dust collection question for bandsaw
Hello
I am researching a large bandsaw preferebly the laguna 18bx, While reading up on the manual i found a dust cfm requirement of 1000. This narrows the field of DC candidates down quite a bit. i had been looking at the 1.5hp pflux (low ceiling garage!). I was wondering if anyone has an 18bx and what do you use for your dust collection/and of course if you are pleased with it. Also I noticed the 18bx/14bx and the 14/12 all have a requirement of 1000 cfm, strange considering the 14/12 only has one dust port. any thoughts
fine particles and nuisance sawdust
Yes, the fine particles are important to catch. I run a Dylos particulate counting air quality monitor to see if fines are captured or if they have escaped.
However, my goal with the DC was to collect both the fines and the larger particles. My DC is a 5hp ClearVue with a 6" duct split to three 4" ducts at the saw. The published spec is 1442 CFM but I haven't measured the actual.
After hours of bandsawing thick stock I typically vacuum only a tiny bit of sawdust that skids off the back and right side of the table during skimming cuts, scarcely a few tablespoons, often less. The inside of the cabinet is clean. The floor around my feet used to get covered with sawdust spraying off the guides with any sawing After I built the containment housing/shroud around the lower guides the floor is clean. My saw, an 18" Rikon, has a port just inside the upper right corner of the lower cabinet in a chamber slanted upwards towards the guides. The blade goes through a pair of rubber wipers in the bottom of that chamber, apparently intended to deflect dust that sprays off the blade before it even gets to the lower cabinet. I think that shrouded magic chamber/port catches most of the dust. The one in bottom of the cabinet catches the rest. A brush knocks sawdust off the blade and I can't see where any is carried up and around to the upper guides. As mentioned, I position a piece of flex-hose (the "stay put" type) on top of the table when making skimming cuts. Much of my sawing is preparing turning blanks with 1/2"-3tpi blades and I often make skimming cuts on thick stock, usually 2"-12" thick. When cutting where the blade is embedded in the wood almost nothing escapes the DC.
Before I installed and connected the cyclone to the bandsaw to suit me a regular task was to open both cabinets and vacuum out the accumulated sawdust, vacuum the top of the bandsaw, then vacuum the floor all around. This is no longer needed; life is good.
The Dylos assures me it is picking up the extremely fine dust. The finest dust is supposed to be invisible so without a particle counter I'm not sure how you would know if it is being removed or floating around the air. It's easy to guess or hope the fines are collected.
JKJ
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Doug Hepler
May I re-focus this discussion, please? This discussion seems to be about large particles that you can see, that settle out of the air quickly, and that you can easily sweep or vacuum up. What we usually mean when we say sawdust. While they may be a nuisance or esthetically displeasing, they are not the important issue in dust collection. We all know that, right?
The reason that we want DC is to remove the smaller particles, the ones that stay in the air and get into your lungs. Almost any dust collection system will get the smaller particles produced by a band saw. The real issue here is the filter and what it allows to pass. Whether a DC system can keep the cabinet clean is not a realistic criterion, IMO.
You don't really need enough CFM to keep a BS cabinet clean. I have a Jet 1100 CFM (rated) DC connected to my Laguna 14/12. I run the DC whenever I am using the BS. A lot of "sawdust" collects around the saw. It would take a mighty wind to suck up that sawdust, in my opinion well beyond practicality.
All the best