 
low-velocity high volume. The piped or stand alone dust collectors use an impeller, with large curved vanes to move the mixture of dust and chips. The chips settle out down into the bag or drum and the dust collects in the upper bags or pleated filter.
An addition of a cyclone in the line improves the separation of the dust and chips greatly and almost all falls in to drum below. 
The two concepts, air filtration and dust/chip collection are different and require different means for their operation. bill


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Thanks for the very clear and complete answer Bill! I have a lot more time than money now... have you heard of any good ways to power a shopbuilt dust collector?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Go to this site and browse*

They have one of everything you'll need!  Bill
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/dust-collection.html

For the price and a 1 micron bag this one is hard to beat:
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/DC2V3.html


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

still too much right now, esp with shipping. Thanks though, Bill, I'll have to watch their webpage

*question: *For workstation dust control (router, tablesaw, chopsaw), will a strong (but noisy) shop vac perform as well as the quieter 1hp mini collectors? 

========= 

*idea: *If answer is "yes", I'm thinking of making a mobile worktable, with the lower part being a foam lined (sound proofing) box containing my vac. I could wire power to operate via the lid on the box. Open the lid to kill power and let built up heat escape, close the lid to make it suck again. Might add some places for ice packs to help the motor live a long life. This is a jury rig to be sure, but all I'm looking for is decent dust control one or two saturdays a month without spending the money I set aside for a router, at least for now.

comments anyone?

SteveEl


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## 240sxguy (Sep 13, 2010)

Noob warning!

I found using a shop vac for collecting dust resulted in clogged filters VERY quickly.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Collect dust at the source when possible*

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/memb...ate-i-can-crosscut-53-using-fence-panel-work/

The overarm dust collector made from PVC does 2 things,
keeps my hands out of the blade and collects all the fine dust that is spit up off the back of the blade. The Dust Collector is hooked to the bottom of the saw and directly to a 1 1/2 HP Jet DC with remote. The overarm is connected directly to a Rigid 6.5 Hp ? with an inline switch on a remote for outside lights rated at 13 amps.
Turn on the shop vac, turn on the DC turn on the saw all from right in from of the saw. The room air filter hung from the ceiling (not visible) is also on a remote, 3 speeds and a timer. This is the best arrangement I have come up with. 
Router table has a shop vac stored underneath, 3.5 HP? Rigid which comes on when the router is turned on. 
All 4" DC hoses are quick disconnect and can be switched easily from jointer to planer to tablesaw etc. Best arrangement I have come up with so far. 
I would not enclose a shop vac personally, but there are "mufflers for the exhaust. Ridgid are fairly quiet compared to old Craftsman.
Turn it on before you buy one! Also check reviews online for shop vacs. The mini cyclones get good ratings to permit longer times between filter cleaning. Next on my list!  bill


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

240sxguy said:


> Noob warning!
> 
> I found using a shop vac for collecting dust resulted in clogged filters VERY quickly.



It's even worse than that..... my idea involved a semi-sealed box to keep the noise in. Where would the air have gone? Dope.


=========

Thanks Bill. After I solve the issue from below the TS I'll look at that again.

Steve


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## 240sxguy (Sep 13, 2010)

I was referring to myself as the noob by the way 

Evan


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Some of our guys like the Harbor Freight unit*

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-hp-industrial-5-micron-dust-collector-97869.html
The price is $189.00 and sometimes it can be bought for
$150.00 or so with a coupon. The 5 micron bag isn't the best, that why I suggested the PSI unit. with a 1 micron bag. :thumbsup: bill


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Thanks I saw that. I have some HF hand tools that I've never really pushed and they've been find for the light demand I've made on them. I don't know why but I'm more skeptical about the dust collector. 

Comments anyone? Is it relatively cheap because it's, well.... cheap?


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*Good info here*

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f12/dust-collection-recommendations-18176/#post145486
ACP has made a Thien collector for this unit maybe you can find the thread or he will chime in. :blink: bill

Found it:http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/true-dust-collector-finally-18850/


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## repeters (Dec 11, 2009)

I'm a little late getting into this thread but I have one of those Harbour Freight dust collectors and it works great! The noise level may be a tad higher than some of the big names are but it's done the job for over 12 years now with out a break down. I also have the garbage can top for filtering out the larger pieces (I hate to hear those pieces going through the impelers, give me the shivers).
Also, lots of gun magazines have a 20% HF coupon in them for single items and the coupons are good for more than a month usually. I usually cut out 2 or 3 of them and take my wife and my son with me when "needing" to purchase more than 1 item (she says it makes me owe her 1 when she wants to shop at her favorite clothing store with coupons :>)). 
By the time you get the parts, draw up the blueprint & build it, you could already be filling the bag up with sawdust and having fun making something else without breaking the bank.
Just my 2 cents....
Pete


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## dbhost (Jan 28, 2008)

IF you have a Harbor Freight close by, and you have the funds, I would HIGHLY recommend you go with the Harbor Freight 2HP #97869 dust collector, and upgrade the upper bag to a 1 micron unit (several vendors have them cheap...)

I have had mine now for 2 years, admittedly with a pleated filter installed (didn't suggest that because it costs more... but if you can swing it, do it...) I also have it hooked up to a drum separator, because I too HATE hearing bigger chips like loose knots, or heaven forbid a screw hitting the impeller. Sounds like I am getting shot at!


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

Steve this one at HF was just recently $139 then you can look in the wood magazine for a 20% off coupon which makes it like $112 plus tax. You couldn't build one for that. I know it's $190 now but black Friday if not sooner it will be on sale again for around $140-$150.


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Thanks to all! Yes indeed-y, I missed the HF sale a couple months back..... but like ya'll say.... the next must be just around the corner. In the meantime, I've got my wife getting excited about driving the router on some kids furniture projects. There's nothing like a convert when you want permission for more toys, errrrrrrr I mean..... TOOLS! Yeah, TOOLS.

Thanks for the suggestions all!


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## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

Mu daughter works at Harbor Freight and she was telling me that they're in the process of changing their policy regarding coupons and stuff. She said they used to accept expired coupons; that's gone by the wayside. She said that the 20% coupon won't be accepted on sale items, so that $189 2HP DC that goes on sale for $139 will be $139. They can't take another 20% off! She said even the free flashlight coupon is changing. The new coupons will say the flashlight is free WITH a $19.99 purchase. Sounds like Harbor Freight is clamping down on a lot of stuff that we all benefited from. She works in one of the retail stores so I don't know if this is regional thing or if it's the new corporate-wide policy.


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