Dust collection idea

[Bill Siegle]

I’m curious if this idea has been tried and also if anyone can see any safety concerns in my idea. I’m thinking about getting a Harbor Freight dust collector to pull a vacuum into an all steel Oneida Dust Deputy. I really need better collection but I have limited space and power in my shop and this set up would fit. I plan on using a water bucket under the grinder too which catches a LOT but it’s not so awesome when shredding handle materials.



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[Lorien]

I’m curious if this idea has been tried and also if anyone can see any safety concerns in my idea. I’m thinking about getting a Harbor Freight dust collector to pull a vacuum into an all steel Oneida Dust Deputy. I really need better collection but I have limited space and power in my shop and this set up would fit. I plan on using a water bucket under the grinder too which catches a LOT but it’s not so awesome when shredding handle materials.



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I was looking at this unit, thinking I might be able to fit it on a shelf above my grinder to keep it out of the way

 

[Scaniaman]

I use a Locline on a similar cyclone, mounted on a 30 L bucket with some water in it. On the other end I have a metal specific dust extractor. Works well for both wet and dry grinding steel. I honestly haven't seen a single spark leave the cyclone bucket so I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be OK with a normal for-wood dust extractor. But I wouldn't mix metal with wood and other dust and I would check the extractor after each grinding session. My advise would be a metal grinding extractor though, for security reasons. Or maybe you can skip the collector bag and just mount a hose on the extractor exit, and take it outside over a bucket of water or something

 

[Lorien]

I use a Locline on a similar cyclone, mounted on a 30 L bucket with some water in it. On the other end I have a metal specific dust extractor. Works well for both wet and dry grinding steel. I honestly haven't seen a single spark leave the cyclone bucket so I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be OK with a normal for-wood dust extractor. But I wouldn't mix metal with wood and other dust and I would check the extractor after each grinding session. My advise would be a metal grinding extractor though, for security reasons. Or maybe you can skip the collector bag and just mount a hose on the extractor exit, and take it outside over a bucket of water or something

really like the idea of replacing the bag with a hose. It could go into a bucket, and as long as there were vents added it might work pretty good. I'd line the vents with filter material, of course, but a bucket would be an easier to maintain way to go, and probably safer, too.

 

[Scaniaman]

really like the idea of replacing the bag with a hose. It could go into a bucket, and as long as there were vents added it might work pretty good. I'd line the vents with filter material, of course, but a bucket would be an easier to maintain way to go, and probably safer, too.

Yes. If I had a feasible way of taking a hose outside here, I' d just buy one of those industrial transport fans and some hose. Maybe add a VFD too.

 

[FredyCro]

I use a Locline on a similar cyclone, mounted on a 30 L bucket with some water in it. On the other end I have a metal specific dust extractor. Works well for both wet and dry grinding steel. I honestly haven't seen a single spark leave the cyclone bucket so I wouldn't be surprised if you'd be OK with a normal for-wood dust extractor. But I wouldn't mix metal with wood and other dust and I would check the extractor after each grinding session. My advise would be a metal grinding extractor though, for security reasons. Or maybe you can skip the collector bag and just mount a hose on the extractor exit, and take it outside over a bucket of water or something

Wow man, your workshop is a mess

*Scaniaman leaves whatever he is doing and goes to clean up the shop*

 

[FredyCro]

I am following this one. If all works out I will have a 50m2 garage to set up shop soon and a dust/grinding room with a dedicated dust collection is a number one priority.

All the dirt producers (grinders and saws) would go into this room, so I can keep the rest clean.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Those small HF type blowers will work for a small setup. If you have the power available, a 2HP blower is better. For the price of those 1HP units, you can set up two 1HP blowers and have each one draw from a different cyclone system. Use a transfer switch to determine which is powered - wood or metal.

Use smooth wall duct tubes, if at all possible, as they move air much faster and cleaner than the spiral hoses. For a good setup have 3" duct from the grinders to the cyclone and 4" duct to the blower. You want 4" or larger hose or duct from the blower to the exhaust if you don't use the bag. The ducts should always get larger as they go from the grinder to the exhaust.

In a perfect setup you have two separators. One is a metal dust deputy type or spark bong. The other is a regular wood and dust type dust deputy or similar cyclone. The second cyclone will be the one that gets the wood grinding. The metal one gets the blade and other steel/metal grinding. If you don't use two blowers, use a Y-connector and blast gates to switch from one to the other. A Y-connector brings them back to one duct to the blower.

This metal/wood works surprisingly well in a small shop. You can keep the bag on the blower or run a hose outside to vent the small amount of dust in the exhaust. The bag should get almost nothing but fine particles which will probably blow through the cloth. I prefer the higher air flow of no bag. It makes the cyclones work more efficient. I know one chap who vented the blower under his house (raised foundation). He said it collected very little dust and kept the underside drier because of the airflow. There are all sorts of calculations for airflow and static pressure, but what it boils down to is - If possible, keep all ducts and hoses short and avoid as many turns and angles as possible.

Note:
If you vent the blower outside the shop make sure you have a supply of incoming air to replace it or you will get negative air pressure. It can be a cracked door or an open window, or a dedicated vent. You want at least 1sqft/.1sqm of incoming vent area.

 

[Bill Siegle]

OK just getting around to updating my project. I hooked up the HF collector by itself for a bit and it works great……till it sucked up some sparks and smoldered the bag. That pushed me to find adapters to put the Oneida Cyclone before the dust collector to trap sparks. It works but the 4in to 2in really drops off the amount of CFM moving through the set up. For now I’m back on a wet/dry vac pulling through the Oneida. I’m eventually going to try a couple more things with the HF collector. At the very least the shop is staying much cleaner and sparks are not causing fires

 

[Crag the Brewer]

Do people really feel the need to suck up when grinding metal?

I only use mine when doing handles, and kydex

 

[Bill Siegle]

I don’t plan on getting the main shower of sparks but having something pull away some of the out lying dust does have a positive effect.