Dust collectors. What are you guy’s using?

I just set up one of these Loc-Line hoses today after watching Jeremy from Simple Little Life's video about it. I just connected it directly to the input on my shop-vac, which sits under my grinder's bench. It definitely kept the dust down while grounding some handles today. I also ordered a Dust Deputy cyclone and bucket, but it's not here yet. I'm so tired of my shop being dirty all the time, really trying to figure out a better setup.
 
Question or opinion needed: I’m looking at two dust collectors at Home Depot. One is a 650 cfm squirrel cage collector and another is a larger 1500 cfm. Do you think the 650 would be sufficient for two side by side grinders (my Wilton and Bader)? I’d really prefer the 650 as it would be a better fit in my cramped shop....space is at a premium.
 
I used to have a powerful shop vac with a spark bong placed right underneath the grinder, shrouding the belt, just like some of the other setups shown here. It worked very well. I grind in my garage workshop which also doubles up as my home gym so dust is a big concern for me.

Since I updated my grinder to a larger more versatile one I decided there is no way Im gonna contain the dust from that thing with the old system I had, so I built a plywood hut around the whole thing in a corner of my workshop. The shop vac (now minus the spark bong) now sits in the corner off the room and the outlet of the vacuum is routed through the wall to a silencer outside to quiet the airflow.

When the vac runs it pulls the inside of the hut into negative pressure, preventing dust from escaping into the rest of the garage. The hut isnt very well sealed in terms of air gaps (i aint much of a carpenter) but you can feel the airflow coming into the hut when the vac is on.

So far seems to work very well. The inside of the hut gets messy and Im still working on a directable vacuum 'nozzle' to allow the vc to suck from next to the grinder belt when doing handles, as the light fine dust is a pain to clean up off the walls etc.
 
CasePeanut said:
some of you have probably seen this, but I'm a newbie covering my garage in fine sawdust from working on handles. Seems to be the most detailed info on dust collection on the internet: http://www.billpentz.com/woodworking/cyclone/index.php
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Interesting information, but hell does that dude repeat himself!!!

Thats a +1 for venting air outside then :)

However I wonder how the fine dust relates to metalworking when grinding blades? My old system sucked through a spark bong and vented into the garage with no dust bag in the vacuum when working on metal. I used to see some build up of metal dust on the magnet for the door alarm as it was visible against the white plastic, but nothing that looked ultra fine. And i put that down to the stuff that the vac didnt suck in.
 
Technohedge said:
Interesting information, but hell does that dude repeat himself!!!

Thats a +1 for venting air outside then :)

However I wonder how the fine dust relates to metalworking when grinding blades? My old system sucked through a spark bong and vented into the garage with no dust bag in the vacuum when working on metal. I used to see some build up of metal dust on the magnet for the door alarm as it was visible against the white plastic, but nothing that looked ultra fine. And i put that down to the stuff that the vac didnt suck in.
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I’m no expert, but one of the main points he is trying to make is that the stuff you CAN’T see is the really unhealthy dust.

Even in a clean-looking shop it’s easy to have a large amount of harmful microscopic dust that is easily kicked up from surfaces and goes back into the air and your lungs. It’s too small for many of the standard vacuum filters to even pick up.
 
CasePeanut said:
I’m no expert, but one of the main points he is trying to make is that the stuff you CAN’T see is the really unhealthy dust.

Even in a clean-looking shop it’s easy to have a large amount of harmful microscopic dust that is easily kicked up from surfaces and goes back into the air and your lungs. It’s too small for many of the standard vacuum filters to even pick up.
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Yea i was more thinking that if all the finer stuff was escaping collection, even though how small it is would eventually show up as a dark film up against whte plastic with a magnet behind it?

His site also mentions wood dust as being particularly bad for fine particulate,was wondering how metal grinding with abrasives compares. Plus then there are ULTRAFINE particles to worry about!!

Gonna grind in the park from now on :)
 
Seedy Lot said:
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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Got any pics of your setup ? Thank you
 
I suck at posting pictures on BF.

I have a a metal pot right under the platten on the 2x72 and few inches behind that I have an intake hose going to a vortex separater hooked up to a shop vac that has exit air vented outside.

I rarely grind on wood a use slower speeds and lighter pressure on the grinder so my potential for fire is reduced drastically compared to others.

I don't think my system would be the best bet for wood dust and hogging away at hard low alloy steels but for me I have had zero issues over the last 4 years and hundreds of knives.
 
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