Dust collectors. What are you guy’s using?

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godogs57

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Apr 16, 2004
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I’ve worn dust masks for years with no other “protection” for my lungs and am rethinking this. Seems I’m always coughing and sniffling whenever I leave my shop. I need to do better obviously.

I have a Wilton and Bader grinder and they throw dust everywhere...it’s just not a good thing. I have an attic fan mounted on a wall in my shop to pull out the dust, etc and does a decent job, but that’s it.

looking at a squirrel cage dust collector setup with collectors under each grinder’s wheel. I can see that I’d be comparing power and noise before making a choice.

Coupling a collector with perhaps a better mask would help the situation. What are you guys using? Thanks for any advice!
 
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I'm interested in this too, specifically what pump and filter set up. Right now I'm using a shop vac but it's not powerful enough to suck up much dust
 
Using a good respirator and have clean air in the shop will help your lungs a lot.

The most underappreciated part of a dust system is having a good ventilation system that takes the dusty air out of the shop and lets in clean fresh air. This is where a big exhaust fan can really pay off.

The simplest dust extraction system is a blower (squirrel cage or fan blade type) that draws the dust directly from equipment and sends it outside. This works good it there isn't a problem with a close neighbor.
Next is a large shop-vac. These work as long as there are no sparks in the grinding dust. If you have sparks, then you need to make a spark trap/bong to collect and quench the sparks before the dust goes down the hose to the vac. You can use a high volume flow shop vacuum system like woodworkers use as long as you have a good spark trap.

Another good thing to have is a hanging air cleaner. These run on a timer or switch and filter the shop air many times an hour. You would be surprised how often you have to change/clean the filters.
 
i use the rikon 63-110. its halfway between a shopvac and a "real" dust collection system. i like it because it has a steel cannister, locking steel top. it does not need to exit outside so it helps with the coolness in the summer and the heat in the winter. the filter bags i think are hepa or close to it, its a 2 stage filter. i use a home made spark bong or arrestor before it. (required for metal).
 
Randydb said:
SO what is a "good spark trap?" Model/make? DIY?
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Randy .. I currently use a dust deputy with water in it with somewhat of a horizontal metal duct run to it. A lot of the sparks just sit in that horizontal metal run. A few make it into the top of the dust deputy. You can see them spinning around. When I see that I dump some water into the intake below the grinder and that puts out the sparks.

I have been thinking of replacing this with a diy metal can with water directly below the grinder, then feeding into the dust deputy. Defense in depth...

I also always have a fire extinguisher within reach.
 
D941089E-CE53-4469-8852-40DD4EDA732C.jpeg This is my homemade set up. I keep about 6” of water in the pail. Made a huge difference. My shop is very small, 7x15, so it used to get dusty very fast. I still wear a respirator while grinding.
 
here is my system, food for thought and improvements. i sit and grind, so my bucket is cut low. i have been using this for around 5 years, so far no fires or embers. i used some ductwork parts for the intake, home depot 5 gal bucket. 3/4" plywood top, the weight of it holds it fine. the bucket has a sheet metal divider up the middle, it increases the length of the airflow path and i think it gives the sparks more chance to hit the water or the sides of the bucket. i keep about 3 inches of water in the bucket. i have the tubes a few inches above the water. i do not want to ruin the dual filters in the rikon cannister. i hate the sound, so i made an enclosure out of 3/4" wood with pink fiberglass insulation, and an old sheet stapled over it for sound absorption. works well, absorbs about 2/3 of the noise. the top hose goes to the workbench, no sparks there.
D77722A8-F9BF-4196-849C-D89897D74B95_1_201_a by john april, on Flickr
428FC15F-FAC9-4FDA-8135-619D1F245D52_1_201_a by john april, on Flickr
1A335B6C-3C49-4293-BD7A-1D138F497ECF_1_201_a by john april, on Flickr
3392FA5E-54D3-4E6E-A7AD-1401A4D89B47_1_201_a by john april, on Flickr
 
Interesting. Other plans I have seen called for a metal bucket. A plastic Home Depot bucket would be a lot easier to make. I take it no issues with melting of the plastic?
 
not yet, mr cushing :) so far no issues with embers sticking to the insides either. i always give a good sniff without the respirator before i go upstairs. its a cellar shop. from past experiences, i know what metal dust glowing red smells like lol. i used to use a plastic cyclone dust separator with water in the bottom, but i think from static electricity building up it caused lumps of metal dust to stick to the sides, and sometimes they would ignite into embers.
 
john april said:
not yet, mr cushing :) so far no issues with embers sticking to the insides either. i always give a good sniff without the respirator before i go upstairs. its a cellar shop. from past experiences, i know what metal dust glowing red smells like lol. i used to use a plastic cyclone dust separator with water in the bottom, but i think from static electricity building up it caused lumps of metal dust to stick to the sides, and sometimes they would ignite into embers.
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John, great setup. Does the other hose that goes to your bench handle wood dust from handle shaping?
I’m looking for setup that can handle both metal and wood dust safely
 
john april said:
not yet, mr cushing :) so far no issues with embers sticking to the insides either. i always give a good sniff without the respirator before i go upstairs. its a cellar shop. from past experiences, i know what metal dust glowing red smells like lol. i used to use a plastic cyclone dust separator with water in the bottom, but i think from static electricity building up it caused lumps of metal dust to stick to the sides, and sometimes they would ignite into embers.
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Huh. Interesting. I definitely get dust collecting on the side of the cyclone bucket ... but it is always so damp I have not really worried about it. I’ll have to keep an eye out for that.

and LOL. Mine is also a basement shop, and I also always give a good snif in several places before I leave. :-)
 
thanks casepeanut. yes, the other hose goes to the bench for filing and handle sanding when doing micarta/g10/woods. my grinder room is enclosed in plastic curtains, and the bench dust tube keeps the rest of the cellar from getting a layer of dust on everything.
 
Funny thing .. just went to Home Depot to get a bucket and cover. Many buckets, but not a single cover to be found in the store. One associate thought maybe there is a plastic shortage due to the pandemic (or maybe trade war?)....
 
Cushing H. said:
Funny thing .. just went to Home Depot to get a bucket and cover. Many buckets, but not a single cover to be found in the store. One associate thought maybe there is a plastic shortage due to the pandemic (or maybe trade war?)....
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My HD has the orange buckets everywhere, but the lids are only in the paint department.
 
A clean shaven face and a good fitting respirator goes a long ways.

Look for areas were dust is blown into your face and reroute the dust. My little Kalamzoo loves to throw dust right into my face so made a shroud out of kydex that focused the dust down and away from my face into a well placed shop vac port.

I use a large shop vac attached to a cyclone separator and place the intake hose right behind were my 2x72 goes around the bottom platten wheel. Sparks and meatal go into bucket below the belt and dust is sucked up and out. My shop vac is vented outside and I removed the filter as I clean filter outside anyway and I have not close neighbors. The cyclone traps over 99 percent of the dust, amazing device.

My shop is super small, 12'x6', after 40 knives in the new little shop only a trace of dust is sitting on the harder to reach horizontal surfaces.
 
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