Shopsmith Forums

Hi guys, I know this has probably been around the block a few times, but I'll bring it up again. I'm trying to improve dust collection for a small shop (12x14). The shop is a room in the basement of my home with no windows or outside access, so "cleaning" the air is important. I currently have a (noisy) shop vac as the main collector, and an overhead air scrubber. The shop vac collection is okay, but could be better - I'm sure that adding a Dust Deputy or Thein baffle would make the disposal easier and save on bags, but a regular shop vac is noisy, and has limited airflow. I've thought about adding a proper dust collector, but that would take up valuable space, and they too are noisy. I've also thought about changing to Festool or Fein vac for the improved sound level and air flow over a regular shop vac, but they're as much or more than a dedicated dust collector, and I'm not sure they can properly handle the volume of air required.

Has anyone been down this road and found a solution that works? Or what have you tried that hasn't worked?

Ed

Money, noise, space. It's a balance. A cheap pair of ear protectors (which you should probably already be using) would solve the noise problem. Then you could put a dust deputy in front of (or on top of) your shop vac, which doesn't take up much space and will vastly improve the usability of your shop vac.

The DC3300 is another option. Doesn't take up much space. And is quiet. But you need the 42 inch filter bag on it in a basement shop otherwise you are just recycling dust. If you could get a used one at a price, I'd recommend it. The new price is steep for what it is.

More hand tools...

A cheap box fan with a 20" x 20" furnace filter attached to the back can serve as an air scrubber. Best if a better grade filter is used. Hang it up over head.

I have been measuring this week and found a spot in another room of the basement where I can enclose one my 2 dust collectors in a snug closet with outgoing air returning to the shop through a row of filters at the open top of the wall between the joist. The block walls should quiet it considerably. I still plan to exhaust my larger dust collector directly outside into a wooded spot about 25 feet from the house. Note that I live on a 100 acre farm and my only 2 close neighbors are two of my adult children, one to the south about 500' and one to the north about 1,000'.


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I use the Rockler Dust Right Dust Separator. I caught it on sale with free shipping a year or so ago.

I use it for everything. I can bring it indoors and use it in the house to pick up pine needles from the tree, as I did this weekend.

A buddy has a house with a central vacuum that is really powerful who swears by it. He uses it indoors between the inlet port and his pick up hose.

He ported over some piping to his workshop and uses the central vac suction to fill his Dust Separator in the shop. Sound is virtually gone based on where his central vac head is, plus nothing clogs up his lines anymore as it goes in the separator, not the central vac reservoir, which has a micro filter, and it never loses suction.

I had wondered if I might fabricate something of the sort for my shop, with a remote suction where I could roll-up and connect.

Everett

That's interesting. I have a whole house central vac with a suction outlet in the shop. I wonder....

Become a Hybrid wood worker and use more hand tools then use a broom for dust collection.

More chips and shavings, Less noise, less dust and fines.

I'm tired of the dust too but I'm way too cheap to invest in amazing dust collection so this is the route I decided to take. I still use my shop vac for the SS when it is required though and I do still use my SS, especially the band saw and lathe.

Sand paper is moistly used for sharpening edged tools. I'll take hand planes and a scraper over sanding any day of the week.

Please NOTE: I do not do production work, just small one off projects with no delivery date in mind so this works for me. Woodworking and tools are a hobby for me so I take my time and enjoy all aspects of what I'm working on.

I have a muffler for my shop vac, similar to this one https://smile.amazon.com/WORKSHOP-Wet-D ... B00FX2TFR4, that helps reduce noise some. It isn't going to make it super quiet, but it does help.

As a mater of clarification is the noise issue with you in the shop or with the household above your shop? BTW there are shop-vacs that are moderately priced that are quieter then others. My larger one is quieter than my smaller one, just have to look for what is important to you and if noise level is then look for ones that are that way.

If it the folks upstairs who don't like the noise you can noise insulate the basement to deal with some of that. Might be more expensive then a new vacuum system but would quite the sounds of the saws and routers and the likes.

Ed

reible wrote:As a mater of clarification is the noise issue with you in the shop or with the household above your shop? BTW there are shop-vacs that are moderately priced that are quieter then others. My larger one is quieter than my smaller one, just have to look for what is important to you and if noise level is then look for ones that are that way.

The house is actually insulated pretty well, so it's not the rest of the house - it's me who's bothered by the noise. Yes I wear hearing protection, but it it still annoys me. I have 2 shop vacs - a smaller Shop Vac QSP (quieter, lower air volume) and a larger Rigid (more air, more noise).

I too have a port for the central vac in my shop, and it has a strong motor - I have been considering using it with DD, but am scared about plugging/damaging the central unit. I guess if I was selective (use a shop vac with the planer), it might be a good compromise.

It would sure be worth a try on the central vac port. If the separator is working right and there is enough cfm flow to snag the large volume chips from planer output, it should all go in the DD reservoir.

They come in all sizes. There are even separator heads to fit 55 gallon drums, but you can make them with two 90 degree elbows, to adapt the original top and clamp ring. You just apply suction. Only the finest airborne particles that could remain airborne would go to the central head, presuming you didn't do two stages with an intermediate or hepa filtration element on the shop pick up side second stage.

Everett