Dust Collection

[jleiwig]

Ok. I was going to buy a chuck this weekend, but I have decided that before I buy anything else, I want a small dust collector. Does anyone have anything to report on this little model that HF sells for close to $100 bucks? I have a 20% off coupon that I was going to use, but if it's not worth it I'll save my money.

Obviously I'd get a trash can seperator lid, and a 1 micron bag from Grizzly/PSI for it, but other than that is it acceptable? They claim 900 cfm, but I doubt that severely. I plan on mounting it to the wall. Is it really loud?

 

[rjwolfe3]

I use it everyday for my lathe and bandsaw. I have nothing to compare it with so I assume it works great. I haven't bought the 1 micron bag yet because they are more expensive then the DC was, lol. I mounted mine on the wall like the Rockler one. It is very loud. I wear ear protection when I run it. It works great for fumes. I haven't used a trash can seperator lid so I don't know about that.

 

[jleiwig]

I use it everyday for my lathe and bandsaw. I have nothing to compare it with so I assume it works great. I haven't bought the 1 micron bag yet because they are more expensive then the DC was, lol. I mounted mine on the wall like the Rockler one. It is very loud. I wear ear protection when I run it. It works great for fumes. I haven't used a trash can seperator lid so I don't know about that.

Thanks Rob, I was hoping that it wouldn't be that loud. My shop is right next to the living room. I wonder how enclosing it would work out? Or I could put it in the attic I guess?

 

[KenV]

If your objective is to keep very fine dust out of your lungs, this will not do that job well.

It will circulate a lot of air and function to keep the larger pieces in a central location - it is a central vacuum for large dust and small chips and will do that pretty well for a single source.

If you mount it outside, it will pull more of the dust out of your shop and into the great outdoors, but keep the larger stuff from irritating the neighbors and the wife.

 

[jttheclockman]

These are very loud and are meant to be a one tool at a time unit. They are best used also when the hose length is kept to a minimum thus the wheels to roll from one tool to the next. So be careful how far you place it. Not sure what you are looking to do with it.

 

[mickr]

the one micron bag is VERY necessary..all that bag will do is PUFF and send it right into the air..the little particles are what you need to concern yourself with..not the big ones...1 micron bags are the least you should use

 

[jleiwig]

Not sure what you are looking to do with it.

It will only be used with the lathe. Just mainly to keep up with the dust and fumes. I wear a dust mask and a face sheild, but I'd like something to get the majority of the chips and sanding dust.

I'll probably mount it to the wall and have the trash can with cyclone lid/Phil Thein Baffle right under it and a small length of hose running to the lathe. I was looking at the PSI big gulp dust hood thingie to go with it.

I don't own anything else that it would be needed for, but my shop is only 11x10, so it's not like it would have very far to go to another tool should I purchase them in the future.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Mine works very well but it is noisy. I do use a dust mask but not a 1 micron bag. I do not see fine dust coating everything so it seems to be working. It actually doesn't work that great on the bigger stuff but works much better on smaller dust. I have it attached with a dust hood right behind the lathe. It works better on the lathe then the bandsaw.

 

[jleiwig]

Mine works very well but it is noisy. I do use a dust mask but not a 1 micron bag. I do not see fine dust coating everything so it seems to be working. It actually doesn't work that great on the bigger stuff but works much better on smaller dust. I have it attached with a dust hood right behind the lathe. It works better on the lathe then the bandsaw.

If you sweep the chips into the hood they will get sucked up though right? I know it's not going to be as powerful as a shopvac would be in suction, but as far as air movement and fume extraction i think it will only help.

 

[rjwolfe3]

For the most part. The lighter the shavings the better it sucks. I do have a problem with plastic shavings clogging up at the grate covering the impeller. It works really well with plastic. It also works awesome with fumes like CA. I never smell a bit of it with the DC on.

 

[jleiwig]

For the most part. The lighter the shavings the better it sucks. I do have a problem with plastic shavings clogging up at the grate covering the impeller. It works really well with plastic. It also works awesome with fumes like CA. I never smell a bit of it with the DC on.

Have you thought about putting a phil thien baffle on it?

http://www.cgallery.com/jpthien/cy.htm

It wouldn't cost you that much to add, and no shavings should get into your collector or bag.

Good to hear about the CA. That's one my main reasons for getting a collector.

 

[mrcook4570]

I have that dust collector attached to my laser. It sounds like a 747. Other than the noise, it does a very good job of removing fumes and moving a lot of air.

In my shop, however, I run two different DCs. I have http://www.pennstateind.com/store/DC1BXL-1M.html in my turning room. It is much quieter than the above model, but any DC will likely be the noisiest machine in your shop. Also, don't expect a DC to grab chips and shavings while rough turning. The larger stuff is simply too heavy, but it is not the dangerous stuff anyway. DCs are great at capturing fine particles if they are equipped with an appropriate filter. I have a Delta in my flatwork room.

 

[Glass Scratcher]

I have that same one with a 0.3 micron bag from Grizzly. It does sound like a jet turbine as Stan said.

