DUST COLLECTION - Basics and Setup - Woodworking

today we're talking dust collection basics exactly what i use in my small shop and why you might not need expensive ductwork dust collection can be broken into two categories shopvacs slash dust extractors and larger dust collectors like this unit behind me so what's the difference in why do you possibly need both the answer to that is going to help explain some basic dust collection principles you see shopvac slash extractors move a low volume of air but at a high pressure dust collectors on the other hand move a high volume of air but at a lower pressure to help explain all this here's a visual you can see the smaller diameter hose from the shop vac does a great job when it's close to the source but as you move it away becomes significantly less effective the dust collector on the other hand sucks up way more sawdust much quicker and experiences less drop off in performance as you move away from the source because it's moving a greater volume of air the volume of air being moved over time can be measured in cubic feet per minute aka cfm but you guessed it a higher cfm means a bigger and more expensive unit more on that later before we take a deep dive into exactly what i use in my shop i want to clear the air on another topic that can be confusing to say the least there is a lot of chatter about the exposure to fine dust particles and the effects it can have on your long-term health a fellow by the name of bill pence did a whole bunch of research and claims that you need a really powerful dust collector plus a bunch of expensive duct work that can cost one excess of seven thousand dollars to properly suck up the 99 point whatever percentage of fine dust particles at the source now i have no idea how accurate any of that is i'm not a doctor or a scientist just a dummy in a garage but i'm going to assume for the sake of discussion that any long-term exposure to an irritant could have adverse consequences for your health but here's what i do know for sure 99 of us can't afford to spend that kind of money on a 5 horsepower unit and simply don't have the space if you just do this as a hobby seriously look how big this thing is and look how big that chainsaw is fortunately there is a slightly cheaper option that also filters out 99 point whatever percentage of dust from entering your lungs that's right a mask this is my preferred mask and i've used a bunch this is from a company called rz it has this adjustable nose piece so your glasses won't fog up it's extremely comfortable and i feel like bane when i put it on no one cared who i was till i put on the mask plus it comes in a bunch of different materials and colors if you're looking to accessorize your mask with the outfit of the day but regardless of the brand of mask you choose whether it's rz or something more expensive like a 3m it is all about the fit if you've got leakage you've got problems so make sure you find a mask that fits you well as always any product i mentioned in this video we'll have a link in the description below okay let's take a deeper dive into the first category which was shopbacks and extractors the general rule of thumb with shopvacs and extractors is they are limited to smaller portable tools like miter saws circular saws sanders and even jobsite table saws remember high pressure low volume so any tool that creates a large amount of chips or shavings like a joiner or a big planer is going to quickly overwhelm a shop vac or an extractor if your tool has a two inch or smaller dust port a shop vac or extractor is going to be more than adequate your cheapest option using a shopvac is to simply hook it directly to a tool but the cheapest option doesn't always save you money in the long run running a shopback without a bag or way to separate the chips is going to run through filters very quickly but that's not to say it can't be done my miter saw doesn't get a lot of action so i felt like it was an unnecessary expense to have the filter bag or the separator this hose travels back beneath the bench then comes up through a hole and is connected directly to my miter saw using this kit from rockler no clue why i still have the box speaking of cyclone separators if you're going to be using your shopvac as your primary dust collector i highly encourage you to add a cyclone into your arsenal the general idea is these separators collect most of the chips from reaching your shopvac filter how does it work i don't know about science apparently most of the bigger chips spin around inside the cyclone and eventually fall down into the bottom of the bucket the finer dust is then sucked up into the vacuum thus extending the life of your filter you can diy your own or you can buy a kit from home depot or rockler and convert a 5 gallon bucket but i purchased this one from oneida and i've always been impressed with the performance now if you've been paying attention you're probably wondering what the difference is between a shop vac and an extractor well they both excel at high pressure low volume but an extractor has a couple more creature comforts built in such as a hepa filter to prevent fine dust from being sent back into the air of your shop and other nice features like an auto on off when the tool is switched on the extractor will turn on and yes before the internet trolls start typing away that you can add an auto on off switch to your shop vac yes i understand i'm just saying it's not built in relax but for me the real difference between a shop vac and extractor is the noise having a shop back on for an extended period of time is a bit like when you're the most annoying sound in the world and extractors are loudish but very tolerable so if you're going to be running a shop back for an extended period of time and you have family or neighbors close by that's something to consider you want to see something cool check this out my extractor hides on the side of my assembly table and is connected to my dust deputy to help extend the life of the filter bag inside my extractor