Small-shop dust collection

Transcription

1 Lessos From a Pro Small-shop dust collectio Create a clea, healthy eviromet for workig with wood. Blower 90 large-radius elbow By Jim Harrold Cosultats: Robert Witter ad Jeff Hill Whe we first work with wood, takig o a small project here ad there ad buyig a power tool or two, addressig the mess of sawdust ad chips with a broom ad dustpa seems reasoable eough ad cheap. But as our passio grows ad the projects become more frequet ad ivolved, our ivestmet i machies icreases as well. Ad so does the sawdust. That s whe we cough up the bucks for oe or more portable shop vacuums to help police the area. Evetually, we realize that our paltry militia of maiteace tools falls behid the volume of sawdust ad chips. We ask: Is my shop a cadidate for a cetral dust collectio? Ca I eve afford such a system? Ad, if so, ca I pla ad istall it myself? Workig with experts Robert Witter ad Jeff Hill of Oeida Air Systems, a major player i small-shop dust collectio, we ll help you aswer these ad other questios, ad provide you with several optios. By story s ed, you ll kow what s ivolved ad how to proceed without gettig mired i math. Pleated filter Figure 1: Aatomy of a small shop dust-collectio system Why cetral dustcollectio makes sese For the woodworker who fits the mold of dedicated hobbyist, oe who speds hours every week makig furiture, havig dust collected at every machie meas coveiece ad timesavigs. With the right system, cleaup at the ed of the day may amout to five miutes istead of half a hour or more. I additio, accordig to Jeff, a good cetral DC will cycle ad clea air i a shop more effectively tha ay ceilig (air filtratio) box. It moves more air, has better filtratio ad Caister Cycloe pre-separatio, ad works with gravity to pull dust dowward. He also otes that a whole-shop system has umerous ports aroud the room to collect from, ot just oe port up high. The ed result: a overall healthier shop eviromet ad reductio of the slippery fie dust o the workshop floor. The dowside? Cost. For a oe-ma 20 30' workshop with a stadard layout of statioary machies ad portable power tools, the price tag ca ru as high as $2,000 ($800 to $1,300 for a quality collector ad the rest for fittigs, pipe, ad 46 woodcraftmagazie.com Jue 2009

2 6" pipe hose). This high-ed approach would iclude a efficiet twostage cycloe dust collector with metal pipes ad fittigs. However, you ca work up to a whole-shop system by startig with a quality dust collector ad filter ad addig ductwork i stages as your budget allows ad eeds arise. Says Robert, Customers tell us that they wished they had istalled a cycloe system with ductig first, istead of spedig years with bags, mobile collectors, overhead uits, masks, ad other less effective measures. But for the hard-chargig weeked warrior, there may be a less expesive alterative. Opt for a portable dust collector If budget ad space rak amog your cocers, you may opt for a portable dust collector like the oe show above. At the low ed, you ca pick up a 1 hp uit that s powerful eough to collect from the biggest chipmaker i your shop for aroud $200. Of course, it collects from oe machie at a time so you ll eed to move it from tool to tool as you work through a millig sequece. Be aware, however, that may of the sigle-stage Tip Alert While purchasig the flexible hose to attach to your tools, also iclude quick-coectig adapters (Woodcraft #140259, $6.50) to speed hook-up time. 7" pipe 7" to 6" wye While this portable 1½ hp dust collector ca coect to two machies, it works best collectig from oe at a time. Cosider usig blast gates to improve efficiecy. 5" pipe bag collectors pump fie micro dust back ito the air while retaiig the larger debris. I this case, upgrade the collector with a after-market bag or pleated cartridge with ASHRAE tested-ad-rated 1-2 micro or better filter. Or, for aother $200-$300, you ca get a 1 1 /2 hp dust collector (the most horses you ca hope to ru off 110 volts). These mid-sized uits ca coect to two machies at the same time with dual 4" ports or oe 6" port. That said, you re best off cappig or blast-gatig oe port ad collectig from oe machie at a Blast gate Secodary Strategies 5" to 4" reducer Let these health-smart measures supplemet Flexible hose your primary collectio efforts: Wear a iexpesive dust mask or respirator whe creatig fie dust from sadig, turig, ad similar fie dust operatios. Esure that every power tool has a dust port for dust/chip collectio. If weather permits, vetilate the shop with a box-style widow fa to remove fie dust. Use a shop vacuum for suitable portable power tools such as saders ad circular saws, ad outfit it with a after-market pleated HEPA filter. Capture sawdust ad chips with passive (gravity) boxes or bags udereath some machies such as a cotractor table saw or mitersaw. 45 elbow 6" to 5" reducer Photo: Doug Rowa Illustratios: Chris Glowacki Jue 2009 woodcraftmagazie.com 47

