I'm looking for opinions...
I just moved into a new apt that has a basement (shop). I've got a
nice sturdy bench, cheapy bench saw and various other tools (ROS being
the worst dust maker). I plan on getting some other stationary tools
and possibly replacing the table saw with a decent one soon. No
jointer or planer yet.

The shop is about 12'x12' with very low (6'5") ceilings. My last
workshop was a porch, so i didn't worry about dust collection at all.
But my new shop is already covered in dust, and my lungs and throat
don't appreciate it either.

So I've been looking at my options... Think I've decided against a
shopvac because it's noisy and not as efficient at sucking dust.
Because my shop already feels small, I was thinking about a little DC
unit like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36853

but for only $50 more, this seems like a good deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45378

Is that overkill for my little, hobbiest shop? I mean that monster
will take up a lot of room! I'm leaning toward the first one because
I don't think I make all that much dust... Any words of wisdom for
me?

Thanks

The 2 HP is the one that I "wood" (lame joke there) choose, however the
particle removal is only down to 30 microns. Also having a basement woodshop
I have major dust problems. I have been able to reduce my dust by doing
several things.

1) I made a sanding table. a 2'x2'x4" box top is pegboard bottom is 1/4"
plywood I cut a hole the size of my vac hose. Now when I sand the vac sucks
up most of the dust.
This can be noisy, yes but I bought a "quieter" vac.Also I bought a hepa
filter for the vac.

2) I used an old box fan and mounted it on the ceiling raftors, attached to
the fan is a furnace filter wrapped in cheese cloth. This helps filter the
ambient air. and works very well for a cheap trick.


Now instead of having heavy dust accumulation on everything it's down to a
minimum whereas I was cleaning fine dust everyday now I only have to do it
once a week, I do however have to vaccum the filter on the fan, but I figure
in the filter, NOT in my lungs. Wearing those respirators is very cumbersome
as I wear glasses.
I know these ideas are cheapees but they work and until I can afford a
better shop with ventilation these will do.These are not my ideas I searched
the web and got them.

On the plus side a better shop is in the works the place we are looking
to buy has a great big modern 2 story barn. one big exhaust fan should do
the trick!

Rich

"Jeff" wrote in message
m...
I'm looking for opinions...
I just moved into a new apt that has a basement (shop). I've got a
nice sturdy bench, cheapy bench saw and various other tools (ROS being
the worst dust maker). I plan on getting some other stationary tools
and possibly replacing the table saw with a decent one soon. No
jointer or planer yet.

The shop is about 12'x12' with very low (6'5") ceilings. My last
workshop was a porch, so i didn't worry about dust collection at all.
But my new shop is already covered in dust, and my lungs and throat
don't appreciate it either.

So I've been looking at my options... Think I've decided against a
shopvac because it's noisy and not as efficient at sucking dust.
Because my shop already feels small, I was thinking about a little DC
unit like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36853

but for only $50 more, this seems like a good deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45378

Is that overkill for my little, hobbiest shop? I mean that monster
will take up a lot of room! I'm leaning toward the first one because
I don't think I make all that much dust... Any words of wisdom for
me?

Thanks

A dust collector won't do much for a ROS, unless you build a sanding table,
and you would have to devote an eighth of your shop to it. You can attach a
shop vac to the dust port (if your ROS has one), and it works pretty well,
but is a PITA.

IMHO DCs are overrated. They only work well on tools that are, or can be,
completely enclosed. I recommend, at least for a first tool, a good air
filter. The heavy dust will fall to the floor, and the air filter will
clean up the fine dust. Supposedly a big enough DC will work in open
applications, but my 1.5hp won't.

Incidently, my 1.5hp has a 1micron bag and is very clean. Reportedly the
30micron bags collect the coarse stuff that doesn't much matter and makes an
aerosol of the finer stuff; probably worse than doing nothing.

Boy, four acronyms in one posting!

You are on the right track. Penn State makes a bigger collector of the 1 bag
type, it will do a better job.

You can then upgrade it if you want. here is what I did:

I got a Lee Valley cyclone lid (theirs is a slightly different design from the
others. Penn State says don;t do it, but it will work fine with the Lee Valley,
not the others). Get better hoses. Either Jet or Wilke, the rest is garbage.
They ar emore expensive, and for a reason. The I got rid of the dust bag (hard
ot empey, harder to move) and replaced it with a cyclone cannister. After the
cyclone, not much dust goes there anyway. It's all low slung, an dmost of it
can fit under something else.