but here's where the magic happens i added this universal shop vac hose sold by ridgid and then built this boom arm so i can reach the majority of my shop very easily now this doesn't need to be a setup using an extractor you could do the same exact thing with a shop vac i get a ton of questions on my boom arm so here are the specifics i made this out of three quarter inch mdf i used an inch and a quarter forstner bit to drill holes all along it to take some of the weight out mine measures just shy of six feet and i built this brace using some scrap two by fours and it's secured to the wall using a couple basic hinges from home depot i use it for everything from my track saws to my routers to my sanders even into the blade guard of my table saw i always see people who build carts for their shopbacks and their separators to roll them around from tool to tool but if you're in a small space like this one consider this setup because it is significantly easier going from tool to tool i know i've been there and the bonus is you get to do this when you're done now this is typically the part of the video where i would make a lame joke about knowing wanting to sponsor my channel or try something new this week and talk about how ridiculous most patreons are money like you you want my money but i'm not going to do that instead i just want to say thanks the channel's growing very quickly and that's all because of you so continue to like comment and subscribe and i'll keep making the video so the trolls can tell me i look like the unfortunate love child of pee-wee herman adam driver and matt cremona back to the video okay time to move over to the big boys and talk dust collectors now remember our lesson from earlier dust collectors excel at high volume low pressure the general rule of thumb here is any tool with a four inch or larger dust port is going to require a dust collector to operate efficiently now dust collectors can be as cheap as 200 and go all the way up into the 5 000 plus dollar price range the higher you go generally you are paying for more horsepower which equates to a higher cfm plus additional bells and whistles your entry level dust collectors typically use a filter bag instead of a canister style filter and the problem here is that the filter bags typically send a lot more of the fine dust back into the air of your shop one of the other issues with the entry-level dust collectors is that they don't have a built-in cyclone unit also known as a two-stage system this is the same idea we talked about earlier where the chips are going to be collected in the bottom of the barrel and the fine dust is the only thing that makes its way to the filter now one of the most common and confusing questions surrounding dust collectors is ductwork i did a ton of research on how to set one up properly went back and forth but in the end opted not to run pvc duct in my shop and here's why number one was the price tag it was going to cost me well over 700 dollars for all of the pvc and the proper fittings and connections number two with lower ceilings and a small square footage i felt like adding six and four inch duct work was just asking for me to slam into it when i would be moving wood around plus i felt like it was gonna look a little bit like a hamster cage in here number three and the final reason is my one and a half horsepower unit really isn't designed to support a large run of ductwork so here's what i did instead these four inch flex cuffs are connected directly to two metal blast gates don't buy the plastic blast gates these things suck i went a lot further than i thought it would the hoses are connected to the blast gates using these thumb screw pipe clamps which are super easy to use and one of the hoses goes directly into my table saw and always stays connected the second hose goes from tool to tool and services my planer bandsaw jointer and router table but here is where it gets really nifty i utilize this quick lock system sold by izzy swan which makes switching from tool to tool an absolute breeze and doesn't sacrifice any loss in suction now if you're gonna opt for a ductless setup like i have i highly recommend this system and yes i understand that you're sacrificing performance by using a flex hose instead of a smooth duct system but i'm willing to sacrifice the performance for all the reasons that i outlined earlier now i've used a couple different four inch hoses in my shop and this one sold by fulton is by far my favorite plus it's made in the usa go america one of the other decisions you're going to have to make regarding dust collection is how to filter the air now company cell air filters also known as air scrubbers for anywhere from 200 to 800 depending on the size of your shop now there is a cheaper diy option that involves furnace filters and a box fan that you can make yourself whenever i felt like i needed to filter the air i went even cheaper and just duct taped a furnace filter to the box fan and it worked fine i considered purchasing an air filter for my shop but here's what i opted to use the money for instead sanding is by far the biggest culprit for producing fine dust in my space so i purchased a much nicer sander that produces significantly less fine dust you're never going to completely get rid of the fine dust that settles in your shop so once a month i will open up the garage door turn on the leaf blower and blow everything out if you're not in a garage and don't have that luxury i would definitely consider adding an air filter to limit the amount of fine dust that could potentially make its way to the rest of your house if you're in a basement for instance and now you know everything there is to know about dust collection all right i'm turning off the camera now bye

Channel: Lincoln St. Woodworks

Views: 852,303

Keywords: Woodworking DUST COLLECTION, dust collection systems, dust collection, dust collectors, shop vac, woodworking, dust, wood shop

Id: _Y6kkg2EoCI

Length: 10min 57sec (657 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 14 2021