3 Lessos From a Pro 6" wye time. For superior collectio i the category: sped a few more bucks ad buy a twostage portable dust collector. Says Robert, The objective is to provide eough CFM at the machie to capture early all the dust ad the cosolidate ad filter it dow to the smallest particles. A portable ca do this if it ca pre-separate waste ad capture 99% of the 1-2 micro fie (flour) dust. A portable also lets you save the cost of ruig ductwork throughout your shop. Whe shoppig for a dust collector, whether a low-dough mobile uit or a fixed model, brush up o a few terms to kow what you re buyig ad to assess your eeds. See the Glossary of Dust-Collectio Terms below, ad the go to woodcraft.com to fid a wide variety of dust collectors. Keep i mid that maufacturers claims regardig CFM may be grossly exaggerated. Therefore, to esure efficiecy, refrai from collectig from two tools simultaeously uless the collector is 2 hp or greater. Fially, if you do buy a portable dust collector, implemet oe or more of the Secodary Strategies o the previous page to achieve your goals for a clea ad healthy shop. Opt for cetral dust collectio If you desire a full-service dustcollectio system, oe that pulls from every machie (though o more tha oe or two at a time), the let s examie the parts that make up a system. Follow the Figure 1 aatomy drawig begiig o page 46 ad edig o page 53 for a uderstadig of parts, pipe reductios, ad istallatio. At the same time, see Table 2, D-C System Parts for a rudow of idividual compoets. Note that while dust-collectio pipes ad fittigs come i PVC, plastic, ad metal, we chose metal here (ad for the Woodcraft Workshop, page 24), because of the diversity of compatible parts ad to avoid the static electricity foud i PVC ductwork lies. At the heart of the dustcollectio system i a oe-ma shop is the collector itself. Glossary of Dust-Collectio Terms D-C Short for dust collectio/dust collector. CFM Cubic Feet per Miute or rate of airflow. See Table 1 for the CFM required to remove sawdust ad chips from a woodworkig machie to a collector. SP Referred to as Static Pressure, this is the amout of airflow resistace i a ductwork caused by pipes, fittigs, airflow reductios, directio chages, clogged filter bags, etc. Note that larger diameter pipes have greater CFM (drawig more debris) tha smaller diameter pipes. The goal is to keep debris movig, ad ot settlig i the pipe. Sigle-Stage Dust Collector A less expesive collector that pulls sawdust, chips, ad other debris directly through the motor impeller before depositig it ito a collectio ad filter bag. Two-Stage Dust Collector A more efficiet collector that allows larger chuks, chips, ad sawdust to drop ito a (firststage) collectio cotaier before reachig the motor impeller; this allows oly the dust to pass through the impeller ad collect i a secod-stage filter bag or pleated cartridge. Two-Stage Cycloe Dust Collector A advaced type of mechaical debris separator, that employs cetrifugal air movemet to separate coarse ad fie material so oly ultra-fie micro dust reaches the filter. It icludes a more efficiet ad quieter fa. 48 woodcraftmagazie.com Jue 2009

