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+-- Thread: A dust collector question, please (/showthread.php?tid=7342000)
A dust collector question, please - SceneryMaker - 08-26-2018
I went through my shop yesterday and spotted a brand new in-the-box dust collector wrapped in fancy paper with a note that said "Happy Birthday", signed by my wife. I really married right.
Anyway, that's all that was in the box. No hose, wyes, fittings, gates, or the other stuff needed to make a collector useful. Where do you suggest I get these things?
RE: A dust collector question, please - cvillewood - 08-26-2018
Amazon, like everything else.
RE: A dust collector question, please - fredhargis - 08-27-2018
You'll need to decide what the overall plan is for the system. If the collector will support hard piping and you plan to use it, the next decision is whether it will be metal or PVC. Personally I would make that a cost/availability decision, and some of the thinking needs to include just what collector you have. If you need ductwork larger than 4", metal comes in all sizes and HVAC stuff from the box store works fairly well (except for the wyes, they usually don't have them). If you go PVC, stay with what's called "thinwall" (or DWV, or sewer pipe, or a dozen other names) and the lightest will be stamped "ATSM D2729" on the pipe. PVC limits your ducting to either 4" or 6", but you can usually get true wyes. The 6" can be very hard to find. For the blast gates I think the best option is to build them, but they can be had with a simple search on the net...if you have a Menards around they carry some of this stuff in the tool section. Don't expect anything to fit, flex hose almost never connects to anything easily, so you need to cobble together such stuff.
RE: A dust collector question, please - Hank Knight - 08-27-2018
PVC S&D (Sewer and Drain) piping is probably the least expensive and most readily available. It's also easy to cut with woodworking tools. Go to your commercial plumbing supply house for it. They will have a large selection of sizes and fittings, and they will be a lot cheaper than buying it at the BORG where selection is limited and prices are high. I bought 6" and 4" flex hose from Lee Valley when they offered free shipping. Good quality and competitively priced when shipping was not an issue. As Fred suggested, I built my own blast gates.
RE: A dust collector question, please - jkjen89 - 08-27-2018
(08-26-2018, 05:41 PM)SceneryMaker Wrote: I went through my shop yesterday and spotted a brand new in-the-box dust collector wrapped in fancy paper with a note that said "Happy Birthday", signed by my wife. I really married right.A dust collector can be useful with just one hose and moved from machine to machine. What type of collector did she get you? How big is your shop? How many machines/tools do you want to collect from?
Anyway, that's all that was in the box. No hose, wyes, fittings, gates, or the other stuff needed to make a collector useful. Where do you suggest I get these things?
Nice gloat on the wife. Any sisters?
John
RE: A dust collector question, please - SceneryMaker - 08-27-2018
(08-27-2018, 04:07 PM)jkjen89 Wrote: A dust collector can be useful with just one hose and moved from machine to machine. What type of collector did she get you? How big is your shop? How many machines/tools do you want to collect from?
Nice gloat on the wife. Any sisters?
John
I frequently use 2 or 3 machines as a set, e.g. table saw, jointer, and planer. Other times, it's just one where the table saw is just a flat spot to hold the lathe tools. I'm thinking of putting the necessary fittings on each machine permanently to make it easier to juggle the hose.
She got the 2 hp Harbor Freight one with advice from my son who already set his up.
The wood side of the shop is 25 x 50 with 12 machines that make a mess. All the machinery is on wheels so I can rearrange as needed. Work on a big theater set requires an entirely different arrangement from work on a segmented turning, for example.
No sisters, though. Sorry.
RE: A dust collector question, please - rwe2156 - 08-28-2018
That blower will support a cyclone and ducting.......rolling stuff around gets old real fast.
RE: A Heads-Up - Hank Knight - 08-28-2018
Scenery Maker, I believe Lee Valley has a free shipping promotion going on at the moment. It would be a good time to order some flex hose and related fittings - unless, of course, you can get them locally.
Just sayin'...
Hank
RE: A Heads-Up - TDKPE - 08-28-2018
(08-28-2018, 01:21 PM)Hank Knight Wrote: Scenery Maker, I believe Lee Valley has a free shipping promotion going on at the moment. It would be a good time to order some flex hose and related fittings - unless, of course, you can get them locally.
Just sayin'...
Hank
With smooth interior wall. The cheap stuff, with corrugated inside wall, presents a very high flow resistance for its size. Best if you can use 5", in fact, as that's what the opening into the blower is beyond the wye, and step it down if you have to at the tool. Especially if the run is long.