Suck shavings!


PurpLev

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What do you guys do with shavings from hand tools (planes/chisels/etc)? do you sweep them up with a broom/pan into a garbage can? or do you suck them up with your DC? shop-vac?

I'm asking because it seems that almost every time I decide to suck them up (easier at first though) I get clogs - usually around the fan area.

I was thinking about setting up a floor sweep near my workbench, but if these are going to clog up, than whats the use?

looking forward to hearing from other's experiences.

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Clogs my DC nearly every time. I want and plan to do a cyclone trap before the fan from this thread (I have the HF 2 hp DC). This cyclone trap should solve the problem of plugging the fan.

Meanwhile, l sweep. The fine chips that remain on the floor and are too much of a nuisance to sweep get blown out the garage door :)

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Clogs my DC nearly every time. I want and plan to do a cyclone trap before the fan from this thread (I have the HF 2 hp DC). This cyclone trap should solve the problem of plugging the fan.

Meanwhile, l sweep. The fine chips that remain on the floor and are too much of a nuisance to sweep get blown out the garage door :)

this is a description of me to the dot. lol. glad to see I'm not the only one.

I guess I should get on and make a separator. I keep pushing it off.

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After I posted that, someone asked me if I liked the HF DC. It is likely relevant to this thread so I'll post the reply here:

Definitely like that DC. There are two model numbers for the same DC. The one ending in 69 is the newer better one. It has a steel impeller vs plastic and the CFM rating is higher (people who had the previous said it is noticeably better; I can't compare). Thing is, it is a DIY DC... it is trivial to modify anything. The only hang up I have for that cyclone lid is that it is 100F in my shop during the Arizona summer so I don't feel horribly motivated yet. Once the weather cools, though, that cyclone trap is being built.

I think WOOD magazine often has the 20% off HF coupon. That DC occasionally comes on sale. But remember to verify the product number.

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After I posted that, someone asked me if I liked the HF DC. It is likely relevant to this thread so I'll post the reply here:

yeah, I have the Jet 1100DC, my plan was to elevate the impeller and electric switch from the base so that I can place a trash can underneath it, and also elevate the impeller to the filter inlet height to reduce the length of 8" flex-hose. for some reason, I'm not very attracted to actually making all these mods, plus build the separator :( although I know I should.

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I suck them up with my dust collector, but I have a trash can separator. It does an excellent job of pulling out the shavings/large pieces.

I was at HF on Saturday (8/14/10) and the dust collector was on sale, I think the tag said it would be on sale until the 20th or 28th. The 20% off coupons are everywhere, I get the sunday paper with one or two in it every week.

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Ahh, that's where people regularly get them. I used to get them in email then haven't for a long long time. Good to know.

Sometimes there is a separate HF advertisement with the coupon in the paper. Also look in the "magazine" (junk magazine) that is with the adds in the paper, there is usually a HF add in there as well. I've also seen them in WOOD and This Old House magazines. I throw most of the coupons away, Saturday when i was there all i got was a package of micro fiber towels.

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I tend to use the shop vac for cleaning up around the workbench and keep the dust collector hooked up to the machines. This is mostly because it's easier for me to empty the small cannisters than the giant bag on the collector. Actually, there are 4 shop vacs of various sizes, one at each station so I never have to reach very far.

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I sweep them up and put them in one of those big contractor clean up trash bags. They make great fire starting aids during the winter. If I ever fill up the bag prior to winter I usually make smores in the backyard. I do have a separator and can suck them up but the big fluffy shavings fill up the can so fast that I just avoid it and use the DC for the fine stuff and dust.

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At school there was a guy who had a barn and would collect them from all the students to make an owl box. I guess owls love them for their nests!

But at home I just sweep them up and toss them in the garbage. I tried dust collecting them last week and they just got stuck on the grate in front of the impeller and eventually stopped the dust collector from sucking at all!

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Well my tool of choice is dependent on the mess. If it is in the shop and I am able to get it over to the floor sweep that goes to my home-made cyclone (preferred method). Only time it clogged is when I was doing pine shavings. Other major piles that I can't sweep is sucked up by the shop vac. Last on the list is a broom/pan/foxtail for out of reach areas or more "sensitive" areas (nuts, bolts, savable accent woods, etc.....). I also outfit my vacuum intakes with rare earth magnets to catch ferrous metals so they stay out of the collector of choice.

LQQK

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I sweep them up and put them in one of those big contractor clean up trash bags. They make great fire starting aids during the winter. If I ever fill up the bag prior to winter I usually make smores in the backyard. I do have a separator and can suck them up but the big fluffy shavings fill up the can so fast that I just avoid it and use the DC for the fine stuff and dust.

I sweep shavings and suck dust. I use the shavings for fire starter and for mulch around the yard.

Me too. Just remember to use a brush to sweep off your bench - you never know what's under the shavings, eh Shannon!

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Meanwhile, l sweep. The fine chips that remain on the floor and are too much of a nuisance to sweep get blown out the garage door :)

Exactly what I do as well, except that since I'm in a basement, I use a shop vac or my DC to vacuum them up. But those chips are fine enough that clogging isn't an issue.

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I bought a top from Rockler that fits on top of 5gal bucket. It has two openings. One goes to my shop vac and the other to either my planer which creates a lot of shavings or whatever else I am using. The large pieces drop in the bucket while the saw dust heads for the shop vac. Then I juust empty the bucket into the garbage. It works great.

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There's a garden show on the radio that I listen to ("You bet your garden" with Mike McGrath). He says that anything with wood in it should not be used as mulch for two reasons:

  • Decomposition (rot) requires four things: carbon, fixed nitrogen, water, and air. Wood is almost pure carbon, so when the wood decomposes it will suck all the nitrogen out of the soil. Your plants can end up suffering from lack of nitrogen.
  • Shotgun fungus grows on decomposing wood, and can cause significant damage to cars, houses, etc. It aims its sticky spores at light colored surfaces up to 30 feet away.

He recommends composting the wood along with lots of nitrogen rich stuff (eg, kitchen waste).

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He recommends composting the wood along with lots of nitrogen rich stuff (eg, kitchen waste).

thats EXACTLY what I do with my jointer shavings which compost faster than the larger shavings - when I joint unglued natural wood (don't want to introduce glue and other materials to my organic compost)

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What do you guys do with shavings from hand tools (planes/chisels/etc)? do you sweep them up with a broom/pan into a garbage can? or do you suck them up with your DC? shop-vac?

I'm asking because it seems that almost every time I decide to suck them up (easier at first though) I get clogs - usually around the fan area.

I was thinking about setting up a floor sweep near my workbench, but if these are going to clog up, than whats the use?

looking forward to hearing from other's experiences.

I was just looking at this, that I saw advertised in a magazine. Dunno if it answers your question, but it seems to me that a cyclonic action pre-filter (of sorts) would gather the larger chips/shavings/chunks preventing clogs.

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