The last thing I got was a Long Ranger wireless switch, so I will actually use
it.

"searcher1" wrote in message ...
The 2 HP is the one that I "wood" (lame joke there) choose, however the
particle removal is only down to 30 microns. Also having a basement woodshop
I have major dust problems. I have been able to reduce my dust by doing
several things.

1) I made a sanding table. a 2'x2'x4" box top is pegboard bottom is 1/4"
plywood I cut a hole the size of my vac hose. Now when I sand the vac sucks
up most of the dust.
This can be noisy, yes but I bought a "quieter" vac.Also I bought a hepa
filter for the vac.


Great idea... But how do you stiffen the top without affecting the
suction on the far side of the outlet, or is it inlet ? I'd think
that a 2' span of pegboard would flex a bit.


2) I used an old box fan and mounted it on the ceiling raftors, attached to
the fan is a furnace filter wrapped in cheese cloth. This helps filter the
ambient air. and works very well for a cheap trick.


I keep meaning to try this, also makes me consider building a
hardboard box around my ceiling fans with some mosquito screen near
the roof and a filter underneath the fan. Set it to pull air upward
and it may just work!



Now instead of having heavy dust accumulation on everything it's down to a
minimum whereas I was cleaning fine dust everyday now I only have to do it
once a week, I do however have to vaccum the filter on the fan, but I figure


I just open the garage door and get out the air hose and/or leaf
blower


in the filter, NOT in my lungs. Wearing those respirators is very cumbersome
as I wear glasses.

Get a DustFoe 88 from Woodcraft ($29). It and my Peltor work tunes
have really got me to be more diligent about ear/lung safety. I have
glasses as well, but the dustfoe directs exhalation downward and is
super comfortable. It also has a dual-elastic strap that unclips in
the back so when you are not using it, it falls to your chest and
stays there. This makes you much more likely to use it. The Peltors
are comfortable and the radio makes you think of them more as a
walkman than hearing protection, so you might be more likely to use
them. Don't worry, the motors don't interfere with reception


I know these ideas are cheapees but they work and until I can afford a
better shop with ventilation these will do.These are not my ideas I searched
the web and got them.

On the plus side a better shop is in the works the place we are looking
to buy has a great big modern 2 story barn. one big exhaust fan should do
the trick!


Make sure to put in the pool on the other side of the barn


Rich

"Jeff" wrote in message
m...
I'm looking for opinions...
I just moved into a new apt that has a basement (shop). I've got a
nice sturdy bench, cheapy bench saw and various other tools (ROS being
the worst dust maker). I plan on getting some other stationary tools
and possibly replacing the table saw with a decent one soon. No
jointer or planer yet.



Man, you have a good landlord. When I was in an apartment, I had the
circular saw out for about a minute before I had the property manager
beating down the door.


The shop is about 12'x12' with very low (6'5") ceilings. My last
workshop was a porch, so i didn't worry about dust collection at all.
But my new shop is already covered in dust, and my lungs and throat
don't appreciate it either.



See the comments about the DustFoe above. Doesn't help with the mess,
but definitely works on your lungs. You may even find yourself wearing
it around during pollen or SARS season


So I've been looking at my options... Think I've decided against a
shopvac because it's noisy and not as efficient at sucking dust.
Because my shop already feels small, I was thinking about a little DC
unit like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36853

Never noticed this one before. My shop vac is a pain in the ass
because it doesn't work so good (Its the "5.5HP" variety and still
doesn't suck up 25% of the dust, it just gives me less to sweep) and
is too big to fit under a cabinet, making it waste valuable space.
This little collector would fit well under my router in the table and
I could just aim the bag out of the opening. Thanks for the idea.


but for only $50 more, this seems like a good deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45378

Is that overkill for my little, hobbiest shop? I mean that monster
will take up a lot of room! I'm leaning toward the first one because
I don't think I make all that much dust... Any words of wisdom for
me?