4 It ca be either a sigle- or double-stage uit ad cosists of a blower motor (from 1hp to 3 hp), a impeller, ad oe or more filters (cloth bag or pleated cartridge), for cotaiig fie dust ad exhaustig air. It cotais a removable caister or collectio bag for capturig large debris such as chips ad sawdust. Depedig o the amperage ad horsepower, it may require a special dedicated electrical outlet. For reasos of space ad oise, may woodworkers locate the dust collector outside of the shop i a garage or attached isulated shed. Doig this, however, requires you to iclude a air retur to the shop to replace the air removed by the collector. I a typical oe-ma shop, large 6"- or 7"-diameter elbows ad pipe stem from the collector ad tie ito the mai truk lie, which also may be 6" pipe. This ductwork may ru perpedicularly or diagoally across the shop as show i Figure 2, or alog the walls. It may hag from the ceilig joist, attach to walls with metal straps ad fasteers, or ru uder the workshop floor. Brach lies stem off the mai truk lie via wyes ad elbows. These typically step dow i pipe size (ofte to 5"-diameters). The brach lies may agai be further reduced to 4"-diameter pipe ad flexible hose, depedig o the machie or tool ports they service. I some cases you may eed to fashio special adapters to collect from some tools, such as a drill press. Keep i mid, however, that the more pipe legth, beds, ad restrictios you create, the greater the SP (airflow resistace). Map out a pla To create your whole-shop dust-collectio system, map out your workshop pla o paper, locatig statioary machies, power-tool statios, cabiets, workbeches, ad so o. To do this quickly ad accurately, use the scaled Dream-Shop Plaer o page 64. Draw the perimeter of your shop o the grid, ad the cut out the templates that reflect your tools ad storage. To help you decide where to locate machies ad your dust collector for maximum efficiecy, keep these layout cosideratios i mid: Place the biggest chipmakers, such as your plaer, joiter, ad table saw, earest to your dust collector. Make the mai truk lie (with the largest diameter pipe) as short as possible to deliver more air volume; ru it perpedicularly or diagoally across the shop. (Ruig it aroud the shop s perimeter is the least efficiet way to go.) Make brach lies as short as possible as well. Work to keep tools withi a 30' radius of the dust collector. Locate ceilig drops where vertical pipes wo t iterfere with traffic flow ad machiig operatios. Allow for retur air for collectors istalled outside the shop. Iclude clea-out locatios i the system for removig clogs. (I ductwork laid out i a cocrete floor, go with Figure 2: Shop Diagrams showig Diagoal ad Perpedicular Pipe Layouts Jue 2009 woodcraftmagazie.com 49

5 Lessos From a Pro Floor sweep capped Y-fittig cleaouts to remove debris.) Avoid T fittigs ad sharp 90 elbows which icrease static pressure (by puttig two T fittigs i a system you cut your airflow i half). By cotrast, log-radius 90 elbows, 45 elbows, ad wyes are your best choices. Iclude a floor sweep to add coveiece to shop-floor cleaup. Termiate rigid duct lies with blast gates ad reducers or adapters for hose hookups. Miimize each flexible hose legth (from 5' to 10'). Now, locate ad tape your cabiet, tool ad, dust collector templates o the plaer grid. If placig your collector iside, avoid areas that have a gas appliace with pilot lights to prevet the risk of explosio. Regardless of whether your collector is iside or out, use remote switches to easily activate the uit from aywhere i the shop. Next, tape dow a sheet of acetate over your shop layout ad draw out your duct system, icludig the mai truk ad brach lies with the pipe widths ad legths oted ad the fittigs. Figure the D-C parts list based o your pla With your geeralized pla o acetate, tally up the specific parts you ll eed. To do this, label the CFM ad port sizes for each tool. To determie pipe ad fittig eeds, avoid messy math by adherig to the followig steps regardig pipe rus o loger tha 30'. This simplifies pipe ad dust collector sizig for most home woodworkig shops. Rely o Table 2 to assist you with fittigs, ad ote that pipes come i metal or PVC; fittigs i metal, black plastic, or PVC. 1 Use 6" pipes ad fittigs for the mai truk (this may be reduced from 7" at the mai Table 1: Airflow requiremets (CFM) for shop machies* collector via a wye or reducer fittig). Calculate the liear pipe legth ad fittigs eeded. 2 Use 5" pipes ad fittigs for brach lies, reducig them as eeded to accommodate the tool ports they will service. Pipes of this diameter ca carry a rage of 425 to 650 CFM, makig them well suited for most of the tools listed i Table 1. Calculate the liear pipe legths ad fittigs (coectors, elbows, TOOL CFM PORT SIZE 12"-14" Badsaw "-5" 14"-20" Badsaw "-6" Belt Sader (6"-wide belt or less) 450 2"-4" Statioary Belt Sader 550 3"-6" (13"-wide belt or more) Disc Sader (12" dia. or less) 350 4"-5" Drum Sader (13"-24" wide) " Floor Sweep 350 6" Joiter (6"-8" wide) "-5" Joiter (8"-12" wide) " Lathe (mii) 450 5" Lathe " Mitersaw/Radial-Arm Saw " Router (table-mouted) 200 2"-4" Shaper (¾ hp-3 hp) " 10" Table Saw (cotractor or cabiet) " Thickess Plaer (10"-13" wide) " Thickess Plaer (18"-20" wide) 785 6" *If your collector is rated for 1,200 CFM, more tha likely you ca collect from your table saw ad joiter ( CFM = 800 CFM) at the same time. 50 woodcraftmagazie.com Jue 2009

