Dust Collection on a Budget

[Gene Michael]

There have been a lot of excellent comments about the effectiveness of cyclones. They are nice, but they're also expensive. Maybe someday when I have the $$$ and something besides half of a garage. Right now, I'm using a shop vac with 2 1/2" hose that I roll from tool to tool. It's better than nothing, but it misses a lot.

Today, I was walking through the blue borg and saw a delta 1hp/600cfm boasting a 1 micron filter, on wheels for under $300. Every time I see a roll around DC, it's tempting, but temptation is a poor reason for buying a particular brand.

So... Just supposing you were retired, on a fixed income and couldn't afford a cyclone... What would you buy for around $300 that has decent pick up and can be rolled around the shop? Almost anything would outperform a Craftsman shop vac, but I'd also like it to last a while, which rules out things like the ultra low cost HF units. Any and all suggestions will be appreciated, and I'm sure, helpful to a lot of folks. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Wilbur Pan]

For $300 I'd buy that Delta dust collector you saw, and move it from machine to machine, keeping the hose as short as you can stand.

Since your shop is in a garage, I'd also leave the garage door open, and use a cheap box fan to blow the shop air to the outside, whenever possible. Even better would be to open a window on the opposite side of the garage from the door, if you have one, to provide cross ventilation.

[Don Carter]

I would also add that using box fans with a cheap AC filter on the back will do much to remove some airborne dust. It is not a perfect solution but it is inexpensive.

[John Eaton]

Both Wilbur and Don's suggestions above are good ones for starting off with dust collection, especially on a budget.

I had my HF unit working flawlessly for 4 years before upgrading to a cyclone. Don't rule out HF - I think it's as good as any other in that price range provided the filter bags are upgraded. When you're ready to dedicate a bit more time into a stationary unit, there's a very good write-up of setting up a small shop using an HF DC that you should read - http://www.duckworksmagazine.com/06/...dust/index.htm
He has the HF unit but any 1.5 (the HF unit is actually closer to a 1.5HP) would work about the same - another reason not to rule out the HF over the Delta you're looking at currrently - I'm not sure how they compare and it may not produce enough suckage for a fixed duct system. Just some things to think about.

-- John

[Scott Wigginton]

Gene, I'm in the same boat as you looking for affordable DC to get me off my shop vac (which clogs quickly) and if I only want to make one purchase for the next decade or so and health is an issue so I'm looking for a slightly larger permanent system.

Not sure where you are located, but have you been checking the local classifieds/craigslist? I've seen a couple good deals around like $200 for a NIB Delta 50-760 outside DC or $125 for a used DELTA AP-400 outside Atlanta.

A temp solution would be to add a 2-stage for your shop-vac.

[kevin willis 557]

I am a newby to woodworking and setting up my own shop right now. My question is this....what exactly is an "HF Unit"?

[Michael McCoy]

I am a newby to woodworking and setting up my own shop right now. My question is this....what exactly is an "HF Unit"?

That would be Harbor Freight -- your friendly cosmoline folks.

[Prashun Patel]

I love my Delta 50-760. I think it's perfect for your application. Don't forget to budget for some extra hose and a couple blastgates too ($25-50)

[Gene Michael]

Guys, thanks for some great input! When I googled the Delta 50-760, read many very good reviews. Will be consulting with my checking account and LOML to see if we can squeeze this in the budget. By the way, when weather permits, I not only work with the garage door open - at the end of the day, I use the shop vac on exhaust to blow the fine dust out. Currently wear a 3M dust mask that does a good job and was recommended by an SMC member. Only problem is it gets hot.

Again, thanks for the suggestions.

[Roger Jensen]

I also vote for the Delta 50-760. I got mine about three months ago and Delta had a $50 rebate offer - not sure if it is still available but look around. It brought the price down to $270.

Per suggestions I saw on the web, I remove the splitter on the machine and run 5" tubing to my table saw, where I have reduce it to 4" at the machine and then hook up lines for other equipment.

Roger

[Ray Schafer]

Gene,

I am surprised that no one yet has suggested that you look at Phil Thien's baffle. I am in the same boat as you, but I have been researching for a while. What I think that I understand from other posts is that there are tools which produce too much dust for the DC to handle -- the router table being one of them. In that case, a shopvac may work better -- because of the high CFM throughput. The problem is that the vac will load up with particles too quickly. This baffle, discussed in the folloowing thread has been used successfully with shop vacs and DC units to cut down on the particles that get to the filter.

I am not sure that I am accurate in my comments, but I suggest that you look at this thread:
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=80701

Ray

[Don Bullock]

Gene, I'm sort of in the same situation. Last year Rockler had a Jet DC on sale that's similar to the Delta you saw. With the Jet rebate it was less than half price. I've been using the Jet DC by moving it from machine to machine and have found that it works out very well in my small shop since the machines are close together. I bought a quick connect that makes the change very easy.

Jet DC.jpg

Now that my new shop is under construction http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=92425, I may find that I'll have to eventually upgrade to a cyclone.

[Ken Alcott]

Does the consensus still hold that the Delta is the best on a budget?
Thanks.

Ken

[Don Bullock]

Ken, you'll need to shop around. There are bargains out there like Jet's 50th Anniversary sale plus rebates and I'm sure many others. Steel City http://www.steelcitytoolworks.com/ is running a "double rebate" deal right now. Check them out too. As always there may be deals on Amazon or any of the tool retailers like the one I found last year at Rockler.

[Peter Quadarella]

I bought the Grizzly 2HP with 2.5 micron bag. With shipping it was $336, and I got the MS cash back. I'm very happy with it.