Getting buried in sawdust....

[Robert Mayer]

My new table saw is getting lots of action and its gets saw dust everywhere. I am looking at getting the delta dust collector I saw at lowes. Nicely priced at $159. Do they help collect the dust that comes out the top and sides of the saw? Is this a decent collector to run on a miter saw and table saw? I have a small operation in my garage and will only run one tool at a time on it.

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00006K005.01.TZZZZZZZ.jpg

[Ray Dockrey]

I think that you would probably be dissappointed with the performance of this dc. I just bought the Delta 50-850 which has a horse and a half power motor along with a 5 micron bag on top and clear plastic bag on the bottom. I am very happy with it and it really has a lot of suction. I bought mine locally at Steve's Wholesale for $259.00 plus tax. They show a price of $269, but knocked ten dollars off. Not a lot, but a good price compared to other places. I know there are Steve's Wholesale in Tulsa, so you might check them out. You didn't say what type of tablesaw you have, but on my contractor's saw it does a good job. I closed off the back of my saw and the only sawdust I got was being thrown off the blade. I since have built an overhead blade guard with dust collection and this gets the dust coming off the blade. This is something you can add at a later date. You don't have to build one, there are several out there that are pretty good. It just depends on how much you want to pay. And lastly, I to am in a small garage and only run one machine at a time. But if I ever move to a bigger area, the dust collector will still be able to do the job. Good Luck with you decision.

[Jason Roehl]

I think that you would probably be dissappointed with the performance of this dc. I just bought the Delta 50-850 which has a horse and a half power motor along with a 5 micron bag on top and clear plastic bag on the bottom. I am very happy with it and it really has a lot of suction.

Not to be a total party pooper here, but...

5 microns of filtration really doesn't do you any good. The cilia in your nose and throat actually filter down to near that size. While that is not comfortable, it keeps the stuff out of your lungs. The most dangerous particles are the ones below 5 microns that make it all the way into your lungs and collect. To prevent that, you need HEPA or better filtration (99.97% of particles 0.3 microns or larger). There's others here who I'm sure could go into professional discourses on the subject, but I am a professional painter who does a fair amount of spraying, so I have to know a little about it. Not to mention, I have a very close friend who has a master's degree in some form of industrial hygiene--he's given me the run-down on filtration, etc.

[Jay Knoll]

Bob

I'm facing the same problem, did a fair amount of reading and decided to build a cyclone from the Wood Magazine "best ever workshops" issue. Penn industries sells the blower unit and a kit with all the rest of the hoses and a big filter.

Jay

[Ken Salisbury]

My new table saw is getting lots of action and its gets saw dust everywhere.


Getting buried in sawdust is half of the fun ! ! ! <IMG src="http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/surprize.gif">

[Robert Mayer]

Bob

I'm facing the same problem, did a fair amount of reading and decided to build a cyclone from the Wood Magazine "best ever workshops" issue. Penn industries sells the blower unit and a kit with all the rest of the hoses and a big filter.

Jay

How much did it cost to build it total?

The dust is ok until i breathe half of it in, haha.

[Dennis Peacock]

Robert,

HP nor bags are the primary factor here in effecient dust collection. It is Air Flow measured in CFM's in combination to air speed and static pressure.

I have 1,048 "real" CFM at my tablesaw that is at the end of a 75 foot run of 6" PVC ducting. I have a Homebuilt Dust Eliminator Cyclone that has them all beat. You can build the Wood Magazine verions of the cyclone....but you will need to lengthen the cone by a good bit to make it work correctly and a LOT more effeciently.

What makes up the CFM?

1. Impeller size....a 12" impeller will NEVER produce the CFM you expect it to.
2. HP to spin the Impeller.
3. Proper sized ducting (at least 6" piping)
4. Totally seal the system at every joint.

The suction I have at the throat-plate on my tablesaw means that I have to "pull" very firmly to get the plate out when the DC system is running. Turn the DC off and I can "flip" it out with one finger.

All that said......You make the choice. We have all been where you are now. We start with a shop-vac, upgrade to a 1 or 2 bad DC setup around 1-1/2 HP and then later on, you keep upgrading until you finally get to a cyclone setup. Those that now have cyclone setups understand what I am saying.

I'm am NOT going to get in any DC setup fights here....just sharing what I have learned and what I get today as compared to where I was before now. BTW, with my 2HP 2 Bag DC setup with .3 micron bags, I was getting 468 CFM at BEST.....

[Bill Esposito]

Robert,

First, for a "small operation in my garage" as you say, if you're going to wheel it from machine to machine and hook up the hose right to each machine then I'd say yes, this unit will "help". If you're going to plumb it with 4" PVC then I'd recommend the 1.5hp Delta.

Will it capture all the dust from your table saw? Nope. Depending on the saw you might have an open back which will cause it to be less useful without modification to the saw. The blade will also still shoot out sawdust from the top. But if you seal up your saw and use a zero clearance insert you can keep that to a minimum.

Even a cheap dust collector can make a significant difference over not having one at all.

You have to start somewhere and if this is what your budget will allow them I'd say go for it. Also pick up a decent dust mask while you're at it and put a fan in the window :)

[Doug Littlejohn]

I was going down the cyclone route but as I live up in the hills, I can vent outside so I can save the $$, get a good DC (Jet DC1200) and put it in a small room outside of the shop.

For the bits that get left in the shop, I'm hanging a room filter.

If your leaving the DC inside and use the shop very much, I would SERIOUSLY think about a cyclone with a cartridge filter. Make sure you run 6" mains or you're airflow will suffer.