Shopsmith Forums

bobgroh wrote:I think a two stage approach is best - a ShopVac or equivalent (maybe even a full blown dust collector) pulling the dust through a cyclone such as the Oneida Dust Deputy. I have that arrangement (see my previous posting with pictures) and it works great for my small shop. I also have a bag in the ShopVac and, of course, the normal filter on the inside around the pump inlet. Seems to pull a storm and almost all the dust winds up in the cyclone's bucket and never gets to the ShopVac. I also added a dryer vent in the workshop wall where I can vent the ShopVac into for a really through job of dust collection.

Rockler also has a simpler pre-dust collector - two nozzles in the top of a drum - a sort of half-a**ed cyclone if you will. Supposed to work pretty well.

Couple of points here in my mind:
1. Every shop should have some active form of effective dust collection. As I got older, it got so just sanding would start me wheezing. No more for me!

2. Having the dust drop offs before the fan makes a lot of sense to me - avoids all the potential damage from big stuff hitting the fan blades.

3. A good system doesn't need to be expensive but (IMHO) you need at least a two stage approach - cyclone and then a regular dust collector.

I would like to work out a system where I can just exhaust 100% of the actual dust and shavings out of the shop and have a separator that would only catch any hunks or nails etc. that might damage the impeller on one of my collector blowers. I do not want to accumulate anything but chunks. Everything else is to be blown into a pile outside away from the shop.
I have a Penn State 1 1/2 HP collector and a Harbor Freight 2 HP collector. They are in the current shop with bags but will go into a tiny cellar at one end of the new shop (24' X 45') without bags. It will basically just be the blowers and motors with switch legs up in the shop. All but that tiny service cellar is crawl space. Not sure of the exact height of the crawl space but I can sit up in it (I wish it was a full basement). The collector lines will all be in the crawl space and go up through the wood floor.
I have an idea of how to make the dust and chips go out and trap only the chunks but I will only know for sure after I try it. I plan to use a sweeping Tee like the one shown in the position shown. The bottom would mount on the lid of the container and would hopefully only catch chunks. The line from the shop would enter from the right. The top outlet would have about a 3' rise to the collector blower intake. Hopefully 98% of the dust shavings and chips would make the path up the vertical pipe to the blower but the chunks would be heavy enough to fall back down into the container. Time and testing will tell. It will probably need some tweaking and certainly would need to all be quick to open up in case of blockage.
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I should mention again here that this is a farm and that my closest neighbor is a half mile away.


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