Dust collector advice for a small garage?

[Toolinator]

Space is tight for me in a single bay that I have free. Bandsaw, table saw, jointer, festool gear, and hopefully a proper workbench soon.

I need a small, wheeled (move from machine to machine) dust collector. There are a million options, and no good consolidated source for recommending a great quality yet teeny-tiny machine. Smaller the better.

Mini oneida - http://www.oneida-air.com/inventoryD.asp?item_no=XXP010100H
Rikon 5 micron bag - http://www.infinitytools.com/Rikon-1-HP-Dust-Collector-w_-5-Micron-Bag/productinfo/RIK%2D60%2D100/

If I go w/ a 5 micron bag, I suppose I need an air filtration system for the garage too, right?

I welcome your advice.

 

[jbasen]

I'm a hobbyist with a small shop.  I went with the Jet DC-650 for my dust collection.  It is more expensive than the Rikon you are looking at but comes with a 1 micron canister filter that I've found really keeps the air clean compared to a dust bag. Rather than dragging the collector from machine to machine I use a Rockler expandable hose.  The hose expands to 28 feet long but will compress down to 4' for storage.  I just stretch it out to the machine I am working on and then store it back at the dust collector.  I have found it to be much easier than dragging the dust collector around the shop. 

Here is a link to the hose.

http://www.rockler.com/dust-rightreg-expandable-hose-expandable-hose

Hope this helps

 

[live4ever]

I have a small but decently equipped shop (cabinet saw, 15" planer, 14" bandsaw, router table, drum sander, etc.) and use a Fein vac with HEPA filter, dust deputy in front of it, and Jet air filtration (AFS-1000B).  You'll be surprised how decently that kind of a setup works.  Does it catch every chip and keep your work surfaces on the bandsaw and tablesaw pristine while cutting?  No, but it does catch the fine stuff and keeps it out of the air.

It's actually probably more expensive than a regular dust collector, but a great option if noise, space, or electrical are issues, or if you were already purchasing a dust extractor as part of your Festool gear.  I looked at the small portable DCs and if there was a quiet one I'd probably be all over it. 

 

[Kev]

I've been looking at this ..



.. I not recommending, I'm on the hunt too!

I use Festool DC's for everything I do today, but bandsaw and thicknesser are on the cards soon and I may initially start with lighter gear due to space restrictions.

 

[jbasen]

After watching the video the design of the Record extractor is really the same as most standard shop vacs with exception that it uses a motor that is capable of prolonged running time.  From having used a rigid shop vac for years in my shop I would be concerned with how fast the filter will clog up.  They address this at the end of the video with a secondary bag separating the filter from the waste.  I spent a lot of time constantly having to clean the filter on my Ridgid vac as it quickly would become caked with dust.

 

[Kev]

After watching the video the design of the Record extractor is really the same as most standard shop vacs with exception that it uses a motor that is capable of prolonged running time.  From having used a rigid shop vac for years in my shop I would be concerned with how fast the filter will clog up.  They address this at the end of the video with a secondary bag separating the filter from the waste.  I spent a lot of time constantly having to clean the filter on my Ridgid vac as it quickly would become caked with dust.

I think it all comes down to the quality of filtration, only then do you get into noise levels, motor duty cycle, performance/efficiency, capacity, etc. Vary all of those things about and out comes a price!

I saw the Record Power gear at a show and I thought it was expensive for what you get ... but their video is informative.

If you think Festool is expensive, try pricing a new pair of lungs [eek] [big grin]

I think the "motor on a tin" units are fine for half an hour on a small band saw or the like, but I reckon a well used thicknesser would challenge them.

I'm actually surprised we haven't seen some sort of advancement that recombines the particles rather than filling up bags and filters ... I'd love to have a shop vac that extrudes useful pieces of parcel board - even if it was just useful as insulation [wink] Maybe I should pursue the concept on Kickstarter !!!

 

[b.hog]

The HF cheapo units are economically priced and work very good. They're re badged and sold by other companies if you're scared of the low cost.

 

[Toolinator]

All good input. Still trying to decide...

 

[Gary in Texas]

There are many options for after market add-ons for items such as 1 micron bags, or better yet, the 1 micron cartridge/canister filters.  Point being, you can do better than 5 microns.

I would get a unit sooner rather than later, better than not having anything, and upgrade later with the canister.....

Gary

 

[irishman]

I've got 1/2 of a "2" car garage.  It's a single 16' door and 20 feet wide.

In this space, i've stuffed a 12" 5hp cabinet saw with the long rails, a larger 16" bandsaw, a 4' lathe, a big drill press, a miter saw on it's stand, a large tool box, multiple festool boxes, multiple dewalt Tstak boxes, an 8" joiner, a 13" planer, a 6x48" sander, a big 250 amp mig welder with accessories, and some other various machines.  I manage alright with this space.  The reason I say all this, is I've got a 1.5 hp dust collector in the corner, and I'm always wishing I had a larger machine.  I will soon be upgrading to a big cyclone.

I say all this because I came from a 1 car garage that was stuffed full, and I didn't have half of what you see above.  It's all about space management. 

