dust collection systems

[court jester]

Hi Guys how do you collect the dust generated from grinding? Is a dust collection system for wood working enough and any modifications necessary (collecting metal oppose to wood dust)? Is there any systems you can recommend and where to purchase? How much CFM is good and size of duct?

 

[Alpha Knife Supply]

We made a quench bucket so we would not have to worry about getting sparks into the dust collector. Our dust collector is pulls 1800 cfm.

When grinding steel and titanium we attach the quench bucket and have never had a problem. We empty the sludge when it gets to the bottom of the downdraft pipe. The most important point to remember is to adjust the blastgate so it so you have enough airflow to move air, but not hard enough to pull the water out of the bucket. Our first version did not have this feature and drained the water out of the bucket in about two minutes!

The only other problem is the water evaporating. If there is no water to quench the spark, the dust builds in a pile and then ignites. My daughter thought it was cool to watch the pretty fire until the bucket started melting.

 

[Sweany]

simple,cheap and it works

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Chuck,Your system is excellent.The water level problem can be solved with a water bottle feed.Fit a gallon glass jug with a rubber stopper with a 1/4" tube attached.Put the other end of the tube at the water level desired (strap it to the downdraft pipe).Fill the bottle with water (add a 1/4 teaspoon of defoamer if you want),and invert,like an IV bag.The water level will stay at the end of the tube as long as there is any water in the bottle.You can see when it is time to refill the bottle.An IV bag won't work for this system,the bottle needs to be rigid.A pinch clamp can be used to turn it off when you are out of the shop,or dumping the can.