We used during a bathroom remodel with the cyclone head in line to pick up all the drywall dust. It does a bang up job.

Just be careful if you use it in the house cause you can suck the cat out from under the couch with it.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Just be careful if you use it in the house cause you can suck the cat out from under the couch with it.

Do you speak from personal experience, lol?

 

[jleiwig]

I have that same one with a 0.3 micron bag from Grizzly. It does sound like a jet turbine as Stan said.

We used during a bathroom remodel with the cyclone head in line to pick up all the drywall dust. It does a bang up job.

Just be careful if you use it in the house cause you can suck the cat out from under the couch with it.

I could not find this bag on their website. Do you have a link?

 

[Glass Scratcher]

The 0.3 micron bag is H4340, at $39.95 +s&h. I just called Tech support cause the catalogue lists it at 0.3microns, the web lists it as 3microns, they had to go get the tech specs on it. The web is wrong, especially as they have a 3micron bag for $14.95.

So, the H4340 IS a 0.3micron bag. page 179 in the new catalogue.

As far as the cat goes, he had a bald tail for a while. :wink:

 

[rjwolfe3]

Woot that's the cheapest I have seen one. I may have to squeeze the budget and get one.

 

[dow]

+ 1 on the [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Times New I2]Thien Cyclone Separator Lid[/FONT]. I've got one in line with my shop vac (all I have right now) and it stops probably 98-99% of the dust and chips from getting to the vac. Makes those filters last a LOOOONG time. :biggrin: It was easy to build, too. The top on mine is made from 3/4" MDF, and the baffle itself is made from masonite. Mine fits a standard steel trash can.

 

[jleiwig]

+ 1 on the [FONT=Verdana,Arial,Times New I2]Thien Cyclone Separator Lid[/FONT]. I've got one in line with my shop vac (all I have right now) and it stops probably 98-99% of the dust and chips from getting to the vac. Makes those filters last a LOOOONG time. :biggrin: It was easy to build, too. The top on mine is made from 3/4" MDF, and the baffle itself is made from masonite. Mine fits a standard steel trash can.

I found a nice fiber drum at a yard sale for 3 bucks this past weekend. I plan on putting the Thien seperator in it and hooking it up to my rigid vac as a temp solution.

 

[dow]

I plan on putting the Thien seperator in it and hooking it up to my rigid vac as a temp solution.

Cool. I really like mine, and it really beats the cost of a cyclone system. Eventually, I'll get a regular DC, and at that time, I'll build a new Thien lid with the connections to fit the DC hose. BTW, Woodcraft has the connectors that you'll need to hook up your shop vac to it. I used those along with a PVC street ell and a PVC collar on mine. The stand-offs between the top and the baffle are 1/4" carriage bolts running inside 1/2" pvc pipe. I also routed a shoulder on the top so that it snaps into my trash can.

Simple, inexpensive, and efficient. What more could you ask for?

 

[jleiwig]

Simple, inexpensive, and efficient. What more could you ask for?

A hot blonde norse goddess to put it together, and empty it when it gets full? :biggrin:

Not sure the wife would like that much though.

 

[dow]

:biggrin:

 

[stolicky]

The 0.3 micron bag is H4340, at $39.95 +s&h. I just called Tech support cause the catalogue lists it at 0.3microns, the web lists it as 3microns, they had to go get the tech specs on it. The web is wrong, especially as they have a 3micron bag for $14.95.

So, the H4340 IS a 0.3micron bag. page 179 in the new catalogue.

As far as the cat goes, he had a bald tail for a while. :wink:

Just for clarification - Its kind of hard to tell, but does the H4340 have the 4" input that would fit the little HF dust collector?

That would be a nice addition.

Thanks.

 

[Glass Scratcher]

I didn't have a problem attaching it to my HF collector. I have the same little red jet turbine.

 

[stolicky]

I didn't have a problem attaching it to my HF collector. I have the same little red jet turbine.

Cool. Thank you.

 

[Daniel]

I am going to toss this out there so that it can continue to be ignored. But without a lot of wind involved here is at least a base line to compare any dust collector to.

2HP motor min, 14" impeller min. 6" inlet and duct work. 1 micron bag or don't bother, you are just making the problem worse. no more than 20 feet of duct work and still keep turns etc to a minimum. You can cheat and adjust if you did enough homework to know how to do it. There are also other things you can do to make your colletor work even better.
the true test of your collector is to take a piece of wood, glass or whatever that is clean. place it anywhere in your shop. Closer to your lathe is abetter indication of just what you are breathing.
Now turn on your system and turn. just do a normal days work etc. But do be careful to not stir up dust from other places in your shop. now leave and come back in 24 hours. check how much dust has settled on that piece of material. even the super fine baby powder fine stuff. this is the stuff that will kill you. and it is what you are after when it comes to dust collection. how well did you collector do at getting it, because that dust was in the air where you breath it until yo allowed it time to fall out of it. and sometimes it is so fine it never actually falls out of the air completely. Any collector that does not have a 1 micron bag on it is actually causing far more of a problem than it si solving. basically it is just blowing this super fine dust to every corner of your shop.