My first extractor, but which one?

[leverb01507]

I'm finally taking the plunge and setting up a space purely as a workshop, no bikes, freezers or christmas decorations etc!!!!!! But im not sure what route to go down with dust extraction. My shop will be (when i finish) 10ft by 20ft and i was thinking of fitting full ducting and blast gates to the wall and too my tools which currently include, 10" table saw, 1" chisel morticer,
2100w triton router in home made table, 10" electra beckum planer thicknesser, small drill press, benchtop belt sander and the usual hand power tools. I am however also looking to add a mid sized band saw to my setup for resawing. Now the nearest ive come to dust extraction before is a henry and some duct tape so i really do need help! I very rarely if ever use mdf so i dont think fine dust will be too problematic but i do a lot of restoration of old furniture so there is a fair bit of sanding, so im not sure. Will the ducting lose me a lot of suction over 6m and would i be better with 63mm or 100mm if i use ducting? also what size extractor should i be looking at as a minimum as cost and space are both issues i want to keep an eye on? Thanks in advance for the help, and i hope ive done this right as this is my first ever forum post on any site.
Cheers Ben.

 

[NickF]

What a coincidence! I'm in almost exactly the same situation. I have done some digging over the last few days and have found that this is not a straightforward subject. It seems that dust and chips need rather different approaches. Like you, I had hoped to find one machine that I could attach, via ductwork, to all my tools. Sadly, the advice I have been given by the Axminster technical guys is no! There seem to be two different types of extractor.

One has a vacuum inside the extractor, created by a high speed vacuum cleaner-like motor and impeller (sometimes two) on the output side (like your Henry but bigger). This type can be ducted and connected via reducers to most machines. However, they are not good for heavy chippings from planers. I already have one of these with two motors and it really struggles with my 10" planer.

The other uses a lower speed, large diameter impeller on the input side and creates a pressure inside the extractor. Depending on the power, these can move huge volumes of air but require large diameter duct - minimum 100mm - and dont support reduction below 75mm for connection to tools or there will be no air movement.

So the advice I have been given is that you really need two solutions.

The other advice I received is be very careful with the design of the ductwork and avoid 90 degree bends as they seriously restrict the air flow. It is better to use two 45 degrees bends to get a smoother flow.

I would be very interested to hear of other experiences before I commit to buying.

Nick.

 

[Shultzy]

I have the Record DX4000 twin motor. My combination is connected as well as bandsaw, router table, pillar drill and 32mm take-off for accessories. It sucks up everything even from the spindle moulder.

 

[leverb01507]

Do you use a ducted system with the dx4000 or do you connect it to each machine as you go?
thanks

 

[Shultzy]

Its ducted about 18 feet including the flexible pipe, although the 32mm adds another 10 feet to this length, all 100mm. 4 x 100mm and 1 x 63mm blast gates.

 

[NickF]

I have the DX5000 at present, similar to Shultzy's, which is fine for most machines but, as I said, it really isn't up to the volume and weight of the waste from the planer. These vacuum systems produce lots of suck but not enough air flow.

 

[Shultzy]

I'm surprised Nick, I don't have any problems from either the planer or the thicknesser. There is a bit of dust and chippings on the thicknesser table after a long session but not excessive. Having said that I don't tend to thickness more than 1mm at a time so this might be why.

 

[cutting42]

Hi All

I have the DX5000 ducted in my workshop. It is IMO the best compromise solution in that it is a high pressure system and therefore can deal with reducing the duct bore size to hand power tool diameters like 32mm. It is also a twin motor so has the airflow to make a 100mm pipe work for a planer thicknesser. This is my set-up, I also have the Triton in the Triton router base set into my workbench. I have a 100mm hose off a y piece to connect to the P/T as I need to wheel it outside to use it in my single garage workshop. The regular ducting is the 63mm tubing which is big enough for most tools. If I had a bit more space I would have used 100mm to the table saw but it works fine as it is.

HTH

 

[Tim Nott]

It's the planer/thicknesser that's the big shavings producer. My 260mm P/T (part of a Robland coombi) can easily produce 600-700 litres per day.
The extractor came with the machine and is 1500w, 100litre bag and 100mm hose. It's up to the job capacity wise but, being the old style plastic bag below, cloth bag above is pretty nasty to use. Fine dust seeps through the filter bag, and emptying the bottom bag is a hideous chore.
I'm saving up my money for something like this:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Axmi ... 795037.htm

Also got a Nilfisk vac, which can fit portable tools such as a hand circualr saw or router and makes a gret deal of difference. It's also pretty good at cleaning the floor, but much to my disgust the floor cleaning kit is another 60 quid

 

[greggy]

i have a camvac wall mounted extractor gv286 w.
having sold my first one for a profit, i decided to get another as i was pleased with it. i got,,,

the machine
2 x flexi pipes
complete floor kit
clear tube ducting kit 63mm
4 extra bends 90deg
4 extra blast gates
20 camvac plastic bags
a posable hose ( for lathe work )


and all for £180.00 and the place i got it all from is a camvac dealer.
the reason why i got it so cheap, ( and all brand new ) is the company now only caters for chimney sweeps.

even their floor machines are the cheapest camvacs around
if i had bought it all at turners- retreat it would have cost £380
so if anyone wants a camvac, and pretty close to doncaster its the best place.
i have no connection to this company, just a very very happy one.

 

[The Bear]

What is the place Greggy?
My family are this neck of the woods and I've been considering a Camvac for a while now

Mark

 

[greggy]

the company is,, north and south industries. 01302 760099