Hi all,
I have a small work shop where I do woodworking strictly for myself. I am planning on purchasing a small dust collector dedicated to my table saw. I plan to keep the collector with in 4 or 5 feet of the saw. The two units I’ve been looking at are the Grizzly light duty dust collector and the Rockler wall mount dust collector. Overall they are about the same size, weight, bag size and both have a 4” intake port. The Grizzly is a 1 HP @ 450 CFM and the Rockler is a ¾ HP @ 650 CFM. I find it difficult to believe that a ¾ HP unit can produce 650 CFM’s. I’m no expert but something seems a little out of whack here.
Does any one have any thoughts or suggestions.
Thanks,
JM
Replies
Dust
The 3/4HP seems wimpy to me, The Jet 650 dust collector has a 1 HP motor.
Buy the largest one your budget can afford
I saw your post earlier today and have been thinking about it a lot. What would I do if starting over in the shop? Just so you know where I am coming from I see myself as a very serious, amateur (make stuff for fun, not money), self-taught woodworker spending about 25-30 hours a week in the shop. I have a large PowerMatic dust collector connected to 7 machines managed by an EcoGate controller that automatically opens and closes the blast gates as I move from one machine to another.
First thing to know is that dust is dangerous stuff. I once suffered through 4 months of a serious allergic reaction started by corn starch powder and followed by saw dust. My hands still itch a bit some days after the shop time. It can also kill you you if not managed.
Second, the table saw is, in my opinon, the worst dust producer in the shop, some say it's the bandsaw, You will still have a lot of air borne dust even with the dust collector. If you have not already, buy a big ambient air dust collector and position it to help with the table saw dust, it will make you experience significantly enhanced and safer. I also have a dust collection hood over the table saw blade but I am not sure it was a good investment as I can't use it for small detail work and even when doing longer runs, it needs more CFM's than I give it.
Your saw manual should state the CFM's required for a good job. That will be on the low side of excellent.
Third, consider the long term plan for your shop. You will likely want to add collection to additional machines in the future - you should. Therefore consider a larger collector now rather than buying additional dedicated collectors for each machine. They just take up space and you can puchase a whole shop unit for the price of 2 or 3 dedicated machines. If you go this route, make a plan now for linking future machines together.
If all you want to do is collect from the table saw now and in the future, buy the largest unit your budget will allow, within reason of course. Even a huge collector will not suck your saw into it but you can loose efficiency if the velocity and CFM's get out of wack. There are many web sites that can help size the equipment properly. Start at airhand.com. If you don't find what you need on the web site, ask them to send you a catalog; it's catalog and textbook of air handling information.
Good luck!
Dust Collector
I use the Delta i hp collection that sells for $299. The shop is 21' x 21'. The main tools I use with it is a Dewalt 735 Planer and an old craftsman table saw. No trouble pulling the dust 10' . The main feature on this cllector is the one micron filter bag. I do not recieve any blow through in my shop with this fine a bag. My personal opinion is that a lot of hype available on DC. The larger ones are necessary if you want to keep more than 1 line open. But for a small shop used one a limited basis, I'll bank on the Delta 1 HP.
I bought 2 of these thinking I would place each on seperate sides of the shop. I have not even broken the box open on the second one
Good luck on your selecting.
I don't have too much to base this on except what I've read but I wouldn't give too much credance to the CFM's that the manufacturer assigns to their machines. It is easy for them to put down any figure that helps them sell their machines. You need the results of a reliable and independent lab or the experience you trust. I have a "one HP" Shopfox. It seems to do ok with a short hose to one machine but I had to remove the two "X safety bars" from the throat to keep it from clogging. It is a nuisance to move from machine to machine and the temptation to not move it is great. Never the less, if funds are limited, I would suggest buying a small one unit and moveing it from machine to machine until you can afford a good cyclone with sufficient power and CFMs for the system. I dare say you will have much cleaner and a more healthful air in your shop. I plan to do that when I get organized and busy in my shop.
dust collecting
I have a Jet DC1200. 2 hp. As I understand, CFMs are calcualted with no filters, no bags, no nuttin'! Just what the fan will move. Put bags and filters on and you have a greatly reduced number of CFMs. My shop is about 20 by 20. My DC has two legs connected to a combined total of seven machines. Gates on each leg and a gate at each machine. I keep the unused leg gate closed and only the machine I am using open. I want that thing to suck dust -- not me!
Of course, one could get too big, but that is rarely the danger. The most typical problem is getting too small. When my health is dependent on my decision, a hundred or two more dollars is cheap compared to lousy (expensive, debilitating) health because I was too cheap.
Alan - planesaw
There's been so much written about this that it sometimes feels like info overload. I've had several large tablesaws with dedicated DC units standing next to them. If you are going to split the suction into below-table and overhead guard then you need at least 1.5HP and a 5" intake. If you have a medium-sized saw and plan to use only an under-table port, then you can squeeze by with a 1HP and 4" intake, but I'd spend just a bit more and be on the safe side. Don't use less than 1HP.
I'm currently setting up my retirement shop (this is the 7th shop I've created) and I'm using a 5HP central unit which serves 7 stations (never more than 2 at a time). I've studied the websites and talked with industrial engineers, but the best guidelines are still personal experience.
One micron.
I agree that a one micron filter is important. I remember a very complete evaluation of cfm tests in a FWW piece on medium sized collectors a while back. If I'm not mistaken the Delta was at or near the top and had a 1 micron filter to boot, Anyway that is what I bought and use on a jointer, a planer, a lathe, and a tablesaw.
Just my two cents, I have been through having two small collectors like your talking about. They typically have 30 micron bags which leave alot of dust to breathe and lay around in your shop. I finally went and bought a JDS 2 hp cyclone and I am absoultly amazed at how much dust is no longer in my shop. I have had a scrubber for some time and it even collects considerably less dust these days. I'm with those who believe the best you can afford to protect your health. That 1 micron or less is really important.
Kw,
Describe/tell more about what you mean by "scrubber" please.
Alan - planesaw
If you really want to read more than you ever thought was written about dust collection, you might to a search on the name Bill Pentz. He has made dust collection his life work for a good reason.
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