Thread: Cheapest adequate dust handling

Triton Respirator

Originally Posted by occam

I see several cheap solutions:
1) use a home vacuum and somehow make its pipe fit the tools dust removal ducts
2) use the home vacuum with a triton dust collection bag
3) use a special 'shop vac' (which?)
4) use a good respirator and keep the door tightly closed
Comments?

I wouldn't use the home vacuum. It'll clog up very quickly and won't be effective. I'm not familiar with the triton dust collection bag: I assume if it's designed to be used with a home vacuum then it would be ok. A shop vac should be OK (any reputable brand should be ok).

I wouldn't work in a close up room, even with a respirator. Open the door and window, and get a fan to push the air out of the window, creating a flow of fresh air drawn in throught the door. The room is ventilated, and you don't get dust in the house (unless the wind is blowing in the wrong direction).

HTH

A Triton Dust Bucket is around $45(give or take a few dollars), then you can convery that to a Cyclone if you wish - you can find the plans for that here. It works with a standard house hold vac. What sort of saw are you using? If it is a Triton, consider a Dust Bag and a lot of the dust will be caught in that, which would then be aided by the Dust Bucket/Cyclone.

Woody

Gidday occam

At the end of the day Based on your post I just would'nt go under a 1.5 HP dust collection system typically found at carb-a-tec etc espically if using fabricated boards like MDF Chipboard etc etc..............this is shocken stuff & the potential damage done to lungs kids n the environment etc etc is often underestimated!!

......................personally I dont think ya can put a price on ya health the family & the rest of the issues mentioned. Check out here:

http://svc010.bne011i.server-web.com....html?cache=no


......................For me adequate dust handling is hassle free dust handling!!!


REgards Lou

I have a question for the home users of dust collectors.

How do you dispose of the dust.

Robert34

Wood dust dump in the garden, MDF dust into the bin, that is my basic rule of thumb but in the end volume might mean direct to the tip. We have very poor soil and any dust or chips really help by adding organic matter.

JohnC

Probably not the answer you want, but the very cheapest adequate dust handling is to work outside. Next best is to work with a powerful fan at your back blowing it all outside. In a room inside your house you won't have cheap dust handling that's adequate. it will get through the rest of the house, especially if using mdf. Even with a full on system you'll still end up with fine dust through your house.

Mick

It seems that outside work is the way to go. However, there is a secondary(?) issue: the dust etc clogs up the power tools..

No, I do not have a Triton - when I want to use one I visit my son.
The power tools I have now are mostly cheap (several GMC), so important equipment will change.

Assuming you're only using powertools with dust ports in the 1-2" range, your household vac will do. When you can afford it, buy a Triton dustbucket to go inline and you won't regret it. This'll fit almost any vac, you don't need other Triton tools for it to work.

It's also worth giving thought to making a removable frame to fit an open window and mounting an extractor fan in it. If your existing window-frames won't support such an arrangement, you can always replace a pane of glass with some marine ply and mount a fan in that. Store the glass somewhere safe in case you need to put it back!

Oh, and make sure you open another window or provide some similar method for getting fresh air back into the room... the idea's to blow the fine dust outside, not suffocate yourself.

The above are what I consider the bare minimums for working indoors; we all want better in our sheds. [shrug]

Good question, and good answers.

A long time ago I made my first "DC", I saw the Triton dust bucket but here in Japan they wanted too much money for it, so I made one out of plywood, and hooked up a house vacuum that I got out of the garbage here. It sucked, just enough that I was happy with it for a while, when I only used my tools very occasionally.

Since moving into the Dungeon, I had no choice but to build a real system.

I think the idea of a cross flow of air, big box fan in the door and an open window is good, and somekind of vacuum cleaner.

If you buy a shop vac, buy a good one!

One VERY nice feature is the one where you plug your tool into the vac, and when you use the tool the vac turns on by itself.

Very cool.

Good luck!

Stu makes an interesting point about the vacuum and your tool turning on together.

It is possible to buy a switch that you press with your foot to activate both machines at once, it's looks a bit like a sewing machine pedal.

You put the switch directly into the power point, a power board onto the output of the switch, and when you press the switch all the machines attached to the power board come on / off together; easy. It makes things so much quieter in the workshop because you do not have to manually turn off a series of machines, they all go quiet at the same time.

I can't remember exactly which electronics company sold mine to me, but I think it was Dick Smith. I am certain they are readily available at many places.

Maybe this will help,

Anthony

If you're looking for a suggestion for a shop-vac I have been using the Lavor GBX (about $350 from Glenfords). It has auto switching (comes on with the power tool and perfoms brilliantly (so far), particularly when hooked up to a mini-cyclone.

Not the cheapest item I know but I think it is worth the money and WHEN you do get a more serious system (just after you buy your third router and your eighth plane) it will do great duty for the smaller tools.

I checked Bill Pentz site on dust.. scary. Seems that proper dust collection needs new, professional ($$$) tools (with large dust collection ports) to start with.
SWMBO has told me that the dust my woodworking produces clogs the filters on the vacuum cleaners, meaning I must get a shop vac anyhow. They start from $49.95 (GMC RDC8L), which also has a "dust collection" function.
Other shop vacs did not list 'dust collection' amongst their features, but I only checked 3 or 4 of them.

Since (according to Bill Pentz) I cannot get the job done properly (indoors) anyhow, I will just use that contraption, but ensure good ventilation - and do all MDF work outdoors.

But I wonder: would there be any real improvement if the dust 'vacuum' was placed outside, or maybe just blowed it exhaust outside ?

Occam

When you were on the Pentz (Dust extraction guru extrordinaire) site, you would have seem his designs for cyclones. These are cheap to make, just sheet metal and pop rivets basically, and there are examples on this Forum of people who have made small ones to run with vacuum cleaners.

Suggest you do a Forum search on 'cyclone'. The overwhelming evidence is that a good cyclone will trap nearly all the fine dust (plus everything else) and neither clag your shop vac nor leave you breathing recycled carcinogens.