You won't be in an apartment forever, unless you live in the
northeast! If so, move down here to texas and buy a big old house for
less than you were renting for up north



Thanks


Your welcome

On 19 Mar 2004 06:58:09 -0800, (Jeff)
brought forth from the murky depths:

I'm looking for opinions...
I just moved into a new apt that has a basement (shop). I've got a
nice sturdy bench, cheapy bench saw and various other tools (ROS being
the worst dust maker). I plan on getting some other stationary tools
and possibly replacing the table saw with a decent one soon. No
jointer or planer yet.

The shop is about 12'x12' with very low (6'5") ceilings. My last
workshop was a porch, so i didn't worry about dust collection at all.
But my new shop is already covered in dust, and my lungs and throat
don't appreciate it either.

So I've been looking at my options... Think I've decided against a
shopvac because it's noisy and not as efficient at sucking dust.
Because my shop already feels small, I was thinking about a little DC
unit like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36853

but for only $50 more, this seems like a good deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45378

Is that overkill for my little, hobbiest shop? I mean that monster
will take up a lot of room! I'm leaning toward the first one because
I don't think I make all that much dust... Any words of wisdom for
me?

The little one should do the job for you, but add a tighter
bag, one which won't let the dust get in your lungs. You may
have to modify the bag opening to fit. Standard bags filter
down to about 30 microns, this one gets down to 0.3 microns.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/item...emnumber=H4340
http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2004/119.cfm? $149 G1163 DC

(I need one of the 0.3u bags for my shop.)

Alternatively, stick a 20" square HVAC filter over your 20"
box fan for a constant air filter and use the shop vac to
collect the larger dust as it's produced. Get these, too:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46876
The muffs work great and are comfy for hours.

---
Is it time for your medication or mine?
http://diversify.com Custom Website Applications

As far as the sanding table, yes I do have a support thru the center

It is just 2ft long 2x4's I used three and a piece of 1/2" pine board for
the front which is where the hole for the vac hose is. I put a center
support of 1" X 3". The pegboard holes are also great for holding dogs I use
dowel rod pieces for this.
The work tunes are a great idea I work for an airline so I have tons of
spongee ear plugs, they give us boxes of those cheap things but everyone
opts for the headset type so the spongees get taken home.
"Jay" wrote in message
om...
"searcher1" wrote in message
...
The 2 HP is the one that I "wood" (lame joke there) choose, however the
particle removal is only down to 30 microns. Also having a basement
woodshop
I have major dust problems. I have been able to reduce my dust by doing
several things.

1) I made a sanding table. a 2'x2'x4" box top is pegboard bottom is 1/4"
plywood I cut a hole the size of my vac hose. Now when I sand the vac
sucks
up most of the dust.
This can be noisy, yes but I bought a "quieter" vac.Also I bought a
hepa
filter for the vac.


Great idea... But how do you stiffen the top without affecting the
suction on the far side of the outlet, or is it inlet ? I'd think
that a 2' span of pegboard would flex a bit.


2) I used an old box fan and mounted it on the ceiling raftors, attached
to
the fan is a furnace filter wrapped in cheese cloth. This helps filter
the
ambient air. and works very well for a cheap trick.


I keep meaning to try this, also makes me consider building a
hardboard box around my ceiling fans with some mosquito screen near
the roof and a filter underneath the fan. Set it to pull air upward
and it may just work!



Now instead of having heavy dust accumulation on everything it's down to
a
minimum whereas I was cleaning fine dust everyday now I only have to do
it
once a week, I do however have to vaccum the filter on the fan, but I
figure


I just open the garage door and get out the air hose and/or leaf
blower


in the filter, NOT in my lungs. Wearing those respirators is very
cumbersome
as I wear glasses.

Get a DustFoe 88 from Woodcraft ($29). It and my Peltor work tunes
have really got me to be more diligent about ear/lung safety. I have
glasses as well, but the dustfoe directs exhalation downward and is
super comfortable. It also has a dual-elastic strap that unclips in
the back so when you are not using it, it falls to your chest and
stays there. This makes you much more likely to use it. The Peltors
are comfortable and the radio makes you think of them more as a
walkman than hearing protection, so you might be more likely to use
them. Don't worry, the motors don't interfere with reception


I know these ideas are cheapees but they work and until I can afford
a
better shop with ventilation these will do.These are not my ideas I
searched
the web and got them.

On the plus side a better shop is in the works the place we are
looking
to buy has a great big modern 2 story barn. one big exhaust fan should
do
the trick!


