New owner - can I use my existing dust system?

[DaveInPa]

Hi please go easy on me as I just got my domino and it’s my first festoon purchase. I’ve read a bunch of various forums and they all say this has been covered to death but I haven’t found the answer.

I’ve got a standard 1.5hp dust collector with 6” main lines into my shop. I figured I need to drop a 2” line for a host to connect which then connects to the domino. What combination of connectors and hose do I need to accomplish this???

I gotta believe this is super common but my searches haven’t helped.

Yes at some point I guess I’ll get sanders and eventually a dust extractor etc. but for now I’d rather just use what I got…

 

[ChuckM]

The answer is yes, considering the amount of chips the machine generates per mortise unless you're far away from the dust collector.

Congrats on your DJ purchase. The machine has been a game changer for a lot of its owners.

 

[Alanbach]

Any dust collector, shop vac, dust extractor, etc. that successfully removes the chips from the Domino should be OK. Having said that, typically a high velocity, lower volume (CFM) vac or dust extractor will work better than a dust collector known for lower air speeds and higher CFM. Here is the important thing that you need to know, use the best extractor you can, plunge slowly, don’t rush and if you break a bit you will immediately know that your dust extraction is not sufficient. Insufficient dust removal will cause the bit to overheat, causing the bit to break and the machine will ultimately a overheat. Just check the hose and the machine often to make sure that all of the chips are being evacuated completely.

 

[ChuckM]

In a pinch, some people use the domino joiner without dust extraction (you can actually see that in one commercial domino related video whose vendor has a presence in this forum). I never do that, and I wouldn't recommend that to any domino user. Shop vacs are so affordable if CTs or Mirkas are out of reach.

What about dust collectors? I always think that they are good enough for the dominoes provided you can feel a good suction when you cover the opening end of the hose with your palm. So I tried this out with my DC 1.5HP, a bridging hose and the CT15 hose, using 4mm, 5mm and 10mm cutters, at various depth and width settings:

[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]

In the last cut, I used the CT15 instead of the DC

[attachimg=3]

On the whole, I see no differences in the results between using the CT and the DC.

So to me, if you can feel a reasonably good suction with your hand, it should be good enough for the domino work. Make some test cuts to see how it goes. For long-term use, it's best to get a dust extraction unit or shop vac with an auto-switch feature.

 

[DaveInPa]

Thanks that’s super helpful!

So I have a 1 7/8 shop vac hose…any idea how to get that to a 4 inch dust port?

 

[ChuckM]

It wouldn't be too hard to find a way to connect a 4" port to the hose you have. I may start with a 2-1/2" to 4" adapter and work from there. My usual source is Lee Valley Tools (type "vacuum hose adapter"), but you can find something similar at Rockler or Woodcraft or peachtree or even Amazon.

 

[ChuckM]

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/35mm-hose-end-cuff-fitting-for-euro-power-tools-woodriver

may be good for the shop vac hose.