Exhaust the Air or Use a Dust Collector?

[Mike Turner]

Ok Ive got a Trend Pro model coming and now Im wondering if I should use a dust collector or if I could just use a squirrel cage fan or blower and just exhaust the dusty air out ... Ive got to watch cost on this for now... Oh shop size is 20' by 20' so it is small..Thanks ,Mike

[Michael James]

trust me amigo, your lungs deserve the best protection you can provide, whatever that means to your budget. Take a shortcut and you'll pay for it over time.
mj

[Gary Conklin]

If you have the ability to exhaust outdoors, at a high enough cfm to be effective. I would say that is the way to go. + Lung protection.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

20 by 20 is small?

The only problem I could see with just a blower is your neighbors, if any. As mentioned, your health is the main objective. Get rid of the dust any way you can.

[Mike Turner]

Well to me 20 by 20 is small ...Its not a large industrial type shop...Just wanted to give an idea of the amount of area I would be cleaning the air in Thanks

[David E Keller]

Another consideration FWIW... Will you be heating and cooling the shop? If so, an external exhaust will likely reduce your ability to do so. It would be great when the weather is nice, but otherwise, the inside of the shop is gonna feel a lot like outside the shop.

[Neil Strong]

Any dust protection measures are better than none, but some are much better than others.

I've spent as much on my dust control systems as on my lathes. That seems about right for me, but then I like to look after my lungs so I can keep turning for a long while yet.

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[Mike Turner]

It sounds like a dust collector for me for sure...I may exhaust some of the air when it is nice outside or hot in shop to help get hot air out and then use the dust collector to help keep it as clean as possible Thanks !!!!!!!

[Ken Glass]

Mike,
I have the Trend Pro and also use a hanging 500 CFM air cleaner with a 3 micron bag filter and pre-filter (on all the time) and then I also use a dust collector with a 3 micron bag with clean-up, at the lathe, after each turning session. You can't be too careful when taking care of your lungs, especially with the small particulate that we as turners see. The Trend will help a lot as long as you diligently use it.

[Michelle Rich]

do you have neighbors you'd be sending your dust to? What about the accumulation that falls outside your window? Have dogs or kids who would be out there? I'd say save all lungs, including Mom Nature's and use dust collection.

[Reed Gray]

The three best tools I bought for my shop, in no particular order are a big lathe (Robust), a big bandsaw (Laguna 16HD), and a centralized dust collector (Oneida 3 hp). Necessities for production work. Now, you do have a smaller shop, so you don't need to do things as heavy duty as I do, but having a dust collector, to keep that stuff from penetrating every nook and cranny in your shop will really come in handy. As said before, if you vent outside, the inside of your shop will be like the outside, so, fine in good weather, but lousy in bad weather.

The best way to keep the dust down is to collect it at the source. A dust collector will do this fine. Just a hose will do an okay job. The 'big gulp' cup cones will get more. A hood will get almost all of it, as in the more the dust generating operation is enclosed, the less dust gets out. There are a lot of 1 hp dust collectors out there that will do just fine, but, they are not designed for being centralized (set in one spot, and run ducts to your tools), they work better on a cart of some sort, which you wheel from one spot to another as you work. A bit of a hastle some times, but it works. Having a 2 stage system (cyclone and bag/filter) is best as it separates chunks (shavings, blocks of wood, rags, light bulbs, don't ask me how I know this) from the intake before it goes through the fan. Check out Oneida dust collectors. There are also nice pleated paper filters now, which are a lot better than the bags, and will leak no dust back into your shop.

Another consideration is for insurance purposes. A lot of home owner policies will not cover wood shops, detached or not, and hobby or professional or not. If they are interested in covering your shop, the first question they ask is do you have a dust collection system.

robo hippy

[Neil Strong]

The three best tools I bought for my shop, in no particular order are a big lathe (Robust), a big bandsaw (Laguna 16HD), and a centralized dust collector (Oneida 3 hp).

Snap! But different brand names...:D


Having a 2 stage system (cyclone and bag/filter) is best ..... There are also nice pleated paper filters now, which are a lot better than the bags, and will leak no dust back into your shop.


Agreed.

And, if you can't afford to buy a cyclone off the shelf, make your own (http://billpentz.com//woodworking/cyclone/CyclonePlan.cfm). You won't buy anything better than Bill Pentz's design.

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[Edward Bartimmo]

I second the Dust Collector.

To fight the heat in Houston I ran a fan for relief a couple of weeks ago. With the fan running the dust collector is no longer effective. Even with using a dust hood, the end result was more dust blown around the shop then if I had not used anything at all.

The dust collector is the most effective tool. With +1000 CFM unit you can eliminate the majority of the dust and keep your lungs clear. If possible upgrade to one that includes either a seperator or super fine particle filter.