Thread: Time to build my dusty

Originally Posted by asheddie

Hello all,
I bought a Carbatec FM-300 that came with a free hose kit and bought a universal hose kit, some PVC water pipe and a floor sweeper point too. I plan on putting a new shed outside to store the unit and keep the fine dust out of the workshop.

Before you spend any more money have you wallowed thru the Dust forum?

When I was buying it the nice folk at Carbatec said that there is no point setting up a collection point on my wood lathe as there wont be enough suction to collect the flying wood chips? is this true? I have seen lots of you tube videos with set ups on wood lathes so I plan on putting one there. I have enough flow control points for all my machines, at this stage i only have a wood lathe, band saw, drill press, sander and the floor sweeper point. I will only be using one machine at a time so I figure it will have plenty of suction?

I agree with the carbatec folk about the wood chips but they are not a health issue and they can be left till later and swept up with a broom or DC hose. The real health issue is the invisible dust that you cannot see so ANY suction you have on that vents outside the shed while a machine is making dust is better than no suction. For a lathe getting the fine dust pick up as close to the work as safety provides is a good idea.

The FM300 is a good chip collector but is poor on invisible dust collection mainly because it uses 4" ports and hoses whic severely restricts the flow rate. If you can modify teh DC to fit a 6" trunk line and run that around your shed and then run 2 x 4" pipes to each machines etc you will be able to scavenge more fine dust that otherwise. Remember the dust that escapes collection at source needs considerably longer time to vent from the shed later. A 2HP DC with single 4" duct needs to be left on from 20 to 40 minutes after last dust use to adequately vent the average size shed of invisible dust.

I plan on making a small "outhouse" style shed to store the unit, should i have a ventilation screen somewhere for airflow to escape or will the gaps around the corrugated iron roof and door be enough?

It depends on the numbers of openings around the corrugated iron. If noise is an issue the naked corrugated iron will transmit the noise like a cymbal so some insulation will be needed.
Have a look at how I did my DC enclosure( details start at post 127 on this page). Ideally the walls and ceiling need mass as well as some sound absorber material like foam.

Thanks BobL, you have given me some food for thought. I would have loved to get a bigger dusty but couldn't afford it and thought a mediocre one would be better than nothing at all. your dusty shed is very impressive, my issue is i cant attach the new shed to the old one as i have a sliding door on the side that has some room so it will have to be a free standing shed with just the pipe work joining to the workshop. i will only have about 4 meters of pipe to the furthest machine and plan on using PVC as much as possible to reduce drag. I always use a mask when doing wood work so its just a backup and mess reducer really. I live on a farm so noise is not a problem here, but i might line the shed with sisalation to reduce condensation.
I have just put the unit together, time for a cuppa then figure out this shed.

Originally Posted by asheddie

. . . my issue is i cant attach the new shed to the old one as i have a sliding door on the side that has some room so it will have to be a free standing shed with just the pipe work joining to the workshop.

Sliding doors are very difficult to seal- because your enclosure is so close to that door if it is not well sealed the invisible dust will just be sucked back into the shed.

One thing that might help is a chimney. Not all councils like/like chimneys but they work well at dispersing stuff (eg smoke) spec when there is a breeze.