6 wyes, reducers, blast gates, adapters ad caps) eeded. If suspedig the system from the ceilig, cosider drop legths as well. I ay case, avoid choosig duct diameters that are too small. Try to ru the largest diameter you ca to the tool ports, referrig to Table 1. I some cases you ca icrease the tool port size for better collectio. 3 Figure the legths ad diameters of the flexible hose ad hose clamps eeded to match the tool ports. 4 Iclude 2"-wide alumium tape, idustrial grade silicoe sealat, sheet metal screws, ad metal strappig for hagig pipes. 5 Make a D-C parts list o paper for purchasig ad istallig. Choosig a whole-shop dust collector If your oe-ma home shop cotais a variety of machies like those listed i Table 1 ad the ductwork (truk ad brach lies) does ot exted beyod 30' from the collector, your optios are simple. For sigle-tool collectio (oly oe blast gate ope at a time), cosider a 1 1 /2- to 2-hp collector. For collectio from two tools at a time (with all but two blast gates closed), opt for a 2- to 3-hp collector. Use ay more tha that ad you re idulgig i overkill. If your shop is more tha a oe-ma shop ad commercial i ature, seek expert help. Table 2: Parts for a small shop system COMPONENTS *Rigid metal pipe (i 2', 4', 6', ad 10' legths) Flexible hose 90 large-radius elbow 90 sharp-radius elbow COMMENTS 1"-9" dia.; home shop eeds: from 3"-7" dia.; for straight rus i a system; more expesive tha PVC. 2"-, 2½"-, 3"-, 4"-, 5"-, 6"- dia.; for coectig rigid brach lies to tool ports. Secured with hose clamps. 3"-7" dia.; some adjust to fit; large-radius reduces SP whe turig corers. 45 elbow 3"-7" dia.; for getle turs. 45 Wye-Fittig 3"-7" dia.; preferred fittig for brach lies; offers less SP tha T-fittigs. Brach arms ca serve as reducers. Floor sweep (2 8" opeig) Coectors (crimped, ucrimped) Blast gate Blast gate/ hose adapter Attaches to floor ad system; adds coveiece to workshop cleaup. 2"-7" dia.; Coects pipe sectios together w/screws ad tape; same dia. as pipe. 3"-6" dia.; istall w/screws/ silicoe at ed of brach lie; requires adapter for hose. 3"-6" dia.; coects flexible hose to system from tool. Reducer 6" to 5", 5" to 4", 4" to 3", 3" to 2" dia.; allows for steppig dow to pipe, fittig, hose, or tool port. Tool port with flage Ed cap 3", 4", 5", 6", 7" dia.; mouted to tools for coectio ad for steppig up to larger port. 3", 4", 5", 6" dia.; used to seal ad termiate the ed of a brach lie. *Schedule #40 (white) PVC pipe comes i 3"-, 4"-, ad 6"-diameters; thier schedule #20 (white) PVC pipe comes i 3"- ad 4"-diameters oly. Both come i 10' legths ad accept a full rage of plumbig fittigs foud at home ceters ad black plastic D-C fittigs like those sold at Woodcraft. Costs: 4"-dia. 10' PVC pipe, $7.65; 4"-dia. 6' metal pipe, $ Jue 2009 woodcraftmagazie.com 51

