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SAWDUST CONTROL

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CENTRAL DUST COLLECTION

DOWN DRAFT TABLE

DUST FILTERS
 

SANDER UPGRADES

  

SAWDUST CONTROL

Years ago when I set up my garage shop, I spent hours removing the accumulated dust and grime. Unfortunately that pristine condition only lasted until my first sanding job. Even though all my palm sanders have dust collection bags, the first time you turn them the wrong way, a cloud of dust envelopes the room.

First I tried moving all the cooling fans against the back wall, in the hope of blowing all the dust out the open garage door. Much to my dismay that only spread the dust around more completely.

 

Next I tried to use the open ports of my Shopsmith DC 3300 Dust Collector   to clean the air. This was only marginally effective, due the size of my shop and I discovered that even finer dust escapes through collector's filter bag.  The 42" hood is supposed to eliminate this fine dust problem down to 1 micron.

Next I installed a Jet AFS-1000B Air Filtration System.  This worked very well, but it was obvious how much dust was in the air, by the speed at which the pre-filter clogged up.

Finally I decided some method direct collection from the sander was required.  Festool was the only manufacturer that had attached a vacuum line directly to a sander. Great idea, but a little pricey.  DeWALT has now fielded sanders that hook up to standard shop vacuums at a competitive price.

                                                                                                       

                                                                                                              DeWALT's Random Orbital Sander with variable vacuum hose attachment.

Unfortunately I really didn't want to replace my perfectly good sanders if I could modify them in the same way. Here is my method of modifying older sanders for dust collection:

Palm Sander Upgrades

Modifying my current sanders was easier than I thought. All the parts are readily available from Home Depot or Lowes, with the exception of the 1.5" hose fittings.  Miraculously the 1" hose fits perfectly into 1" 200 PSI PVC pipe.

      

                                 Parts

1" corrugated hose (garden center pond section)

1" x " hose barb (plumbing section)

1.5" vacuum hose fitting (Shopsmith Part 514929)

1" 200 PSI PVC pipe

Velcro cord ties

Putting the hose together is easy. Just cut the corrugated hose into two 10' section  Stick the hose barb into the vacuum fitting and the other end into the hose.

 

Modifying your sander to use the hose may take a little imagination, depending on the model, but if it has a dust collection bag, you are in business.  My Ryobi corner sander was easy.  I just took some 1" vinyl tubing, heated it in hot water and slipped it over the dust nozzle.  The 1" PVC pipe was added the same way.  Then just twist the end of the corrugated hose into the pipe and you are done.  I used some Velcro cord ties to secure the sanders power chord part way down the dust hose.

Ryobi Corner Cat Palm Sander

Modifying my DeWALT palm sander was a little more complicated due to the design of the dust catcher bracket.  On this mod I heated the 1" PVC pipe in hot water to soften it and flattened it to fit into the inside of the dust collection bracket.  Then I embedded the tube in JB Weld and added a couple of hose clamps to hold a plastic wire bundle tie for support. (Be sure to clean the parts of the PVC and sander with acetone or lacquer thinner to ensure a good bond with the JB Weld.)  The corrugated hose goes in the same way in the PVC pipe.

I found that my old Sears shop high suction vacuum seemed to work better than the DC 3300 high volume dust collector.  I suppose greater suction is better at getting the saw dust away from the sander's fan impeller.

Tip: The corrugated hose assembly can also be used with the Porter Cable 891 series Dust Collecting Grip Vac router handle and 324 Circular Saw. 

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CENTRAL DUST COLLECTION

The Shopsmith Academy has put together this great video lesson on designing a central dust collection system in their archives.  Here are the links to video and charts.

Nick Engler on Dust collection   Chart

After watching Nick's lesson I determined a 3" line was optimum for what I needed in my application.  Naturally, I had bought 4" flex tube (based on expert advice) and found I was going to be about 50 FPM short of the optimum rate. Also, they don't make these fittings and hose in 3" sizes, only 2.5" and 4".  Fortunately, despite all the turns, fittings, leaks, etc. I seem to have enough airflow to do the job.  In the future I might add a bigger dust collector and solve the problem with "MORE POWER"! 
(Editor's Note:   WoodCraft 4and    Rockler   now carry fittings designed to join PVC pipe to flex dust collection hose.                                                                                                  Pics are source links.

