Dust collection question

[jtooley75]

I was wondering what people do that work from a single car garage for dust collection. I am planning a newer workshop and have a table saw, bandsaw and miter station. Do you think i should just hook up to my shop vac everytime I use individual machines, or would it be more beneficial to invest in some hoses and run them to each machine from the shop vac. I won't have to move anything when I'm done working, so I don't have to worry about that.

[davestanton]

You say a "newer workshop". What did you have for DC before in your previous shop?

[duckkisser]

invest in a dust collector there not that expensive and is 10 times better then just one shop vac. eventuly you will get a planer, jointer, router and then get eather hoses or pvc pipe to make your own piping. i know it sounds intimidating but it realy does make a difference.

[areynoldsre]

Invest in the dust collector and the piping. It's worth it if you going that kind of equipment. I bought a delta dust collector and a hose for my table saw, router table and miter saw. It was worth the money. The only mistake I've made is not investing in a pipe system for each machine. I have to move the hose from machine to machine and it's a pain. The temptation is always there to do "just one cut without shoving the hose on."

I fall victim to that temptation all the time. The convenience of having dedicated dust collection to each machine is worth the cost and effort.

[PaulMarcel]

If you are in a single car garage, most DCs are going to take a significant footprint. A DC, though, has better airflow than a shopvac designed for static pressure over airflow. I'll assume that in the single car bay, you move things around a lot on mobile bases, which precludes running piping. I'd consider a DIY DC that fits on the tool. Steel City makes a "mini-DC" that is literally an impeller on a through hose. Depending on your layout, you could put this right on the tablesaw attached to a Y with blast gates on both branches. It could blow into a separator like the new one from Rockler; whether you put the DC between the saw and separator or behind the separator matters less than getting a compact footprint in your case. On one Y branch, have a connector for your mitersaw and bandsaw. Bandsaws produce fine sawdust, not chips, so you just need airflow there. Mitersaw produces the same as a tablesaw but in vastly less volume. Both of those could be further from the DC; the tablesaw, which you likely use the most anyway, benefits the most from a near DC.

That mini was only $50 when I picked one up and used it for a similar setup as I described. It worked very well. Later when you figure out where your shop is headed (you said new so...) you can see about other larger DC solutions if you need it and be out at most $50. Personally, I still have the mini and use it for special applications.

[duckkisser]

might want to think about geting one of those plastic sheds and attach it to the outside of you garage and put in a port to the outside that way you can cut out alot of sound.

[jtooley75]

Thanks for the info guys. Dave, I should rephrase my original post. I never had a shop before, but will be using one side of a two-car garage strictly for my tools. So to me, it's my "new" shop and I am laying out the plans. I do have a shop vac, but wasn't sure if a DC system would be overkill or benificial for my small setup.

[davestanton]

Ok PRSdude. I am not sure about the sizes of your table saw and band saw and how much or how fine the dust they generate. If your machines generate a lot of dust and they are used a lot, then get a dedicated DC system in place and possibly put the unit outside as has been suggested. If they don't generate too much dust and you only use the stuff maybe once every couple of weeks, it may be that you are in my current situation. I only have a shop vac and circular saws and drop saw etc., all hand power tools and for those tools, the vac has me covered. I do have a thiknesser but it gets wheeled outside when it is used and I just rake up the mess and shovel onto the garden. You can keep up with what I am doing regarding shop vac, mini cyclone as well as a water trap for fines by checking my posts.If you like what I am doing you could hit the green box with a white arrow, lol When I jump to bigger machines such as cabinet saw, band saw and jointer I will use a 2 horse cyclone, main line of 6 inches down the centre of the room mounted from the ceiling with 4 inch branches to areas where machines will most likely live, BUT I don't want to invest in that situation until it becomes a reality. Others have advised to start as you mean to finish and this is sound advise, only if life doesn't lead you in another direction in the mean time. Our interests change and hey presto, 2 cars in the garage and no toys any more.

It is easy to get caught up in the moment and go over the top. Main thing is to keep happy with what you are doing and if that means throwing money at it and it is there to do so, jump in!

[Rapid Roger]

My small shop is attached to the back of the garage with a standard roll up door between them. Everything over 50 pounds is on wheels including my small Jet dust collector. I have to pull the machines out into the garage temporally just to use them safely.

I do not have the luxury of piping for the collector and have to attach it to each machine as I use it. It is a pain having to connect and disconnect the hose all the time but, it is SO MUCH better than using just the shop vac as i was doing before.

When I bought the De Walt 735 planer, the instructions said that a shop vac was not sufficient enough for the machine. BOY! Were they ever right!

I still use the shop vac for my down draft sanding box and general clean up of course but the dust collector is a real God send for the table saw, joiner, planer and router table. I also got the remote start/stop for the collector too so I don't have to listen to the noise while deciding on my next step of building a project.

Rog