Budget dust collection

[Paul Barrett]

I just bought a bench sander and a band saw so decided that some rudimentary dust collection was in order.

My use of the machine is very lightweight. I am am amateur woodworker and bought the kit so I could make wooden toys for my grandson.

So, not wanting to spend a shed load of cash, I had a think. The bandsaw is a DeWalt 738 with a 2" spigot vent. The bandsaw is a Record with a 2 1/4" flanged outlet.

My solution: (No laughing, please)

For the bandsaw a 90 degree elbow from a plumbing sink waste kit, gaffer taped to the spigot.

For the sander, a rubber gasket ( the type that is used to collect toilet cistern downpipes to the pan), a short lemgth of 1 1/4 " waste pipe inserted into the gasket with a 90 degree push fit elbow at the other end.

As the collector. A Tesco Value 1200w vacuum cleaner, which I push into the elbow of whichever machine I am using. The collection bag is tiny, but then so are the pieces aI am cutting / sanding

Total cost? £21

£17.50 for the vacuum cleaner, £3.50 for the plumbing bits.

OK a health and safety inspector might have some reservations but it does 90% of the work, and also passes the critical 'tidinesss' test of SWMBO

 

[DaveL]

Paul,

This sounds a good workable solution. Waste pipe fittings are great for dust collection, the push fit ones allow the system to evolve as the tools change/move. I have soil pipe connecting my machines to the cyclone and is going to get reworked soon once the move round has finished.

passes the critical 'tidinesss' test of SWMBO

That has got to be a winner. 8)

 

[Paul Barrett]

Hm.... yes :-k I suppose if I bought a few more push fit jounts I could actually interconnect the machines on a semi permanent basis, save me from having to move the vacuum connector back and forth between the two machines

 

[DaveL]

Paul,

You will need some bast gates if you connect the two machines at once. Take a look here at some I made, yours would only be 1 1/4" instead of 4" , should keep you busy for the afternoon. :wink:

 

[Fecn]

Paul,

I think I'm even more of a cheapskate... instead of searching for the plumbing fittings, I now make my tool->extraction adaptors by rolling up a sheet of overhead transparancy plastic to the appropraite cone shape so it fits on the tool and the extractor... and then I fit it all together with sticky tape. I know that all sounds rather flimsy, but it's quite robust in practice because an A4 sized transparency wraps around several times and it really thickens things up.... The transparent section means you can see the dust flying by too.

Here's some gratuitous images.. just because I can.

Cheers,

Fecn

 

[Paul Barrett]

A4 transparencies - neat idea. I was wondering how to achieve infinitely variable reduction.

 

[DaveL]

Neat idea, I have an old leather belt that I have cut strips from to use as packing when the hole is to big.
I have 4" clear hose on some of my machines, I love seeing the shavings going up the pipe. The cyclone is connected to the dust bin with 6" clear hose, lets me do a quick check its not full.
Buy yourself a roll of duck (or duct) tape, 2" wide made for joining hoses like that.

 

[Barry Burgess]

Paul the vacuum as a very limited life as the dust/chips created very quickly reduce the efficiency of your machine. You have to prevent the dust getting to the vacuum. You can make most sized fittings with PVC pipes and a heat gun. Using plumbing fittings are a good place to start but most bigger tools are 100mm not 110mm as are UK plumbing pipes so need to be altered. Once you get to 2 vacuums its better to go for an extraction system
Barry