Thread: Cheapest adequate dust handling

I just recently built a cyclone based on Mr. Pentz's design, and all I can say is "Why did I wait so long?"

You can see the beginning of my Cyclone Saga here....

Cyclone Saga Page 1



here is a pic of the clean out box at the bottom of the filter stack...



Yep, after running about 30 to 40 litres of dust through it (dust bin less than half full) I got next to nothing for dust. This is after lightly beating the filter stack, and using compressed air to blow from the outside of the filters to dislodge any dust on them.

Nothing, zip, nadda, zilch....

I'm one happy camper!

Cheers!

A cyclone looks like the best dust collector, and when I have to move the workshop to a new shed (my wife has strongly hinted that too much woodworking should not be done indoors) I will have the space for it; I am NOT allowed to build a cyclone into the guest room.

But how can power tools that are not designed for efficient dust collection (says Bill Pentz) be managed??

Originally Posted by occam

But how can power tools that are not designed for efficient dust collection (says Bill Pentz) be managed??

By connecting them to a mini cyclone( which you build yourself) powered with an ordinary vacuum cleaner. It remains small and portable and surprisingly it works.


The simplest way of building one is to buy the Triton dust bucket and convert it into a Sturdee mini cyclone as per my post or you can adapt it like others have done just by using plastic buckets.

Peter.

There are undoubtably several little sturdee cyclone buckets around. I like the mini version of the real BP design. Gives an insight into cyclones and what to expect if you scale up to the big sucker. However Sturdee's is certainly quick, easy and efficient. Either way, a lil cyclone is better than none.

Stu I saw your website a little while ago and must congratulate you on your workmanship WRT the cyclone.

Originally Posted by boban

Stu I saw your website a little while ago and must congratulate you on your workmanship WRT the cyclone.

Thank you very much!!!

........ah......being a Canuck, I.......ah.......I'm not familiar with "WRT"....translation?

Cheers!

Originally Posted by occam

But how can power tools that are not designed for efficient dust collection (says Bill Pentz) be managed??

Any hand powertool that has a dust-bag option can easily be fitted to a vac. The ones with rectangular ports may need a home-made adapter, but they're fairly simple to make in any home.

Tools that don't have any dust-ports, eg. most routers, lathes or drills, etc. can also be used with a vac. Simply knock together a scoop to go on the end of the vac line and use something to hold it in an appropriate position. It won't collect everything but, properly positioned, it will collect most of the fine air-borne stuff that your wife complains about drifting through the house.

Either way, designed for efficient dust collection or not, some is far better than none.


BTW, just to clarify something I think you may've missed:

The triton dustbucket has an in-built filter that traps down to a very small size, although not in the 3-5micron range of a true-blue dust collector. I literally haven't needed to empty the shop-vac bag once in the last couple of years! But when you empty the dustbucket you do need to clean the filter.

The advantage of a small inline cyclone is that it doesn't rely on filters at all, only centripetal force. After a week of using my home-built Sturdee cyclone (all the time I had before my shop-vac died for other reasons) I noticed about 1 tablespoon of fine dust in the vac's bag, which meant that my conversion of the dust-bucket wasn't as efficient as leaving in the filter... but IMHO this was more than made up for by the fact I didn't have to clean the damned filter again.

Originally Posted by occam

But how can power tools that are not designed for efficient dust collection be managed??

Well one way is to put them on a shelf and leave them there!
You're WW for fun aren't you, so speed is not the primary objective.
Doing your shaping with hand tools will produce a lot less dust.

However, if you must sand, shape and cut with power tools within the house my suggestion is to mount a LARGE exhaust fan and filter in the window to turn the room you're using into a negative pressure zone. This will keep the dust you're generating within the room and out of the rest of the house. Blowing the dust outside most probably means it just re-enters the house through another door or window.

In my case I've decided the family's health is worth staying away from MDF as much as possible and investing in a Festo dust extractor for the portable tools.

Originally Posted by Stu in Tokyo

...I'm not familiar with "WRT"....translation?

"With respect to" or "with regard to"

see http://www.acronymfinder.com

Originally Posted by zenwood

"With respect to" or "with regard to"

see http://www.acronymfinder.com

Thanks!

But who say "With Respect to" in normal speech........

Oh the many tribes of English

Cheers!