ChetlovesMer Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Okay, so the short story is I've decided that I have to upgrade my dust collection. The long story is that they found a couple of spots on my lungs. They did some scans and wanted to see if they were cancer lumps. They weren't (Good news). It turns out they were basically scabs as I understand it. You get a piece of something in your lung and your body protects itself by forming a scab around it. It shows up as a dark spot on the scan. It eventually goes away. I'm told its common among people who work with hay or straw a lot because you breathe the fine dust. But with me, it's probably MDF dust. (A lot of my customers have wanted painted cabinets with raised panels lately. For me that means MDF panels.) Anyhow, it’s not deadly or anything, but got me thinking that my dust collection is woefully inadequate. So, I’ve decided to add a cyclone with hard plumbing to my shop. It’s sadly overdue. I’ve been doing research and I’m having a really hard time deciding between the final two contenders. I have it narrowed down to: Clearvue – CV1800 Single Phase with Nano Filter and 5HP Leeson Motor. – About $1700.00 Or Oneida Pro Series 2000 with 5HP Baldor Motor. – About $1990.00 After all the ductwork, and since I have to get some additional stuff for the Clearvue, I figure this will be an expensive as heck project, so the price difference is pretty much a wash. They are both US Made. Both seem to provide excellent customer service and help in designing your ductwork. The Clearvue would be fun to watch stuff go in, but I’m probably going to build a closet around it anyway. I’m sort of leaning toward the Oneida because I’m not fond of the PVC ducting. I think I’d prefer steel ducting. I know Marc has the Clearvue and seems very happy. But, I’ll throw the question out there. What would you do? BTW: Am I a complete idiot for trying to do this at the same time I’m going to try to build my Roubo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Health wise I think either is fine. If I was going to work with alot of mdf I would definitely vent it outside or mount it outside and not mess with the filters. With mdf the big thing is collection at the source, its not easy. Overarm dust collector for the table saw and real hoods for the router table. If mdf raised panels are an issue Id invest in a tool more suited like a shaper with big dust collection if you dont already have one. IMO the router and table saw are the worst culprits for dust and getting those under control will do alot. Even if you invest in a great dust collection system those are still going to be problem areas. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Get some rolls of duct tape and silicone sealer. Get foil tape instead. Duct tape is great for a lot of things, including removing warts. As it turns out, taping ductwork is not one of them. I think that the reason it's called "duct tape" is because "wart tape" wouldn't be a great seller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
konkers Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 I recently purchased a Clearvue and finished setting it up last night. I opted for the Clearview because it's directly based off Bill Pentz' design (http://billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/cycloneplan.cfm). Bill spent a ton of time engineering and documenting that design so I trust it will work well. I don't have that level of insight into the design of any of the other cyclones. Setting up the Clearview is quite a bit of work and while possible to do with one person, I really don't recommend it. My shoulders and arms are very sore right now. Thankfully I managed to avoid hurting my back. On the other hand, I was able to worm it into the closet under my stairs because it came in so many pieces and I assembled it in place. I'm still in process of running my ductwork so I can't comment on the performance but boy does that thing suck at the inlet to the cyclone. (p.s. I'm moving shop while trying to do the Roubo, so I say go for it!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteJr Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 We have seen Marc wearing dust protection while woodworking. It's a good practice I have begun following. Perhaps you should consider that as an extra measure of protection from fine airborne dust. You might also consider adding a dust filtering unit to your shop ceiling. I did this in addition to machine based collection and it's made a big difference. I too have respiratory problems so I share your concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted December 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Pete, that's good advice. I now have a combination dust mask, safety shield thingie which encloses most of my head. I actually prefer it to the standard dust mask as this doesn't really leave lines on my face, or fog my safety shields. I also have the airborne cleaner, but most of what I read tells me those cannot react quickly enough to the airborne dust. But of course it does do a nice job clearing the air before the next session. I'm only 40 and I plan to do this until I'm at least 80. My wife, God bless her, supports my habit and feels money spent on my safety is well spent. Again, God bless her. She is also my most valued and important client as I build most of the furnature in our house. My only complaint is she doesn't like Greene and Greene... Can you imagine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted December 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Health wise I think either is fine. If I was going to work with alot of mdf I would definitely vent it outside or mount it outside and not mess with the filters. With mdf the big thing is collection at the source, its not easy. Overarm dust collector for the table saw and real hoods for the router table. If mdf raised panels are an issue Id invest in a tool more suited like a shaper with big dust collection if you dont already have one. IMO the router and table saw are the worst culprits for dust and getting those under control will do alot. Even if you invest in a great dust collection system those are still going to be problem areas. Don Don, what you say is true. But another problem I'm having is that my current single stage dust collector filter bag is so bad that I can very literally see the dust collecting on the wall next to where the collector is located. I don't think it's 3 micron anymore.... more like 3 macron... or 3 megacron... or 3 something-big-acron.... you get the idea. It is my personal opinion that a single stage dust collector should be replaced regularly, especially if you use it a lot (as I do) and if big chucks of stuff run through it (as mind does). It eventually damages the impeller and makes it far less effective, to say nothing of the filter-bag's steady decay in performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted December 7, 2011 Report Share Posted December 7, 2011 Im just trying to help keep your expectations more so in check. Of course both are going to be better than what you have but there is more to it especially with mdf. The mdf is going to cause the same issues if you dont collect it at the source. The cyclone filters are going to plug and have to be beat down regularly. A router table with mdf is just plain a nightmare no matter what dust collector you own. Mdf is just plain nasty stuff and if you are going to keep using it then you need to keep it under control. Just dont stop at the dust collector. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted December 8, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2011 Im just trying to help keep your expectations more so in check. Of course both are going to be better than what you have but there is more to it especially with mdf. The mdf is going to cause the same issues if you dont collect it at the source. The cyclone filters are going to plug and have to be beat down regularly. A router table with mdf is just plain a nightmare no matter what dust collector you own. Mdf is just plain nasty stuff and if you are going to keep using it then you need to keep it under control. Just dont stop at the dust collector. Don Yep, you are right. I'm already looking at my router table. I currently try to capture dust above and below the table. I really like your idea about a shaper. I see them sometimes pretty reasonably priced second hand. I think a lot of guys might avoid them because of the 220. Which isn't a problem for me. Hmm... shaper... a chance to buy new tools... hmmm?? Anyway, I agree that dust collection needs to be a whole shop approach. I will need to look at every machine and try to minimize my exposure. The dust mask really helps and becoming more of a neanderthal will also help. Currently though, I am a Normite at heart and most of my projects get a healthy dose of electric current thrown at them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChetlovesMer Posted December 12, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Okay, I contacted Oneida and they are great. They help with the entire layout and discussed options, so far no complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Posted December 12, 2011 Report Share Posted December 12, 2011 Chet, I have the 3HP Gorilla from Oneida. It works great. I have an overarm blade guard that sucks up on the TS as well as the cabinet itself. Good DC on the router table is doable, too. There is an old issue of FWW that has a great plan for the DC on a router table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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