The heart of my central dust collection system is the Shopsmith DC3300 Dust Collector    with a 42" hood.  The 42" hood is designed to increase air flow and reduce escaping dust down to 1 micron.  I placed the DC3300 close to the garage door opening to ensure any escaping dust would be blown outside. 

The three ports in the DC3300 allow me to connect to two tools and have a permanent line to the central line.   The weight of the 4" hose and vibration kept causing this heavy line to fall out, so I solved the problem with an easy to remove bungee chord.

The black 2 1/2" lines are normally used on my Shopsmith for sawing, sanding, jointing, routing and almost all other operations.  They are also used with other tools and jigs,  in addition to use with a floor or bench vacuum attachment.  Probably one of the biggest saw dust makers in the shop is my dovetail jig  .  The addition of a dust collector plate and a                                                                                                                                                                                 Pics are source links 

vacuum adapted router, has reduced this problem to zero. 

 

The first stop on the central dust collection line is the Down Draft Table .  The Down Draft Table is a sanding platform, that is connected to the vacuum line and whose platform is slotted.  Dust caused by hand or power sanding is removed before it can get into the air.  I also located the two cabinets that hold the Down Draft Table close to the garage door and DC3300 for better suction power and ease of blowing any airborne dust out the door.

The cabinets containing the Down Draft Table required some special modifications.  The two table top sections that cover the saw dust down draft table, had to be removable, so threaded screw inserts were used to hold two table top covers over down draft table .  The front edge trim was mounted to the removable table top surface to act as a handle for removal.

Each bench top tool and the Down Draft Table were isolated from each line by a shut off valve.                                                                                                                                                                                                           Pics are source links

This ensured the maximum vacuum pressure would be applied to the device in use.    The valves are manually operated as are the ones on DC3300.                        

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My next step was to run a central sawdust collection line to each bench tool. .  These had to be mounted so that the bench modules could be separated without any dismantling of the saw dust duct hose sections.  Fortunately a quick disconnect (QDC)   is readily available for just this purpose.  The line for each tool is mounted to its                                                                                                                                         Pics are source links 

respective bench module and connected to the duct via the QDC.    I also made a dust catcher behind my miter saw to catch as must saw dust as possible.     The entire length of the hose run is supported on benches and wall area with hose hangers .  At the end of the run of the central dust line I added a vertical drop. This allowed a fitting to attach a vacuum line for general shop clean up or a floor sweep fitting ..                                                                                                         Pics are source links  

 

The end of the central vacuum line is my combo strip/disk sander.  This tool has 1" dust collector ports that required a 1"- 2 1/2" adapter.  Unfortunately these adapters would interfere with the raising or lowering the tool.  The solution was to use a section of old household vacuum line ,  which fit perfectly over the dust ports. (Make sure your spouse is done with the house vacuum)  From here it was easy to run up to a 2 1/2" fitting .  

Woodcraft was the only source I found for 2 1/2" vacuum hose and fittings.  Dust Extraction Fittings at Woodcraft.com                                                                                                                                  Pics are source links

                                                                                                                                   Rockler                                  Woodcraft

Finally I tied the entire system together with a wireless remote ON/OFF  switch     and placed several extra key fobs around the shop, so I could                                                                                                                           Pics are source links

turn the vacuum on at the tool I was using.  I also put one on my apron, so I could run the vacuum from the driveway.  (Editor's Note:  The directions for setting the remote code in key fobs are pretty involved.  It's actually easier to just set the dip switches on the new switches to match those on the master switch.  Just don't get them mixed up.)

It is important to know the start up amperage of any electric motor you intend to control with this remote switch. ( Most motors have a label on them which will specify the max amperage)   I used a cheaper version of a remote switch on my air compressor.  Unfortunately you get what you pay for and it burned out after nine months of use.  This switch is rated at 15 AMPS and has worked perfectly for over a year on my Shopsmith DC 3300 vacuum.  Since it was also rated above my compressor motor, I replaced the failed switch with another one of these.  The results have been a success.  Just remember if you use multiple wireless switches, that you request the vendor ship each one with a different control code, so all your machines do not turn on at once.

Overall the system is working well and excess saw dust has been greatly reduced throughout the shop.   The flexibility to attach all my bench and hand power tools to the vacuum system has been very successful.  I now sweep up less than a pan of saw dust, off the floor, at the end of the day.

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