7 Lessos From a Pro Istall a metal D-C system step by step With your system parts o had, gather the tools ad materials you ll eed for istallatio. For the metal system featured here, we used a tape measure, felt tip pe, reciprocatig saw equipped with a metal cuttig blade, a cordless drill, screw driver, 1 /2" sheet-metal screws, ti sips, a crimpig tool, silicoe caulk, a caulk gu, alumium tape, ad hose clamps. Now, solicit a helper ad follow this sequece for a quality istallatio. 1 Assemble the dust-collector at its plaed locatio, followig istructios accompayig the uit. (We attached the motor to the cycloe barrel, ad the bolted o the cycloe coe. Rather tha secure the uit to the wall with a bracket, we assembled a optioal iro frame for sturdy, level support, ad the added the dust-bi ad cartridge filter assemblies as show i Photos A ad B.) 2 Lay out the pipes ad fittigs o the floor i the viciity of Expert D-C layout services If you ited to istall a D-C system, ote that Oeida offers a professioal plaig service to help you lay out ad size your system, develop a parts list, ad obtai istallatio help. This is free of charge with purchase of a 3 hp or higher system. Cotact Oeida at (800) ; olie: oeida-air.com. A B Jeff used a pair of hose clamps ad a short piece of flex hose to coect the collector to the dust bi; he istalled the cartridge filter with star kobs, bolts, ad washers. their istallatio, followig your pla. The, begiig at the dust collector, fit coectors, elbows, wyes, ad pipes together as show i Photo C to build the mai truk lie. 3 Seal all joits with alumium tape as you screw compoets together as show i Photo D. A secod method of sealig pipe is to use a idustrial grade silicoe sealat as show i Photo E. Both measures lead to a air-tight system. 4 Build brach lies that lead to each tool, termiatig them with wyes ad reducers, blast gates, ad hose coectors. Whe eeded, cut pipe legths to fit as show i Photo F, D C After joiig male ad female parts, Jeff secured them usig three or four #8 ½" sheet-metal screws aroud each joit. Tip Alert If possible, do as much of the assembly o the floor for ease of costructio. Fortify ad seal each joit with adhesive-backed alumium tape, cuttig strips log eough to circle the joit at least twice; lay dow a bead of silicoe alog joit lies as a alterative sealig method. E 52 woodcraftmagazie.com Jue 2009

8 F Cut pipe with a reciprocatig saw ad metal-cuttig blade; a helper rotates the pipe durig the process to maitai a cotrolled, o-the-mark cut. G Cut strips of metal strap, bow it aroud the pipe, bed up ed taps, ad screw the strap ad pipe i place. Solicit a helper to hold the pipe i place. H Crimp the edges of a fittig (i this case, a reducer) for a sug fit i the matig compoet usig a metal crimpig tool. Secure the piece with screws. measurig ad markig them with a pe. Allow for overlappig of pipes ad coectors at joits (usually about 1" at each ed). 5 Hag the assemblies from the ceilig joists or alog the wall with metal straps sipped to size ad screwed i place as show i Photo G. 6 Coect eeded legths of sized flexible hose (less is best) from brach lie ports to machie ports, usig hose clamps. I some cases, you may Istallig a PVC system A Note of Cautio: While we iclude a discussio of a PVC ductwork system i this article, we do ot recommed it. Ad while you ca fid PVC ductwork systems i small shops across the coutry, kow that NFPA / OSHA opposes usig it i this applicatio due to the potetial for causig electro-static shock ad fire. But if you choose this route, cosider these istallatio poiters: Whe assemblig the compoets of a PVC system, ote that black plastic fittigs, like the blast gates ad reducers sold at Woodcraft, ad the cream fittigs all complemet the system. Still, make sure you have the eeded adapters so parts coect sugly. Seal joits with silicoe eed to crimp a pipe or fittig for a iserted fit as show i Photo H. With the istallatio complete, close the blast gates, activate the system, ad liste for air leaks at each joit. Plug ay holes with silicoe. 4" hose Tip Alert Improve collectio efficiecy o tools by replacig the factory port with a larger shop-made oe. (For istace, we chaged out the 4" factory port o our joiter with a 5" port made from 1 /2" plywood with a 5" opeig ad a 5" flaged metal port.) Adaptor 5" to 4" wye ad/or alumium tape to prevet air leaks. Ed cap Some metal compoets, purchased at a home ceter, may be eeded to coect a PVC system to the dust collector. Do ot glue up all of the joits. You may have to pull sectios apart to deal with clogs. T ad other tight-radius fittigs ad small diameter pipes will sigificatly reduce efficiecy. Groud the PVC system by ruig braided metal wire iside the PVC pipig, fittigs, ad flexible hoses from machies to dust collector to reduce static electricity buildup. Coect braided wires together at joits with wire uts. (Cosider Woodcraft s Ati-Static Kit, #812502, $17.99.) Reduce the shock potetial by spiral-wrappig the system with a grouded braided wire. Photos: Chad McClug Jue 2009 woodcraftmagazie.com 53

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