Archive of 'Dust Collection Archives - The Art of Woodshop Design'

• Dust Collection System Layout ‘Strategeries’

  Written By Bobby.
  In Shop Systems

  

  What to Think About When Doing Your Dust Collection Design

  In my first shop, which was my apartment bedroom, I had no dust collection except for vacuuming afterwards. This sucked. Literally. Imagine…cutting boards and then leaving the room, closing the door, and waiting for the dust to settle. It wasn’t a good way to encourage more shop time.

  So let’s assume you want some sort of dust collection system…even if just eventually.

  
  

• Dust Collection Ductwork and Fittings Done Right

  Written By Bobby.
  In Shop Systems

  

  “Installing a permanent dust collection system is too hard so I just use flex duct and connect it to the machine I’m using”. Sound familiar? Well that’s how a lot of woodworkers think, not feeling like an HVAC expert or very interested in dealing with sheet metal ductwork. But I bet you’d like to have a dream dust collection system in your woodshop.

  
  

• My New Dust Collection Filter Bags Arrived!

  Written By Bobby.
  In Shop Systems,Tool Reviews/ Events

  

  How to Get True Set-it-and-Forget-it Filtration for Your Dust Collector.

  In the previous post, I told you about how I thought my dust collection system was good enough and kept workstations clean, until I noticed a layer of fine dust all over the dust collector and the surrounding area. This made me realize that while the system is picking up fine dust, it’s also spraying it all over the shop.

  Fine dust stays suspended in the air and moves around at even low air speeds so for sure it’s making its way back to my nose.

  I decided to dig even deeper into my own system, and make it more like systems I’ve designed for larger shops. There is a balance of cost and performance, but if you make the right choices you can get a kick-butt system for relatively low cost, and upgrade in the future as your funds allow.

  It’s not often you think about your dust collector filter, but without a good one you aren’t accomplishing what your dust collection system is entirely meant for: dust extraction and containment

  
  

• Does your Dust Collector Filter Bag Spray Fine Dust Up Your Nose?

  Written By Bobby.
  In Shop Systems

  

  I thought my dust collector worked pretty well until I was emptying the lower dust bag and noticed something. It makes total sense, but I just didn’t really think about it before.

  I’ve always had the ultimate dust collection system as my goal, and have several improvements on my list. Enlarging the dust ports from 4” to 6” on my jointer, making a dust extraction blade guard for my table saw, and increasing the duct drop size to my drum sander are the main ones. But now I’ve started to rethink the “back end” of the system woodworkers don’t normally worry about.

  
  

• Dust Collection Mastery

  Written By Bobby.
  In Shop Systems

  

  Dust Collection Options

  A friend asks you to help him with his shop ideas.

  “What kind of dust collection system should I consider?”

  “Ahh, I’d put in a central collector, duct it to each machine, and have a remote on/off keychain with me. Put blastgates at each machine to maximize suction on the tool you’re using. Then you can do woodworking without dragging a shop vacuum or small collector around the shop or re-hooking up flex hoses. “

  Now, if you’d recommend this to someone you care about, what about you?

  There are many ways to do this, but there are better ways… The set-it-and-forget-it method of dust collection you can do yourself!

  
  

• Fast Fixes for an Under-Performing Workshop Layout

  Written By Bobby.
  In Shop Systems,Workshop Layout

  

  I thought I had the perfect design. Everything seemed to flow, tools were arranged ergonomically, and everything had electricity and a dust collection connection.

  Then I used that design in real life.

  Most things were exactly what I imagined they would be like, but there were a few deficiencies I couldn’t ignore…