I'll be mounting my cyclone on the outside of the garage in order to gain back some space.  However, even if I couldn't do that, i'd figure out a way to make it happen inside the garage.  The dust collector is one of my most-used tools.  It saves me time every time I use it.  I'd bet I save an average of 30-45 mins at the end of a night of woodworking in my clean-up time.  Time is money as they say.  And I'd rather spend that time either with my family, or doing my hobby, not cleaning.

If you're super space concious, I would get the Oneida vac system.  If you're an avid user of your bigger dust producing machines, I view good dust collection as almost a necessity.  You'll never regret it after you've started using it.

It is however, a hard purchase to make.  I am fully aware of that myself.

 

[Holmz]

The Irishman and others had some wise words..

Your saw, and band saw, make more of 'pieces of wood' than dust.
So you may want to consider a dust deputy as a first stage.

I just watched the Maloof video again... I saw no dust collection.

I was lucky as the Mrs bought me a CT26.
Not sure what I would do now, as there are many quality units.
Probably a dust deputy or just shake the bag into the trash can 3 or 4 time before binning it.

 

[Kev]

The Irishman and others had some wise words..

Your saw, and band saw, make more of 'pieces of wood' than dust.
So you may want to consider a dust deputy as a first stage.

I just watched the Maloof video again... I saw no dust collection.

I was lucky as the Mrs bought me a CT26.
Not sure what I would do now, as there are many quality units.
Probably a dust deputy or just shake the bag into the trash can 3 or 4 time before binning it.

That stuck with me too. Plus is was only recently that a chap I was working with got onto the topic woodworking ... he then told me how his father left him a lot of tools and went on to further elaborate that his father died as a result of breathing the dust from a specific hardwood over a number of years.

 

[Greg M]

5 micron filteration is dangerous for your health.  Here's a thread that has links to some very useful and important information.  Most of us consider the tools we need and clean air is an after thought if we have enough money left over to address it.  Bill Pentz explains why we've got it backwards.

Best system is one that filters the air and then exhausts it to the outside.

Here's the thread.

 

[rst]

I have two of the small steel Onieda Dust Deputys on two old grease drums and one of their Festool versions for portability.  I eventually want one of their stationary systems when I can consolidate the three locations where I now work.  Today UPS will be delivering one of their retrofit filters that I will be installing on an old style drum Cincinnati dust collector for my planer.  Their information, products and service is outstanding.

 

[jaguar36]

I'd take a look at this Grizzly http://grizzly.com/products/1-1-2-HP-Dual-Filtration-HEPA-Cyclone-Dust-Collector/G0703HEP

It has great filtration and is a pretty small unit.

Is there anywhere you could stick a larger DC?  Attic, basement, shed outside?

 

[mike_aa]

I'd take a look at this Grizzly http://grizzly.com/products/1-1-2-HP-Dual-Filtration-HEPA-Cyclone-Dust-Collector/G0703HEP

It has great filtration and is a pretty small unit.

Is there anywhere you could stick a larger DC?  Attic, basement, shed outside?

That Grizzly unit has great specs.  What is really nice is it's only 68 inches tall.  Those with low ceilings in their basement shops should have no problem fitting this one in.

Mike A.

 

[Lbob131]

That grizzly looks like something  NASA  would build.

 

[Gary in Texas]

If you have one of the later/current model grizzly DCs, the HEPA filter can be an add-on purchase.  I've looked at these several times.  I would imagine the other brand names will be adding similar offerings in the near future.

 

[Gary in Texas]

The Irishman and others had some wise words..

Your saw, and band saw, make more of 'pieces of wood' than dust.
So you may want to consider a dust deputy as a first stage.

I just watched the Maloof video again... I saw no dust collection.

I was lucky as the Mrs bought me a CT26.
Not sure what I would do now, as there are many quality units.
Probably a dust deputy or just shake the bag into the trash can 3 or 4 time before binning it.

My cabinet saw and both of my band saws can spew a lot of fine dust.  The big stuff gets captured, but the small stuff does escape.  My band saw has two 4" dust collection ports hooked up to my DC and I still option to wear a mask when using it. 

 

[grbmds]

To me, the quality of the dust collection is the most important. I now have a recently purchased Oneida V1500 with HEPA filter (actually Oneida's filters are somewhat better than the average HEPA filter). I also have a JDS ceiling hung air cleaner (not a HEPA filter but as good as they reasonably are sold). I also have a CT for sanding. I still use a powered mask from Trend for most extended operations on the table saw, band saw, planer, jointer, routing, and sanding. The only time I don't use my mask is if I am only doing a quick single task at one of the tools (but probably should use it even then). I don't get much dust anywhere in my shop except for the chips/dust which fall to the floor around the saws. My opinion is that you can never have too much dust collection. No matter how hard you try some always escapes into the air; hence the ceiling air cleaner. When I first started woodworking a long time ago, I didn't use much dust collection. I am hoping that I did not do permanent damage from that period, but would not now ever scrimp on dust collection (or hearing protection).