Thread: More bandsaw dust extraction ideas.

That's really cool Bob. Thanks for sharing.

What I really love about your solution is that it closes up all the gaps right at the source of dust making activity -- or really -- immediately below the source of dust making activity. When you say "large gaps at the back" for main air intake, do you mean directly under the table, or are you referring to other gaps existing (or cut) in the back of your bandsaw.

As you may recall, my bandsaw has a 160mm port way down the bottom which does a very nice job of keeping the bottom cabinet clean but is too far away to be particularly effective. I've stuffed the flex under the table, but suspect your solution is going to be better.

I look forward to your air flow meter results. And yes, why isn't it available on all bandsaws!? Well done mate.

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

That's really cool Bob. Thanks for sharing.

What I really love about your solution is that it closes up all the gaps right at the source of dust making activity -- or really -- immediately below the source of dust making activity. When you say "large gaps at the back" for main air intake, do you mean directly under the table, or are you referring to other gaps existing (or cut) in the back of your bandsaw.

Well you don't really want to close up all the the gaps, what is needed for optimal dust removal is to constrain the dust emanating from the source but still enabling sufficient directional flow.
Most wood working machinery it tighter than a fishes anus in terms of constraint, whereas a naked duct jammed up hard under the BS table will usually end up being too close to the bearings and band.

This is what it looks like in cross section.
The air comes from a gap all the way around under the table

Plan.jpg

As you may recall, my bandsaw has a 160mm port way down the bottom which does a very nice job of keeping the bottom cabinet clean but is too far away to be particularly effective. I've stuffed the flex under the table, but suspect your solution is going to be better.

Correct - a naked piece of flexy or open duct is not very efficient as it collects a lot of non-dusty air from behind the duct whereas what is usually want is for as much air as possible to be collected from in front of the duct.

Good job. I've always felt that the ribs under the table should be filled to smooth the airflow with a shroud like yours. What would your opinion be?

Pete

Some big rare earth magnets would do the trick.

I like your idea of using the plumbing supply flare BobL.

Ill be making one up tomorrow! My current shroud, which is 3D printed, has never been truly great. Good, but not great. This one is dead simple.

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Some big rare earth magnets would do the trick.

Good idea but I have two problems with using magnets
- the hood is only mildly magnetic SS
- magnets end up magnetising the whole cast iron top and then attracting meta dust of which there is too much in my shed especially right near the DB where my metal linisher and grinders are located.

That's also why I don't like using magnetic feather boards.

After working with the "surround scoop" as I'm calling it, for a couple of months I've run across a couple of problems with it.
The main one is it pokes out a bit far into my very limited walk space at the front of the BS and even adding a 90º bend doesn't help much.
The other is it has to be pulled out and replaced it when changing blades (which I do often) and this is not quite as easy as I first thought.

At the mens shed I have to make a couple of "under table" collection points for their two old BS so I decided to revisit extracting from the side/under part of a BS table.

Below is how I have been doing it before the Surround scoop was used, i.e. just jamming a bit of flexy under between the table and the BS cabinet.

While this is quick and easy, as can be seen, over time the end of the flexy gets pretty ragged and in its crimped state is hardly likely to be conducive to efficient air flow
Pokeyunder.jpg

This what I have come up with .
Its a 4" BMH attached by 3 x 10 mm SS strap linkage to the cabinet door.
A Hex socket key is required to loosen the linkages so that the BMH drops away from the underside of the table so the BS cabinet door can be opened, but this is not too awkward.
On the Men's shed machines I plan to put this extraction post on the other side of the table.
I didn't want to put mine there because I have a very useful crap catcher that catches slivers and pieces that are too big to fit through the throat plate and otherwise inevitably end up on the floor.
IMG_1919.jpg

Another view from underneath
IMG_1921.jpg

The flexy is connected t the 90º bend via a capped inspection port which can be easily pulled off the bend and then can be used for any clean up.
This protects the end of the flexy so it should not get ragged.
IMG_1922.jpg
I just put my glasses on and realised the last two images could have used a better focussing attempt.