I want to improve my dust collection for a small shop - Recommendations

Signalprick

Signalprick

Jason Ritchie
Gold Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2009
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3,260
Hello all,

I want to upgrade my dust collecting in my very small shop. Space is a big concern and I am unable to filter outside. I'm not too familiar with these things capabilities or what to even look for. Ideally I want something that is a one stop unit for both metal and handle material. I should mention for handle material it's 99% micarta and bone/antler. I very rarely if ever use wood. I'd like to keep cost below $2000. Can anyone recommend where I should begin searching? Or maybe the type of unit I would want to shop for? Thank you!
 
I have this model for my small shop (approx. 250 square feet) and it works great, it clears the air in just a few minutes. They make larger models also, I plan on building new shop starting this spring and may get the larger model as well.Screen Shot 2023-02-01 at 3.56.22 PM.png
 
I use a box fan with a 20" furnace filter, don't think there's a cheaper way to do it lol
 
Lorien said:
I use a box fan with a 20" furnace filter, don't think there's a cheaper way to do it lol
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I have one of those set-ups as well it's hanging from my ceiling in my shop, it works but not like air filtration system does.
 
Lorien said:
I use a box fan with a 20" furnace filter, don't think there's a cheaper way to do it lol
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This is what I have. I tape two filters together with the second one turned 90 degrees. It works well, though when I have the money I will get an air filtration unit like Scott Hansen showed. You can also get wall mounted units with a bag. If your budget is $2K you might want to look at some of those. Amazon has a number of them.
 
the system I'm using, fwiw;
the peg board is drilled out a little bit, holes are probably 3/8"(?). Between the filter and the studs, there's strips of open cell foam stapled to the studs as a gasket and the space between the studs and the peg board is boxed in. There's a small shopvac bench air filter unit hanging off the wall up and to the left of the grinder. Under the grinder is a small wet/dry shopvac which can be hooked up to the aluminum duct mounted below the belt. I mostly use the box fan, and sometimes the box fan and air filter and when there's G10 involved all three are going. Shop's 120 square feet and the leather work gets done there, too, so it can't get too dusty and gross. Works for me, for now, and didn't cost much at all
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Two ways that I’m aware of are active collection at the source & passive collection for the space. I use both:

ACTIVE: An old steel trash can, 3x 5’ sections of 4” galvanized duct, a few plastic Dustright connections lined with metallic duct tape, a few sheet metal duct terminations, two blast gates, and some silicone sealant. This makes a permanent rigid dust collection system for the grinder. The trash can acts as a high volume collection vessel/spark bong for most metal dust and heavier particles, with enough volume to allow gravity to overcome the vast majority of particles from going up the suction, preventing premature wear on the impeller & collector unit parts. Wood, Micarta, G10, etc dust will most likely go all the way through, and that’s good for me and my shop. I have a remote start and keep the fob attached to my shop apron, so when I step up to the grinder, or saw I just turn it on then kill it when done. Probably $1200-1300 all in, but be could less expensive with a smaller capacity and/or bagged collector.

PASSIVE: A cheap box fan mounted on top of 4 inexpensive air filters with a cardboard bottom and duct tape. I use it anytime I’m making dust & can move it around to be near the source. I don’t have as any pics handy, but I chose the cubed design for the maximum filter surface area. Lots of plans available online. Around $40 to build.

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Between these two modes, my shop stays pretty clean. Not clean room clean, but I don’t have layers of dust on everything each time I work, and my boogers aren’t black! YMMV.
 
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The biggest tip is to collect dust where it forms. For wood dust a shop vac with a catch funnel under the grinder works fine. For metal, make a spark bong like the one in the photo and hook it to the shop vac.
 
Ditto to what stacy says. I have the spark bong. I also have the grinder draped with plastic and another exhaust inside that enclosure leading to another dust deputy. Even then, there is clearly dust that escapes i to the general area. So … i also have the jet unit. It indeed clears the air in a couple minutes, and it equally clearly captures a lot of dust that escapes the spark bo g.
 
