Shopsmith Forums

Hey, guys! It's been a while since I've been around here. I got involved in other things (like drones and 3D printing) and haven't had much time for woodworking in quite a while. My shop had even gotten in such a disorganized shape that it wasn't really usable which just perpetuated the problem. But I spent this past weekend getting my shop in order - drug everything outside, cleaned, did some minor reorganization, etc. I've still got a lot of organizing to do, but the biggest part is out of the way.

Anyway, I really think it's time to add some dust collection. I want to build a small closet outside the building and run a hose system through my shop (small, 12' x 24'). No need for a filter - it can vent directly outside. But, I do want a cyclone and canister system.

I've been looking at the Harbor Freight 2HP unit. But I would be ditching pretty much everything except the blower and collector. Is it still the best option for the price? Any suggestions for good ways to use the other parts?

I have that unit and it has been great. It is running most days and no problems. I have it outside in the weather most of the time and after 4 years it is still going well.
Paul

Welcome back, Heath!!!

I WISH that I could just exhaust dust outdoors -- but that would be some mighty expensive heated air during a cold Ohio winter. (That's not a big problem down in LA, I suspect.) I have a similar Jet unit, and I do plan to plumb up a direct outdoor vent and bypass the cannister filter, for those times when I want to use it as a fume extractor.

A few years ago I was pulling loads from a place that built industrial filters for factories ,, basically a box with a fan and filters , it just recycled air from inside the building, I seen them work,, they work really well ,filter media could be added to remove toxins with charcoal and other medias ,,, maybe a idea to toss around . their units were lot more detailed with electronics for air monitoring but a simple design should work.

Thanks, BuckeyeDennis!

I've been watching a bunch of YouTube videos the last few days, kind of getting back into the mindset. I discovered Frank Howarth's channel (what I wouldn't give for that shop!) and his "Workshop Air Filter Cart" video. In addition to proper dust collection, I think I'm going to take some inspiration from that and build a very similar filter into my dedicated table saw outfeed table. I don't have room anywhere else for something like that and the shelf under that table just accumulates junk anyway. And, I have an old furnace blower.

Frank's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKQA-CHNwdM

As Dennis said the outside temp vs inside temp always makes outside ducting a challenge. I made it through my first Las Vegas summer here and it is definitely a challenge to retain the cold or hot air in the shop. I have toyed with the idea of a plenum valve to allow for either recirculating or exterior ducting. There are times when it is necessary to duct it straight out but also many hours where with recirculating I could retain the cool or warm air depending on the season. Something to ponder.
Paul

I have had the HF unit for a few years now and pretty happy with it, but I did ditch the bag filter for a Wayne environmental canister filter, works so much better. My only concern for venting outside would be air pressure, that air getting vented outside has to come from some where, how are you getting air back into your shop once you vent it out. My two cents would be to use it as designed inside but with the canister upgrade, solves a lot of problems and your heat/cold air problem, or loss there of..lol

Open doors and windows! That and a 1950's Westinghouse Floor fan is my cooling system. Closing them is my heating system. Even all closed, it's not that tightly sealed.

Actually, if I could get dust under control, I might install a window AC/Heating unit. But that's somewhere down the road.

heathicus wrote:Thanks, BuckeyeDennis!

I've been watching a bunch of YouTube videos the last few days, kind of getting back into the mindset. I discovered Frank Howarth's channel (what I wouldn't give for that shop!) and his "Workshop Air Filter Cart" video. In addition to proper dust collection, I think I'm going to take some inspiration from that and build a very similar filter into my dedicated table saw outfeed table. I don't have room anywhere else for something like that and the shelf under that table just accumulates junk anyway. And, I have an old furnace blower.

Frank's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKQA-CHNwdM

Interesting idea in the video. However, looking at the video starting at the 3:35 point there is a whole bunch of fine dust past the filters in the blower chamber. So much that he cleaned some of it up with his other dust collector. It doesn't appear that the filters are doing much at all. How much more of that is going back out into the shop? Don't get into a false sense of security using ordinary 'furnace' type filters. To do a really good job you need high quality 1 micron or less filters.

Here is an example from my shop. I have two Powermatic ambient air filters hanging from the ceiling. They came with 1 micron inner bag filters. The shop building was built in 2009 and by the time I got the inside finished and the filters hung it was 2010. In June of this year I decided it was time to replace the inner bag filters. I had removed them periodically over the years and blown them out. I replaced them with Wynn 0.5 micron filters. The original filters have 3 bags and the Wynn filters have 4 bags. That is 1/3 more filter area.

https://wynnenv.com/ambient-filters/

I had never cleaned the inside of the filter cabinets. The first picture shows one of the filter cabinets after 7 years. Yes there is a very small amount of dust but that is 7 years worth. I don't have a picture of the other filter cabinet but it had no visible dust. It is the one in the last picture over the table saw.

The second and third pictures show the original OEM filter bag and the Wynn replacement. The last picture shows both filter's placement in the shop.

Filters from the big box stores, even the best ones will not do the job. Yes, they will get dirty with the biggest particles but that is not the problem. It is the smallest particles that you can't see that do the harm. Again, don't be fooled into thinking a $10 filter from the big box stores is really cleaning the air.

jsburger wrote:

heathicus wrote:Thanks, BuckeyeDennis!

I've been watching a bunch of YouTube videos the last few days, kind of getting back into the mindset. I discovered Frank Howarth's channel (what I wouldn't give for that shop!) and his "Workshop Air Filter Cart" video. In addition to proper dust collection, I think I'm going to take some inspiration from that and build a very similar filter into my dedicated table saw outfeed table. I don't have room anywhere else for something like that and the shelf under that table just accumulates junk anyway. And, I have an old furnace blower.

Frank's video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKQA-CHNwdM

Interesting idea in the video. However, looking at the video starting at the 3:35 point there is a whole bunch of fine dust past the filters in the blower chamber. So much that he cleaned some of it up with his other dust collector. It doesn't appear that the filters are doing much at all. How much more of that is going back out into the shop? Don't get into a false sense of security using ordinary 'furnace' type filters. To do a really good job you need high quality 1 micron or less filters.

Here is an example from my shop. I have two Powermatic ambient air filters hanging from the ceiling. They came with 1 micron inner bag filters. The shop building was built in 2009 and by the time I got the inside finished and the filters hung it was 2010. In June of this year I decided it was time to replace the inner bag filters. I had removed them periodically over the years and blown them out. I replaced them with Wynn 0.5 micron filters. The original filters have 3 bags and the Wynn filters have 4 bags. That is 1/3 more filter area.

https://wynnenv.com/ambient-filters/

I had never cleaned the inside of the filter cabinets. The first picture shows one of the filter cabinets after 7 years. Yes there is a very small amount of dust but that is 7 years worth. I don't have a picture of the other filter cabinet but it had no visible dust. It is the one in the last picture over the table saw.

The second and third pictures show the original OEM filter bag and the Wynn replacement. The last picture shows both filter's placement in the shop.

Filters from the big box stores, even the best ones will not do the job. Yes, they will get dirty with the biggest particles but that is not the problem. It is the smallest particles that you can't see that do the harm. Again, don't be fooled into thinking a $10 filter from the big box stores is really cleaning the air.

I agree that you need the better filters than the furnace ones that are used in the video. I have a Wen for my garage and most of the time my garage door is also open. If you want to build one, Woodsmith magazine (issue 95) has plans that look almost exactly like the one I have except for the filters. It would be easy enough to buy the replacement filters for a commercially made unit and build the case to fit these filters instead of using furnace filters.