Shop-vac for sanding dust control ?

[Joe Watson]

In short:
Have a 6.5HP Ridgid shop vac along with a home made "Cyclone Trash Can" (image below); how well do you think this will work for sanding and turning hard-dry wood (will have to make some kind of hood(s) ) ?


Long story:
Put an addition on my house 3-4 years ago, the basment of that is my work shop. Have a band saw, table saw, radial arm saw, router table, 13" thinkness planer, small Rikon lathe (12x42 (bed extension)), 3HP dust collotor with ductwork to all tools along with a homemade downdraft table for sanding flat work.
The curly chips from the lathe are becoming a problem (along with the water/mist from wet/green wood) so i am thinking about boxing off a corner of the older basment and moving the lathe there but, i can not pipe the DC's ductwork to the old basment. When turning i do not use any dust removel intill i start to sand. My current setup is working pretty good, but like i said, i can not pipe the current setup to the new location so im thinking about the shop-vac.
In the past, before the 3HP DC, the shop-vac worked good with the router table and RAS along with hooking the hose to the 5" and 6" sanders, it held its own with the planer, but struggled alittle.

I "need" to have some kind of dust collecting when sanding.

Thanks for any ideas or thought.


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[Marty Eargle]

I don't have the space or funds for a dust collector, luckily the high velocity fan I have blowing across my lathe pushes most dust out the garage door. When I'm in a position to sand with the doors to my shop closed, I do have a rig with a shopvac and a small hood with a mesh screen on it to take care of a lot of dust. Of course, it's not going to be as effective as a an actual dust collector, but mine does the trick fairly well.

I would suggest a hood and possibly replacing the filter with something a bit better than your standard shop vac filter and with a higher micron rating.

[Luke Townsley]

It looks like you have almost exactly the same setup I do except that I have the Oneida cyclone. Mine works tolerably well. If I upgrade, it will likely be to a big cyclone dust collector.

[Baxter Smith]

Joe, I don't know if this would work with a shop vac but I use a cardboard box that partly wraps around the turning when sanding. The size of the box could vary with the size of the turning.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I used my Shop Vac with a box like Baxter uses and it was so-so at best when sanding. A DC definitely does a better job.

[dan carter]

I doubt the shop vac will keep your saw dust under control, especially with a hood in your particular shop. i use a 4" tee and elbow, i saw richard raffin using similar on a dust collector. i can move it close, secure it, use it on both lathes, and it catches most saw dust. it won't cost you anything to try it, you can be the judge for yourself. if i am working with a toxic wood, even with the dust collector, i use a respirator as well.

[Reed Gray]

The shop vac is a vacuum cleaner. While not a dust collector, it is better than nothing. 6.5 hp motor? Yea, right, that motor is like the 3 hp motor on routers which are about 1/10 the size and weight of the 3 hp motor on my lathe. That kind of advertising misinformation should be illegal. A hood will be better than just the hose.

robo hippy

[Joe Watson]

I was kind of thinking it would work so-so, gonna have to give it a shot over the 4-day-weekend.

Thanks for reminding me about the "box-hood", Baxter. I rember you posting about it in another thread, think it was Robo Hippys where he cut the plastic barrel. From work i can grab thick, dense cardboard barrels of different diameters, probably gonna use that as the hood.

Dan, is that hooked to your full DC or a shop-vac ?

How i have my current DC hooded to the lathe, works pretty good:
There also a 3x10" duct that runs down the wall behind the lathe just offset from the chuck (do not have a pic of it).
Used chicken wire on the open in the wooden table to prevent objects from getting sucked up, and i move a small piece of rubber matt to cover different parts of the opening to control the suction (it mainly covers the right half under the bed extention).
213548213547


Yea... i hear ya Robo Hippy - 6.5HP is what it says on the can, only reason i posted it was so people would have an idea of what the shop-vac is.



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[dan carter]

A harbor freight dust collector provides the suction for the tee and 90 elbow.

[Bill White]

Dan,
Thanks for posting the PVC set up. I'm gonna use the design for my lathe. Why couldn't I be smart enough to think of that?
Bill

[Russell Neyman]

Reality: Dust is never "controlled," just reduced. Any collection system will help to some degree.

I have a different situation. Not only is dust a concern, but cold, damp air is a problem, too. (I live in Seattle.) I use a plastic half-barrel cut to fit around my lathe shaft, which collects the dust and also traps some of the heat from my lathe spotlight, allowing me to do finishing work right on the lathe. There's a thread around here somewhere with a link to a U-Tube video.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

Edit: Mine looks like Robo Hippy's, except that I hinged the top and left the righthand end closed.

[Reed Gray]

This is my sanding hood. One of the Australian turners suggested using sign board, white plastic that looks like cardboard, bends in a curve one way, and crimps when you bend the other way. The more enclosed the piece is, the more dust you collect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZsVc7qVx7A&feature=feedu

r (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZsVc7qVx7A&feature=feedu)obo hippy

[robert baccus]

It,s a long shot but i think they make HEPA filters for some shopvacs. it,s the dust you cannot see that kills you.good luck --------------------old forester