Make sure to put in the pool on the other side of the barn


Rich

"Jeff" wrote in message
m...
I'm looking for opinions...
I just moved into a new apt that has a basement (shop). I've got a
nice sturdy bench, cheapy bench saw and various other tools (ROS being
the worst dust maker). I plan on getting some other stationary tools
and possibly replacing the table saw with a decent one soon. No
jointer or planer yet.



Man, you have a good landlord. When I was in an apartment, I had the
circular saw out for about a minute before I had the property manager
beating down the door.


The shop is about 12'x12' with very low (6'5") ceilings. My last
workshop was a porch, so i didn't worry about dust collection at all.
But my new shop is already covered in dust, and my lungs and throat
don't appreciate it either.



See the comments about the DustFoe above. Doesn't help with the mess,
but definitely works on your lungs. You may even find yourself wearing
it around during pollen or SARS season


So I've been looking at my options... Think I've decided against a
shopvac because it's noisy and not as efficient at sucking dust.
Because my shop already feels small, I was thinking about a little DC
unit like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36853

Never noticed this one before. My shop vac is a pain in the ass
because it doesn't work so good (Its the "5.5HP" variety and still
doesn't suck up 25% of the dust, it just gives me less to sweep) and
is too big to fit under a cabinet, making it waste valuable space.
This little collector would fit well under my router in the table and
I could just aim the bag out of the opening. Thanks for the idea.


but for only $50 more, this seems like a good deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45378

Is that overkill for my little, hobbiest shop? I mean that monster
will take up a lot of room! I'm leaning toward the first one because
I don't think I make all that much dust... Any words of wisdom for
me?


You won't be in an apartment forever, unless you live in the
northeast! If so, move down here to texas and buy a big old house for
less than you were renting for up north



Thanks


Your welcome

(Jeff) wrote in message om...
I'm looking for opinions...
So I've been looking at my options... Think I've decided against a
shopvac because it's noisy and not as efficient at sucking dust.
Because my shop already feels small, I was thinking about a little DC
unit like this one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36853

but for only $50 more, this seems like a good deal:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45378

Is that overkill for my little, hobbiest shop? I mean that monster
will take up a lot of room! I'm leaning toward the first one because
I don't think I make all that much dust... Any words of wisdom for
me?

I've got the 2HP (Okay, so it's not *really* a 2HP and it doesn't
*really* suck 1600 CFM but we all knew that.)
I like it. Takes up a little more room than a floor-model drill press
or a bandsaw. Rich is right, the bag is about as good as a flour sack
but then most of them are. I'm upgrading to a better one. Still a good
deal.

My garashop is about 19 by 20 though, so maybe it's space you need,
even if the big one is only 50 bucks more.

I think you need more choices. :-)
Don't know what tools you're using, but a lot of folks seem to get by
with a hefty duty shop vac. I did, for a long time, and it was just a
puny little no-name. LOUD little thing. But you can build a box out of
one sheet of plywood, carpet the whole inside with sound-deadening
stuff from the Borg (or whatever you can find - my friend gave me some
scraps), cut some holes for the hose, cord, and some more for the
exhaust, put some casters on it, and the little sucker will be a whole
lot easier to live with. A LOT easier. Plus you'll have a new mobile
work surface that takes up only a slightly smaller footprint than the
vac, and you'll never trip over the damthing either. I put some power
strips on it and it doubles as the stand for the planer and the
spindle sander.

Dan

"Dan" wrote in message
m...
(Jeff) wrote in message
om...

puny little no-name. LOUD little thing. But you can build a box out of
one sheet of plywood, carpet the whole inside with sound-deadening
stuff from the Borg (or whatever you can find - my friend gave me some
scraps), cut some holes for the hose, cord, and some more for the
exhaust, put some casters on it, and the little sucker will be a whole
lot easier to live with.

Thanks for the idea. I need to do the same thing to my teeth-rattling air
compressor.

Bob

"Bob Davis" wrote in message ...

Thanks for the idea. I need to do the same thing to my teeth-rattling air
compressor.


Bob,

put some carpet between the box and the floor as well, it helps to stop the
transmission of any vibration to the building itself.

--
Greg

"Greg Millen" wrote in message
...

put some carpet between the box and the floor as well, it helps to stop
the
transmission of any vibration to the building itself.

Hey that's another good idea. Its something I try right away.

Thanks,
Bob