Thread: Dust Collection Options

Some more idea's, (better metal band latches):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaD-gngPOXY&t=164s

Originally Posted by EagerBeaver71

Agreed. Heres an idea, make sure to watch the whole video for modification on the bag emptying system: How a bucket and a donut changed my dust collector - YouTube

Originally Posted by EagerBeaver71

Some more idea's, (better metal band latches):

4 Ways to upgrade your single stage woodworking dust collector. - YouTube

Thanks for those video links. Some very good ideas in both of them. I already have a 44 gallon drum "trash can collector" with 90 degree elbows mounted into a removable lid - will change the inlet elbow to a straight pipe inlet with elbow underneath the lid only, and will then wall mount the dust extractor unit above it with a short piece of flexible pipe connecting the two (just long enough so that I can easily lift the lid off the drum for emptying. This will do away with the plastic bag arrangement completely.
As for replacing the filter "bag" with a cartridge - I think a quick trip down to our local Westrac (Caterpillar) dealership and a quick look through their store will find me a decent size outer air filter element (Caterpillar uses two stage filters with an inner and an outer) that will do the job nicely. I know the people at Westrac well and already purchase oil and coolant for my 4WD from them (same as available under different brand names through auto accessory stores, but in bulk and much cheaper). To be honest, where I am located I could probably get away with not running a "filter" at all and just having the unit vent to outside the shed, but given that I already have a base for a filter cartridge and can get hold of them easily, will install one anyway to do the right thing, although I will not use his little screw-down clamps to hold the cartridge in place. A bracket in the centre of the housing and a length of threaded rod up through the centre of the cartridge with a wing-nut on top similar to how they are held in place on any Caterpillar engine will do the job.

So it looks very much like my system will end up outside the shed, mounted to the wall with a cartridge above the blower and collection drum below it - with a "Y" piece poking through the wall with 2 x blast gates and suction pipes / hoses connected from there.

My current 2 inch cyclone system will become surplus, but I think I will keep this together with the smaller Sherwood portable extractor and use just for the router table, where I only have extraction via the fence and this system works quite well as it is.

When you're finished giz a look, I'll be very interested to see how it all fits together.

I have replaced the metal strap for the collection bag with bungee cord. Wrap around twice and tie a knot. The bungee stays in place and you just pull it out a bit and feed the edge of the bag up under it. Been working fine like that for a couple of years. I hated that metal strap as it always leaked dust at the clasp and usually made holes in the bag too.
Regards
John

Some good ideas in this video, using basically the same dust collector as the Carbatec unit we have purchased. I think I will wall mount mine exactly as he has done, with initially my 44 gallon drum collector and a Caterpillar or similar air filter cartridge - all outside my shed - with just a pipe or two fitting through the wall. Doubt if my ducting system inside the shed will be as fancy as his, but definitely some good ideas there.

Advanced Dust Collection System for the Home Workshop. - YouTube

Originally Posted by BMKal

Some good ideas in this video, using basically the same dust collector as the Carbatec unit we have purchased. I think I will wall mount mine exactly as he has done, with initially my 44 gallon drum collector and a Caterpillar or similar air filter cartridge - all outside my shed - with just a pipe or two fitting through the wall. Doubt if my ducting system inside the shed will be as fancy as his, but definitely some good ideas there.

Advanced Dust Collection System for the Home Workshop. - YouTube

Good find mate, if its going outside though why do you need a filter on it?.

Originally Posted by EagerBeaver71

Good find mate, if its going outside though why do you need a filter on it?.

Only to be seen to be "doing the right thing".

To be honest, I'll probably just run a straight piece of poly pipe up the side of the shed and see what comes out - if there is no dust worth worrying about, then I won't bother with a filter.

Got the filter today, what a basket to get on!, had use wooden shims to bend the rubber over the lip but got it on eventually. I then
put it through its paces, it makes quite abit difference I must say. I'm going to hook up the overhead blade guard dust collector tomorrow and have my new shop vac collecting dust from that. I can't believe I've had the table saw since 2019 but never used the over head dust shroud!.

I have never used the overhead guard on my table saw, and never plan to. Mine is a Hare & Forbes SB12 and while it is in most respects a good saw, the splitter / guard assembly is a very poor design. The "splitter" to which the guard is attached, is fixed to the body of the saw and does not move either up & down with the blade, nor at an angle when the blade is tilted. So, with the splitter and guard attached, I cannot use my cross-cut sled, nor can I angle the blade to make angled cuts. Easiest thing is to leave it off. I make my own zero clearance inserts which include a metal splitter which I use all the time unless making angle cuts, so the safety aspect is covered from the "kick back" prevention perspective. I find that by far the bulk of dust from the saw comes out the bottom, so have rigged up a large vacuum hose from the DC directly to the large bottom port which is located in the centre of the bottom panel of the saw box.

Haven't been doing anything in the shed lately, as I am renovating a bathroom at the back of the house, which has included replacing a couple of very poorly designed & built walls, installing a new larger window, building a vanity unit and sanding everything back to get rid of the multiple layers of paint etc which have been applied previously, and then re-painting. The house was built in the 30's and this bathroom is an enclosed section of an original verandah - and like many older houses in Kalgoorlie, some very dodgy building methods and materials have been used in the past.

I did manage to find time to knock out a couple of blanks for pepper grinders yesterday though. Two are gidgee from a tree I dropped a while back in my son's front yard, and the other is another local variety of timber that came from a sheep station east of here. One of the gidgee blanks is ready to turn as is, the other two blanks will be cast in contrasting epoxy resin to fill cracks and voids before turning. I've got a bit more gidgee up in the back corner that needs to be cut up into blanks etc and the area cleared, as I am about to get another tree from a neighbour which I will need to cut to lengths, seal the ends and then stack on a pallet where the gidgee is now to dry under a tarp for a couple of years before I can use it.

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