Category: Dust Collection

With the table saw and jointer prepped, it was time to hook them up to the DC.  While it is always preferable to use rigid pipe for DC ducting, the distance were so short for each connection, I used flexible hose for ease of setup.  The table saw hook up is about 3 feet, from the DC, and perhaps 1.5 feet from the ground.  The jointer is about 6 feet from the DC.  The first run of hose was from the DC to the Y.  From the Y two runs went to the table saw and to the jointer.

After getting this setup, I ran some test cuts through the table saw and over the jointer.  I was impressed with the difference it made.  With the jointer, I had been using the small DC whenever I used it, but I found the new setup worked just as well clearing the chips and shavings away.  With the table saw, I saw the biggest improvement.  The biggest improvement was no dust hitting the floor under the saw.  Between the two, using the blast gates has proven effective at keeping the CFMs up at the machine being used.  One thing I have noticed is that if the blade isn’t completely buried in the blade I get a lot more dust on the top.  So the next modification I make will be some sort of blade guard attached to the DC.

As I previously stated, my dust collection setup will be something that will always be improved upon.  Besides the table saw upgrade, I have want to expand it to more.  The next be chip and dust generator is my router table.  I made it many years ago and has served me well, but it is grossly lacking in its dust collection ability.  I have been putting serious thought into build a new router table which will incorporate the connection to the large DC.  I also have an OSS that generates a lot of dust.  I want to get a better option setup for dust collection as well.

One thing I will say about the new dust collection setup, is it has cut my clean-up time in half, especially around the table saw.   The updates I made were long overdue!

Since the table saw and jointer rarely get moved, it made sense to do something a little more permanent for them for dust collection.  I decided it was best to add a second dust collector to my shop.  After doing a bit of research, and some craigslist searching in vain, I decided to give the large Harbor Freight dust collector a try.  While the quality for most of their power tools are questionable at best, the dust collector seems to be one of their gems, and it is very affordable.  Plus, everything it will connect to is no more than 10′ away from the machine, which means minimal ducting, resulting in less loss of CFMs.  For now my goal is getting the jointer and table saw hooked up.

I then went to the local woodcraft and bought the DC accessories I needed.  I bought a tray for the table saw, a new hook up for the jointer, 2 friction fit blast gates, a Y fitting, a flexible hose, and hose clamps.

After getting the DC assembled and in its home right next to the table saw, I started working on modifying the table saw.  As my table saw is an old contractor style table saw, it had an open bottom.  The try itself was smaller than the opening so I had to close in the opening a bit.  I grabbed some scrap wood and made some support cleats that screwed into the bottom of the saw.  The tray was then able to sit on these cleats.  I secured the tray to the struts with a few screws.  Next came the blast gate.  The idea of the friction fit was so it was easy to remove when I needed to move something around.  The problem was it was too easy to remove and I later found that the force of the DC would often pull them off.  So I put the blast gate on as tight as it would go, then drove a couple screws into it to hold it in place.  I elected to keep the back open on the table saw

Next came setting up the jointer.  Being a new jointer (less than a year old at the time) it came with a standard 4″ connector for DC.  The friction fit blast gate didn’t fit it, so I bought a new connector and modified it to fit my jointer.  I attached its blast gate in a similar to the table saw.

The next and final post will discuss running the hose, testing the new setup, and what I plan for future enhancements to my dust collection setup.

This is one article I have been putting off for a while.  The topic of dust collection can be as touchy as discussing politics or religion.  However, one of the major projects I took on this past summer was improving the dust collection in my shop.

First, before I go any further, my disclaimer is that my solution is by no means the best solution out there.  There were a couple constraints I had to work within as well, and I was more or less focused on solving a couple specific issues with my setup.  Finally, I believe any dust collection setup is like any other aspect of the shop, in that it will be something that will always continue to be improved and updated.

Before I started, I wasn’t completely without dust collection.  I had a small 1 hp dust collector, that I used it directly on each machine.  This meant either bring the machine (namely the planer) to the dust collector, or bringing the dust collector to the machine itself.  This worked, but it got to be a hassle.  In fact, it made the process of milling lumber difficult.  On top of that my table saw had no dust collection at all.  I got tired of the mountain of sawdust that would always develop under my table saw.  I also have a shopvac that I use for sanding and general cleanup.

What I would have really liked to have done is put in a cyclone system that I could have ducted to each of my machines.  However, I don’t have the ability to run a dedicated 220 line to power it.  Also I had promised my wife that I would not make any large tool purchases for the year, as past years I had made quite a few of them.

To start with the improvements, I took a look at the layout of my tools.  The small dust collector is kept behind my band saw as that is where it gets most of use.   Also, the jointer is just across the from the band saw, so it made since from both a dust collection stand point, and milling stand point to move the planer  However my planer is on the cabinet that stores all my router bits and accessories which I wanted it next to my router table.  However, when I put the tool cabinet in place, the planer was in the way.  So this gave me the opportunity I needed to move it.  My new OSS on its stand was short enough to go under the tool cabinet, so I just simply swapped them and have to take a few extra steps to get to my router bits.  I now dedicate the small dust collector to the band saw and the planer, simply by moving the hose between the two machines.  This also has significantly improved my workflow for milling boards.

This, however, left my jointer and table saw without dust collection, and with the layout of the shop, it was hassle moving the small dust collector from machine to machine, which made it way too easy to not use dust collection at all.  My next post I will discuss what modifications I made to those machines to improve their dust collection.