Dust collection for garage shop

[Brandon Thill]

Hi all. I'm moving into a new house and want a good dust collection system this time around. I'll be using the Oneida Mini Gorilla. I've decided to use several levels of dust collection: ports built into the tool combined with hoods to catch stray particles.

1) will the Mini Gorilla work ok with the tool's dust collection or should I use a shop vac (I have a Ridgid 1450)?

2) Any preference for Powertec or Fulton Clear Vue hose?

3) My main concern are the miter saw and handheld router. Below is a workbench I'd like to build where I do the routing at the end of the table. Will the hood work? Should I go with the 4" port on the side, or with the drilled holes in the top and hose attached below?

[Jim Becker]

In general, anything based on a shop vac or similar is only going to extract dust well on small power tools. There isn't enough air flow to capture dust and chips from larger tools, such as table saws, jointers, thickness planers, etc. A miter saw is pretty much the most difficult tool to collect from even with a big-butt, major-league dust collection system... That's simply reality. That said, a hood behind like you somewhat illustrate will be helpful in capturing more dust from a miter saw than just the built-in guard connection for sure.

[Brandon Thill]

In general, anything based on a shop vac or similar is only going to extract dust well on small power tools. There isn't enough air flow to capture dust and chips from larger tools, such as table saws, jointers, thickness planers, etc. A miter saw is pretty much the most difficult tool to collect from even with a big-butt, major-league dust collection system... That's simply reality. That said, a hood behind like you somewhat illustrate will be helpful in capturing more dust from a miter saw than just the built-in guard connection for sure.

Thanks for the reply! So do you think the Ridgid 1450 or Mini Gorilla would be better for the tool itself? My tools are Ridgid router, Dewalt sliding miter saw, Festool track saw, and Festool orbital sander.

I should have added that the miter saw will have its own permanent installation on a different table, and the hood there will be similar to some ones I seen on youtube, quite enclosed on the backside. The table above is just for the router. I typically clamp the piece to the front of the table or sometimes from underneath, with the rest of the piece laying to the left and just working on the end of table where the hood is. I'm just not sure how to actually trap the dust.

[Jim Becker]

Given your current tool inventory, the type of solution you are proposing is appropriate for the majority of your work, but as already noted, the miter saw will be a challenge no matter what you do. For my smaller tools, I use the Festool extractor...most of them are Festool, but I adapt to other brand tools as required. One of the benefits of the "better" vac-based systems is lower noise levels. If you use anything resembling a regular shop vac...noise levels will be high and you will absolutely have to use hearing protection 100% of the time you are working with the extraction running.

[Brian W Evans]

If you go the shop vac route, consider making it a 2-stage collector using an Oneida Dust Deputy. This will dramatically extend filter life and maintain suction much better. I have a Fein vac that is MUCH quieter than my Ridgid. The Fein connects to small tools like sanders, Domino, routers, etc., while the Ridgid cleans the floor. You can make a cart to move the vac and the dust deputy around - there are hundreds of variations online. I made mine vertical so it takes up less floor space.

IMG_20170902_082807.jpgIMG_20170902_083024.jpg

[Sam Murdoch]

This unit works pretty darn well for a small shop - http://www.rockler.com/new-dust-righ...dust-collector With the extendable hose and a few fitting you can have dust collection at whatever tool you need it. I use mine for my thickness planer, bandsaw, table saw, shaper, jointer and hooded miter saw. It is least efficient on the table saw but I have not really tried too hard to make my stand more dust collection worthy. Having said that, I can certainly tell the difference if I don't hook it up to the table saw. Worth buying the longest extendable hose. If you think you need 10', 14' is absolutely better. This unit is mounted on a wall bracket and can easily be moved from one place to another. For sanding and track saw, I use my Festool MIDI.

[Brandon Thill]

Dedicated collector like Fein is off the table right now due to the budget. First though I should compare using the Mini Gorilla for *both* tool port and hood collection. I fear suction will really drop at the tool port as soon as I open a big 4" port at a hood, but if it performs well that would be ideal. If the shop vac ends up being better for the tool I may try that Dust Deputy setup. Nice build!

Now about the router station hood...I'm probably going to go with the holes on the tabletop. Any advice there?

[Brandon Thill]

Sam> I think my Mini Gorilla will be better than that Rockler unit? Anyway, everything I use will be HEPA rated. If you can't tell, I'm SO over dust destroying my garage!

[Peter Christensen]

If I were going to make a down draft table it would be with slats so it would have slots to pull the air into the plenum below. I would also use a round over bit on both sides of the slats to smooth the air flowing through the slots. If you do decide to try the holes also use a round over bit on them for the same reasons. You might want to leave the top as a removable part so you can try both and see if one is better than the other. You should also make a bell mouth opening if you go with a port at the back of the hood as shown in your illustration. The Aussie woodworking forum has a section on dust collection that explains the whys and hows of bell mouth hoods over other openings. The realities of what you want to do can't be accomplished properly with a vacuum cleaner, it just can't move enough air to capture fine dust. If you don't have neighbours close by then a large fan in the wall or window behind the dust making tool will keep the air the cleanest but that won't be practical in cold climates. You will need to wear a dust mask all the time in the shop until you can put in a larger dust collection system.

[Brandon Thill]

The hood will be attached to the Mini Gorilla, not my shop vac. Do you have a link to this bell mouth discussion?

[Carl Kona]

Brandon,

As stated above the miter saw is a challenge to efficiently collect dust. Many different "cones" behind the saw try to focus the dust down the chute, but with the spray of dust it is a wide net. If you think about your DC and the air it moves compared to the "cone", you will see the challenge. Your DC has a 5" port and operates ~400 CFM per their chart. So a 5" port is ~20 sq-in. A 20x20 cone is 400 sq-in. So for simplicity you are getting about 20 CFM for every 5" port across the widest part of the cone. Compare that to the force of the dust flying off the blade and there is not much of a challenge (A vacuum would be significantly worse). So to improve performance enclose the wings of the cone to just outside the saw blade. This force more air by the blade and encapsulates most of the remaining dust.

I first saw this several years ago by a woodworker named "Tyme" who wanted a dustless workshop. He enclosed the wings with heavy vinyl. More recently Jay Bates has done the same with wood doors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5tOIBfA8V8

Hope this helps. Let us know what you do.

Carl

[Brandon Thill]

Karl> yep that is pretty much what I plan for the miter saw!