Evolution of dust collection for a woodturner

[Roger Chandler]

I started out with this only my unit had two 30 micron cloth bags on it....this version has a 5 micron bag on it I think and is newer than the one I got some years ago. A 1200 cfm unit, where I attached a 4" hose to one of the ports and put it at whatever machine I was using at the time, tablesaw, bandsaw, router table, but no lathe dust collection. Those 30 micron bags gave plenty of suction, but blew small dust particles back in the air.......not a good situation for respiratory health!

Then I upgraded to two of these 1 micron bags........ they did okay, but really packed up with fine dust fairly easily, IMO....I would shake them out, and did like your grandmother used to do with an old rug....hang it up and beat it with a broom or something to get the dust out......even went so far as to wash them a couple of times......never was satisfied. After a while, Delta came out with an upgrade for this collector which had a cannister filter......2 micron, and a big improvement in air flow and suction.

I then decided to add a vortex separator to catch the big chips. Another big improvement!Added several connection fittings and a flexible spring hose that I could hook up to each machine, and also vacuum up the chips and curlees into a 31 gal trashcan separator. Also added an overhead air cleaner to my shop to clean the air

Just this week decided since I had not changed out the canister filter since 2012, I should probably do that as I was smelling dust quite a bit even though I cleaned that canister, and realized it was probably at the end of its useful life. I got an improved spun bond filter from Penn State Industries to fit it, and really like it. About $100 less than the original Delta filter and is 1 micron, so it collects even finer dust!


I know it is a small pic, but this thing is the real deal, and I like the handle crank better on the front than the one on the top on the other one.....much better design.

Since sanding dust is always a problem for wood turners, it is imperative for our safety that we take all precautions we can.......I also use a Trend Airshield Pro anytime I am turning, and have the dust collector on when I sand with a hose strapped to my lathe bed with a bungee cord, or have the hose on the big gulp hood behind my lathe, and I catch the sanding dust that way. About as good as I know how to make dust collection in my small shop. Take care of those lungs turners.....you only get one set!

I thought some might find it helpful to see how I did it, and might get some good ideas for helping protect them from hazzards of dust when turning/sanding. Let me know if you find this helpful!

[John King]

Check out American Fabric Filter at https://americanfabricfilter.com/filter-bags/. Tell them what you have and what you want to accomplish in the way of dust collection and they will design a properly sized bag. Installed one on my Jet 1200 CFM dust collector. See attached photo. Dust management problem solved. - John

[Roger Chandler]

That is very nice, and very interesting John. I simply do not have anywhere near the space to accommodate a bag that large, and the cannister filter will fit right atop my DC, and fits right in the corner beside my lathe. That is the only place I have for it in my shop.

[Roger Chandler]

I was thinking about John's post above, and think that this would be a great thread for turners to show some pics of how they deal with dust collection in the process of wood turning. So, show some pics if you think you have a good DC setup for the turner/woodworker.

Even pics of the large cyclone collectors are welcome!

[Brice Rogers]

I use a HF 1 HP dust collector and 2 or 3 other things. I modified the dust collector with a prefilter - - a thien baffle. That takes out the big chunks and large dust particles and separates them before they have a chance to go through the impeller. It works surprisingly well. It is similar to a cyclone filter but it is easier for the home hobbiest to build. So most of the stuff goes into a large galvanized trash can that I periodically turn into beautiful compost. The maybe 3-5 percent of the remaining small particle dust gets vented out the door of my shop. The amount that goes out the door is so small that I see zero build up where I place the hose. If I lived in a colder climate, I would consider running that dust through a small particle filter. But with my climate, that isn't necessary.

If I didn't use a cyclone or Thien baffle, I would still use some sort of separator to keep stringy curls of wood and chips from having to go through the impeller. If a person doesn't do that, then occasionally they'll find a bunch of stuff stuck in the impeller.

The dust collector does it's best work when sanding, using a big gulp scoop. When turning, the chips go where Newton's third law says they should go - - wherever their mass and velocity want. But I typically do more green wood turning than single turnings and green wood turning doesn't create much airborne dust.

But when I'm doing secondary turning and dry wood, I have a whole house attic fan than I turn on to catch the errant dust particles in the air. I also typically wear an N95 3M dust mask with purge valve when turning and sanding.

In addition to the above, I also often use a small window fan (in conjunction with the whole house fan) behind me to blow dust away from me.

[Jeffrey J Smith]

Converted my 2 hp HF dc from fabric bags to a canister from Wynn Environmental about 4 years ago. Their nano filter is made for an easy conversion to common dc units, and works great. Something like .5 micron filtration - near clean room numbers. It works great with an added cyclone separator. Easily cleaned, very long life. They've got a lot of info on their website. Made in USA, conversion filters for most ambient filters, too. No affiliation, just a happy customer. Nice people to deal with.
I still use the Trend while sanding, but the shop stays a lot cleaner.

[Mike Peace]

I recently made a YouTube video on my dust collection system that you can link to here: https://youtu.be/osJQ_fCPxg8

[Ron Rutter]

A VERY WORTHWHILE addition to any shop dust system is a cyclone with a drop box before the DC. This not only keeps the larger stuff out of the fan prop but will take out a large portion of the fines, keeping them out of the bag. Wood magazine had plans for a cyclone years ago that worked. It had a low profile. But to get a very efficient unit check out the Bill Pentz website. Plug & play design, but the units are tall.
I have built both units for our seniors WW shop. A bit of work but very worthwhile!!!! Ron.