Some notes on dust collection

Matt Clara

Matt Clara

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I'm not an expert, and so I can't vouch for this article, but it is interesting and a little bit scary nonetheless. Ron S should love it! (Where's that guy been, anyway?) Also, the name of the site, Clear Vue Cyclone, makes me think the website owner may be trying to sell me some dust collection units, but no actual pitch is made. At any rate, it could be the start of an interesting discussion.

BTW, I've been using a shop vac with a hepa filter, and it's been absolutely choking on the dust I'm feeding it. Today I bought an inexpensive 650 cfm dust collector, guaranteed down to 30 micron particles. This article indicates that's not nearly enough, if my dust collector is running in my shop, as opposed to having it run outside, with duct work running back in to the machines.
 
My friend Sandor Nagyszalanczy is just finishing up his edits for a new edition of his classic book "Small Shop Dust Collection" for Taunton Press, the folks who publish "Fine Woodworking" and "Fine Homebuilding." Get it.

He's my uke playing partner on our swing/jazz uke project, too. Ellington, Goodman, Mercer, Weill, etc...
 
About a decade ago, I owned a couple of retail stores selling a famous brand of vacuum cleaners at retail. I can tell you with some authority that most of the claims of the benefits of fancy systems, such as cyclones, are total BS. Take the OP's article, written by someone trying to sell you his system, with a large grain of salt.
 
mzuch said:
About a decade ago, I owned a couple of retail stores selling a famous brand of vacuum cleaners at retail. I can tell you with some authority that most of the claims of the benefits of fancy systems, such as cyclones, are total BS. Take the OP's article, written by someone trying to sell you his system, with a large grain of salt.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the warning, though I'm not in the market. Is the part about fine particles not being trapped by dust collector bags incorrect? If not, I'm going to try to get my dust collector pulling from outside, so that would be good information from that article. I hadn't actually looked at the product offered on the site until I saw your post. Even if it doesn't live up to its fine particle claim, it still appears it would extend the life of one's filters significantly. And save on cleanup time--mine gets caked, and takes a while to clean out.

Looks like you can get free plans to build your own.
 
Is the part about fine particles not being trapped by dust collector bags incorrect?
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Depends on how the system is designed. The ones designed so that the air must flow directly through the bag before being expelled are worthless. Much better are the ones that dump the dirt and dust into a bag or other receptacle, out of the airflow, before the air passes through a filter and exits the system. Also, the bag or container containing the dust/dirt/debris must be surrounded by another layer, such as a rigid casing with tight seals, to keep the small stuff out of the air. With most vacuums, the process of emptying the filled receptacle reintroduces dust into the air you breathe.
 
Ironically, most of the dust that's the worst for your lungs is what most vac systems are the worst at filtering. While our shop could make benefit of a better dust collection system, we have all of the main dust producers hooked up to a unit. I keep my jointer open, or I'd be changing the bag every day. :( As long as more of the dust ends up in the bags than on the floor, I'm happy.

Hopefully Kekani can contribute his thoughts. His shop is immaculate.
 
Rick Turner said:
My friend Sandor Nagyszalanczy is just finishing up his edits for a new edition of his classic book "Small Shop Dust Collection" for Taunton Press, the folks who publish "Fine Woodworking" and "Fine Homebuilding." Get it.
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Ditto, get the book.

koalohapaul said:
Ironically, most of the dust that's the worst for your lungs is what most vac systems are the worst at filtering.

Hopefully Kekani can contribute his thoughts. His shop is immaculate.
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Not sure if I'd call it immaculate, but I did mention in the "which tools" post that when my Jet 3hp dual cartridge dust collector went down, so did my shop.

mzuch said:
About a decade ago, I owned a couple of retail stores selling a famous brand of vacuum cleaners at retail. I can tell you with some authority that most of the claims of the benefits of fancy systems, such as cyclones, are total BS. Take the OP's article, written by someone trying to sell you his system, with a large grain of salt.
Click to expand...

If you read into Ed's site, yes, he is selling his version of Bill Pentz's design, but, he has no problem giving credit where its due. If Oneida went so far as to "force" Ed to take one of his products offline, then the grains of salt start to shrink.

I can tell you this, my cyclone works (I got the Grizzly for price and design - only after that Penn State came in with a better offer, which I would go with if I had to do it again). While this next example is certainly not scientific data, this you can take for what its worth: Thickness sanding Cocobolo with the Jet sander ALWAYS caused allergic reactions (read: sneezing, runny nose, etc), oftentimes WITH a mask. Thickness sanding with the cyclone, no reactions, even WITHOUT a mask. I empty my filter bag about once a year, and it never has more than a pint of fine dust. The drum, that another story and required multiple emptying (mask worn, of course).

BTW - 6" mains are great.

-Aaron
 
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Rick Turner said:
My friend Sandor Nagyszalanczy is just finishing up his edits for a new edition of his classic book "Small Shop Dust Collection" for Taunton Press, the folks who publish "Fine Woodworking" and "Fine Homebuilding." Get it.

He's my uke playing partner on our swing/jazz uke project, too. Ellington, Goodman, Mercer, Weill, etc...
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll check it out. It's actually called "Woodshop Dust Control".
 
My school is powered by the sawdust from local mills. I would guess a mill would create more sawdust though.
 
Matt Clara said:
Hey, here's a related question--what does one do with the mountains of sawdust they accumulate? Make paper? ;)
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I read somewhere that sawdust makes great compost. Custom paper would be cool too.
 
I got by for year with a Grizzly 1 horse power dust collector. It worked fine for small projects and will collect a fair amount even from a table saw. Since I'm setting up for full time Luithery I got a new 2 horse Grizzly floor model so I could handle all the dust and chips I'm going to generate. You can't have to much dust collection. Doug
 
100% polyester fleece pullovers make the best dust collectors period.
 
Vic D said:
I read somewhere that sawdust makes great compost.
Click to expand...

I think this is true for most species of wood, but I'm sure I read somewhere that walnut saw dust will kill your plants.
 
The saw dust will take a long time to turn into usable compost if that's all you're going to use. I add a layer of either leaves or sawdust in between layers of kitchen scraps ( No meat). Walnut maybe a hazard as a mulch, but after it's broken down into compost, I don't see it being an issue. I guess I'll prove that out on next years garden.

I also mix some sawdust with wax and pour it into waxed paper cups for camping fire starters. That said, I still throw away a great deal of the dust.
 
Cyclones DO WORK...really well. Then you need after filters, and you should have more than are recommended to keep down back pressure. The pleated filters are the best.

Cocobolo dust is highly allergenic. Tassie blackwood dust is carcinogenic. Etc...

Walnut sawdust takes a good five years to break down and not be poisonous to other plants.

Sawdust does not compost easily on its own; you need to add green matter...kitchen scraps, crass clippings, lleaves, etc. and layer it to get relatively quick breakdown. Water and worms really help, too.
 
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