Shopsmith Forums

I am in the process of redesigning my shop (3 car garage, i get 1/2 of the 3rd stall). I decided to go with a nameless (avoiding politics here) 3hp 52" cabinet saw as a main table saw (don't mind the shopsmith saw mode but honestly I want a stationary table and move the blade), plus I fully admit I want the safety feature involved in said saw (lost part of my finger from a Howitzer back in the Army, don't need to lose any more, or any of my kid's fingers... AKA my insurance policy). So next month I plan on picking that beast up and putting it in. However, I need to do some rearranging and possible building to get everything in order for the new arrival. That saw needs a min. of 350 cfm dust collection.

I also am planning to build a 16' miter saw station/workbench across the front wall that would give me 8' to the left of the blade and 8' to the right, but because its a sliding miter saw the wings will have to be deep (about 40"), and will house some drawers on top to keep the distance to the back reachable and usable. But, it will also contain a way to do dust collection for the miter saw, but im not sure what the dust collection cfm rating is for a Dewalt dws780.

On top of that, on the wall between the station and the table saw I will have my shopsmith so I can have a useful lathe (finally got a speed reducer last week, so I am going to have to try her out soon...), a place for the bandsaw, scroll saw, and sanding station. So depending on the attachment, I will need some sort of dust collection there as well.

Currently I have a 650 CFM jet dust collector and a Shopsmith DC3300 (300-350 cfm???, not sure). I know the SS dust collector has 3 ports that would be great to run to all 3 stations, but am worried that if I use more than 1 it will be inadequate for the table saw. Or is that just using it at the same time? If I use the 650 CFM jet dust collector I will need to use adapters and run around and maybe even some dust collection piping, while hoping it stays at 350 CFM for the table saw. My 3rd option is to have 2 dust collectors in the small shop, using the Jet exclusively for the table saw (and router table i guess too), and the SS DC3300 for the miter station and Shopsmith. Having 2 separate dust collectors seems cumbersome in a shop my size since I also have a SS (modified) stand alone drill press, pro planer, belt sander on powered stand, router table, and a rolling scrap bin.

So does anyone know the actual CFM of the DC3300? I can't find anything official, and the unofficial ones vary in CFM.

Would a 650 CFM cover all those tools?

Anyone have any clue how much CFM is needed for a miter saw (or if its even worth it? I could use a dedicated shop vac I guess for that too installed under the miter station, just not as effective)?

Any tips you might have for how to go about this all while making dust collection the most effective?

I am just really trying to plan this out the best I can, before I get the saw. Already have to extend my only 220 outlet so I can avoid an extension cord to the saw and am eventually having to scrap both of my current workbenches out there (and finding a way to use the miter station wings as a work bench). The biggest issue I have is dust collection because of the distance between machines and how much CFM is needed.

Thanks for any input in advance.

Option 3 seems the choice to me(assuming the 'sstop' saw and router table are close.

As for the dc3300 having three ports, blast gates(or a movable hose) allows using them one at a time. I like the movable hose.

The achieved cfm depends upon the 'drag' caused by the ducting and filter.

JPG wrote:Option 3 seems the choice to me(assuming the 'sstop' saw and router table are close.

As for the dc3300 having three ports, blast gates(or a movable hose) allows using them one at a time. I like the movable hose.

The achieved cfm depends upon the 'drag' caused by the ducting and filter.

Router table is on wheels and can be near it, but to save space I am thinking of making a router table that can be mounted on the shopsmith using the extra 510 tubes I have (will need to cut the table to match the width and height of the 520 tubes so the tables all line up flush...). No decision has been made there though because my current table has a decent 4" dust port with a connected dust collection port on the fence that does a decent job.

Dust collection for your miter saw is a must have, it is the worst offender for dust. I have a Harbor freight DC...took a little trial and error but I finally found a pretty good solution. I have two four inch hoses going to my CSMS, one comes from underneath into a big gulp and a hole in my table behind the saw with a hand made removable (held in with toggle clamps) low hood if you will, works basically like a down draft table, the second goes to the saws normal vac hose port, stepped down from four inch, used a small piece of pvc to slip into a reducer. The reason I have two outlets is because I have to remove my down draft hood if I have to rotate the saw to 45 degrees, only the top portion is used, not as effective as using both, but better then nothing. Yes I have to open two blast gates, but that is a minor inconvenience. Few pics to give you an idea of what I am talking about, works very good, getting about 380 cfm lower and 200 cfm or so top port, because it gets choked down so bad, but both turned on I get 90% or so collection.

I think this could be considered "official":
http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/cata ... ection.htm
"Airflow: 330 CFM"

I guess the marketing folks got to tack on that last "0" to the model number.

I've been making do with a large shop vac sporting about half that CFM (but augmented by an overhead Jet air filtration unit, which makes a real big difference). Strictly plug and play, with a single extended hose from the inline Dust Deputy.

A 2hp 1200 CFM Jet cannister unit is waiting impatiently to be plumbed up, with a full complement of blast gates. My shop is also small, so the key is getting the most performance in the smallest footprint, including plumbing, and with extra credit for squeezing into otherwise unused nooks and crannies. Your machines won't care what is sucking on the other end of the hose. But your lungs WILL want the fine particulates filtered out.

Not sure how I missed that 330 CFM rating on the main DC3300 page. I wasted a lot of time due to that blunder. Oh well, at least it shows me that I will have to have the larger dust collector work on the table saw.

I also might just have to incorporate a dust collector pipe system into the miter station, because wow that looks slick. With that larger hole below, I am guessing the 330 CFM on the DC3300 may not give it enough suction. So I might be best to stick with the jet 650 and go around plugging it into whatever tool i need it on. However, building the piping into the miter station with a 4" inlet on the side of the miter station would at least simplify the hookup on a regular basis since the collector will be making it's rounds then.

Only issue now is I am looking at air filtration units to hang from the ceiling. That's another couple hundred bucks I need to save up for now.

I have had the harbor freight 2hp version for about five years now and it works well. It is rated at about 1500 cfm which what I need for my table saw, router table and planer to achieve the level of dust collection I like. Larger cabinet style table saws and planers require a fair amount of cfm to function well. Plus when you are sanding it's nice to be able to filter the air in the shop completely every few minutes. If you can get the dust collector out of the shop and drag the air out instead of recirculating it would be better. Mine sits outside the shop and is unprotected from the elements which is not optimal. I need to get some T111 siding and make an enclosure for it before winter. One drawback to removing the air from the shop is that you also drag all the hot or cold air out also but the benefit of complete air removal from the shop is worth it in my opinion. Especially if you are working with exotics which can be toxic.
Paul

Paul's post reminded me -- when I plumb up my own 2HP Jet dust collector, I plan to add an "air switch" of some sort between the blower and the 2-micron cannister filter. One output of the air switch will go to the cannister as normal, and the other will be vented directly outdoors. With that setup, the dust collector can do double duty as a fume extractor. The airflow through the blower is completely isolated from the motor, and I've already built a "fume hood" box with a furnace filter on the intake. Once the shop is plumbed for dust collection, I'll be able to place the fume hood pretty much wherever I wish.

I got a great CL deal on the dust collector. It was brand new, but had a dented cannister and a 3-phase motor. I put a VFD on it to provide the 3-phase juice. That lets me adjust the fan speed to reduce the sound level, or to minimize the amounted of heated/cooled air that I'm exhausting in fume-extractor mode. It works great, and my total investment is still only half the retail price of a single-phase unit.