Bühlmann said:
Two ways that I’m aware of are active collection at the source & passive collection for the space. I use both:

ACTIVE: An old steel trash can, 3x 5’ sections of 4” galvanized duct, a few plastic Dustright connections lined with metallic duct tape, a few sheet metal duct terminations, two blast gates, and some silicone sealant. This makes a permanent rigid dust collection system for the grinder. The trash can acts as a high volume collection vessel/spark bong for most metal dust and heavier particles, with enough volume to allow gravity to overcome the vast majority of particles from going up the suction, preventing premature wear on the impeller & collector unit parts. Wood, Micarta, G10, etc dust will most likely go all the way through, and that’s good for me and my shop. I have a remote start and keep the fob attached to my shop apron, so when I step up to the grinder, or saw I just turn it on then kill it when done. Probably $1200-1300 all in, but be could less expensive with a smaller capacity and/or bagged collector.

PASSIVE: A cheap box fan mounted on top of 4 inexpensive air filters with a cardboard bottom and duct tape. I use it anytime I’m making dust & can move it around to be near the source. I don’t have as any pics handy, but I chose the cubed design for the maximum filter surface area. Lots of plans available online. Around $40 to build.

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Between these two modes, my shop stays pretty clean. Not clean room clean, but I don’t have layers of dust on everything each time I work, and my boogers aren’t black! YMMV.
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^shop envy!
 
My shop inside the curtain is 9' x 13'. I run a WEN shop air filter system and have a vacmaster and a bucket currently. It isn't terrible but it isn't great. So after posting I did a little more research and calling around and I'm pretty settled on adding the Magna-Matic Mag-200 dust collector. The salesman says if I get the 4" inlet it'll easily handle my grinder I'll just have to duct it with cutoffs for both vertical and horizontal grinding. He said have a main duct that can also help filtration of the shop when not using the grinder so that's a big plus! I also plan to upgrade my shopvac to a HEPA dust extractor unit. I'm looking at the Festool CT 15. It has nearly twice the CFM capability of the shopvac and a little more quiet too. I'll use this for general cleanup, mill spoils collection and on the smaller disk and bandsaw box. Should be a pretty rock sold set-up for this tiny space! I'll update down the road once it get it all in place.

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I have a homemade spark bong on my knife grinder. Use a oscillating spindle sander for handle work because of the incredible dust collection and a homemade down draft table for hand sanding on handles with a 1/6 sheet hand sander. I use a simple shop vac to connect to each individually. I THINK the best thing I did was put a remote wireless start up for my shop vac to what ever device I'm using. I use to "think" hey I'm not going to use the knife belt grinder or other sanders that long as I'm just touching up this or that. 20 minutes later I was still using said device.

Wireless control of my dust collection was the BEST thing I ever did. Simple and relatively cheap to do. The best dust collection system is worthless if you don't turn it on as needed.
 
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Check into getting a used novair 2000 air scrubber... I picked one up used for a great price and am going to convert to be a dust collector. Has a 2hp motor and moves a lot of air and has a 3 stage filtration with the last one being HEPA. I'm going to put a cyclone filter before the intake as well for extra help so filters don't clog as often.
 
REK Knives said:
Check into getting a used novair 2000 air scrubber... I picked one up used for a great price and am going to convert to be a dust collector. Has a 2hp motor and moves a lot of air and has a 3 stage filtration with the last one being HEPA. I'm going to put a cyclone filter before the intake as well for extra help so filters don't clog as often.
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Those or something like it is very interesting Josh. Thanks for the info!
 
Super cool project. Well planned. I really like your removable second set of wheels. You are quite good at looking outside the box and seeing what was always there.

I have a 48" high filter like that from a pot growing farm that got busted, (along with the fitted blower and hoses). I planned on doing something just like that, or use the filter to replace the canvas bag on the top of an old rolling shop dust collector to collect the wood debris.
 
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