Bandsaw dust collection

[John K Jordan]

The thread on dust collection on a bandsaw inspired me to finally take some photos of what I found works very well on my Rikon 18" band saw. The saw is close to the lathes and to an outside door for bringing in stock.

My dust collector is a 5hp ClearVue cyclone with a 6" PVC main duct and 6" drops. The published spec is 1442 CFM but I haven't measured the actual CFM. Before I installed and connected the cyclone to the bandsaw 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. Now this is no longer needed.



The Rikon comes with two 4" dust ports, one at the top of the lower cabinet just below the lower guides and the other at the bottom of the cabinet. The blade goes through an angled chamber inside the cabinet then through a pair of rubber wipers in the bottom of that chamber. I suppose the theory is the suction from the upper port will pull dust off the blade and downward. This didn't work as well as I hoped.



With the 6" duct from the cyclone split into two 4" ducts both cabinets do stay clear of dust but it still throws a lot of dust around. A lot of sawdust comes off the blade below the lower guides and sprays out onto the floor by my feet. And when I am doing "skimming" cuts where the blade is not completely embedded in the wood, sawdust is thrown onto and skids across the table.

This is what I did to fix things.

First, I made a shroud or housing to fit below the lower guides to keep dust from spraying out onto the floor. I made the first one from cardboard, cut and bent to fit and held to underside of the table with magnets. Air enters from the back and left and dust is pulled down into the angled chamber by the vacuum from the upper port. This worked very well, so well I used it for several years. I recently simplified the design and made one from clear acrylic (Plexiglas) and Weld-On acrylic glue. I glued some magnets on the plastic and put a couple more under the table to hold the little box in place. Air comes through the back and through a big hole cut in the left side and is pulled down into the lower cabinet. Since the plastic shroud is clear I can easily see if there is any significant buildup. So far, there has been none.




A ClearVue splitter on the 6" PVC drop splits the collection into two 4" ducts. I like the clear splitter because I can easily watch the chips fly and know there is no obstruction. So far there has been none. One 4" duct goes to the upper port and one to the bottom. I split one again with a 4" wye and use one of those flexible hoses that almost stays where you put it. A strong magnet lets me keep it exactly where I want it, either on top of the table or out of the way on the side. When I'm making skimming cuts I position this flex hose to catch most of the dust that flies off the side of the blade and skids across the table.



At one time I used the 6x6x4 wye below the blast gate to feed the flex hose but I didn't like it since I couldn't see if there were any problems. It's still attached but capped off. Maybe I take it out some day.

I use a Dylos particulate counting air quality monitor to see if fines are captured or if they have escaped. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AWEG0Y .

JKJ

[Brian Holcombe]

That’s a cool setup John!

[Rush Paul]

Thanks for these photos and your comments, John. This will be very helpful as I set up my CV1800.

[John K Jordan]

One think I forgot to mention - when I'm not using the upper flexible hose lay a loose cap on it so that suction is not wasted.

[Ben Rivel]

Huh, thats interesting. It seems to me that with the two dust ports connected to the machine and a whooping 5HP dust collector you really shouldnt need the magnet mounted hose on the table. I have a 3HP Oneida V-3000 that connects to my Hammer N4400 with one ~5" connection point located by the motor on the bottom of the saw and that setup leaves behind next to no dust. Have you tried measuring the CFM at your 6" drop and then after that 3 way split you have there? Or is the magnet mounted hose just for convenience to collect a very little amount of dust occasionally left behind, say when cutting very thick stock or resawing?

[John K Jordan]

Huh, thats interesting. It seems to me that with the two dust ports connected to the machine and a whooping 5HP dust collector you really shouldnt need the magnet mounted hose on the table.... Or is the magnet mounted hose just for convenience to collect a very little amount of dust occasionally left behind, say when cutting very thick stock or resawing?

You are correct that it's not needed for normal bandsaw cuts in even thick wood and when resawing. The suction from the cyclone is so incredibly strong even when split three ways I wouldn't want my cat to get close. When I have a student I sometimes operate two machines at once without detectable degradation.

But I think I mentioned I only use that top hose when making "skimming cuts" on the side of a usually thick chunk of wood, usually when preparing turning blanks.

I think of a skimming cut as one which the teeth on one side of the blade are touching the wood and those on the other side are in the air. The block may be up to 12" high, the capacity of the saw. When the blade is skimming the side a lot of sawdust flies out of the gullets on the half of the blade in the air and skids across the table. Positioning the 4" flex hose in the right place catches most of this.

With cuts where the blade is embedded in a kerf in the wood, no dust escapes to the top of the table so I park the flex hose off the side of the table with the magnet. That's when I cover it if I think of it. The cyclone has so much suction that it's not really necessary to plug the hose, even when left open there is no dust collected in the cabinet, but it doesn't hurt anything (and it is quieter that way!)

This picture shows a skimming cut. In this case most of the blade is out of the wood with maybe a couple of inches just barely skimming part of the slightly angled side of the block. I'm squaring up the bottom corner of this block of sassafras that warped a bit during drying from green. In this case, I'm simply making a cut to illustrate the use of the hose.

bandsaw_DC_IMG_7607.jpg

BTW, I process a huge number of woodturning blanks from green logs this way and air dry them for years before use. I usually clean up all sides of a block when dry to remove the wax sealer, let me see the figure and color, and examine it all over for cracks and such. If I were selling blanks I'd probably use the jointer instead of the bandsaw.

JKJ

[Ben Rivel]

Understood! That does make more sense.