What up all my swaylock’s brethren? Ever wonder how to control all that pesky dust created by sanding? I have. And the best things I have found for dust collection are made by Torit-Dondalson. They come in all different sizes and even different means of collection. For most of you guys, the smaller units are great, and the older shaker models work just fine. That’s what I have. For you more greenies or cold cash starved, you can easily collect the residual dust and use as a filler. Just think of the benefits. Also, for the haters and the ones calling BS on me, I recommend another use for the dust try some in those very special places when your not motivated and are looking for that burning itch for to do something more productive than rag on me. A healthy work environment has many positive benefits. The smaller units are portable enough with wheels to get up close and personal with the sander. And for hacks like me who like to make my own fins,; its way cool.
home depot sander to my shop vac. Strictly backyard stuff. Keeps the dust down very well. This guy knocks the flats down well. I still use my big sander with a soft pad for the rails.
RIDGID 6 in. Variable-Speed Dual Random Orbit Sander
they have a 5" as well. I'd post a pic but that skill set seems to allude me here on sways.
Hey ghettorat,
Do you know how much they cost?
I've contemplated putting a dust collecter in my shed, and was thinking of doing something with air flow coming in from one end and out the other. I would put a dryer type hose on the out airflow end and the end of the hose would sit in a small bath of water. I'm thinking that the water might catch the dust. Do you think this might work? what fan should I use on either end that would be safe?
thanks
astevens, Go on ebay and see what is available in your area. Now all you lurkers don’t do this at once or you’ll just drive up the price. When designing your system contemplate a vent in front to let air into the room and a way to let it out. Or if your in a sealed room put a fan in front and the system in the back. You want to design it so maximum air flow is over the board and away from the sander.
As for a water bath, yes there a those who use them, and there are those who introduce a water misting jet into the dust and then contain the muck in drums, but it is not without its problems, as your actually polluting water, which the EPA takes a disparaging look upon. After all the time people have been making boards not too many have shown an active interest in dust collection. Oh, another dirty little secret. It is a shame because it is so easily remedied. Someone in the last thread attacked me about saving lives, well here is my contribution: So you can save lives; save sanders, and actually save the environment: Shamwow!
I have three different dust vacs, one with a cyclone (Oneida), a festool, and a generic shop vac for all purpose cleanup. Not fancy but every bit helps.
Keith, How do you like the cyclone I have wanted to put one in front of system to make it even more efficient and make clean ups that much more easy? Mine has like a bass drum pedal shaker, and you have to open the box to get to the dust, bend down and remove the container. So if I could trap it in front it would be that much better.
I like it a lot, wish I had put one on sooner. I have the vac in a cabinet behind noise insulation, so much easier to trap dust & chips before it gets in there. Less clogging of vac filter too. I’m tempted to buy a 2nd one for my festool vac; they now make one that clips right on top - comes with a rectangular 9 gal dustbox so it wheels right along… nice design.
Are you talking about one with the Fume arm Ghetto?
I shape,glass, sand at home in a bay under the house. I use a festool Rotex sander, slower but not much dust using it. Festool shop vac and I got one of those Cyclones about 2 months ago. Cyclones come in heaps of different sizes and I’m blown away at how well they work. I haven’t emptied my shop vac after about 12 boards and thats foam off the planer and sanding dust. I could have gone with a smaller Festool unit if I knew of these things first. They take like 99% of the dust out…amazing!
Don’t have one with the fume arm I have 2 models a 60 and a 90, both motors spin at 3450 rpm’s. but one is 1 phase and one is 3. Festool seems to make very good products. Looks like a great way for a few boards here and there. Looks like I am going have to step up and add a cyclone collector in front, but I’ll probably make it. doesn’t look too hard.
Home depot random orbital sander. Clark foam flex hose. Home Depot vacuum cleaner. I fried the bearings in the sander. It's under warranty. I'm waiting to get it back because I need to sand a board.
I am using one or more box fans to create negative air pressure in my room.
clean air sucks in one and and the particulates go out the other.
shop still collects dust so I’m thinking about using heavy drop cloths hung up in key spots to create a more defined corridor for the air flow.
what’s nice is the stuff that I am exhausting out the window does not seem to collect or settle to any noticeable degree in my hard, home or the neighbors’ either.
Hey you guys, Ghetto, et. al., We've talked about dust retrieval in another thread and the cyclones are a definite benefit. There are plans available to make yourself one and www.grizzly.com has many dust systems. Harbor Freight sells one for about $150.00 I think. What I've been planning on doing is to copy the www.sandkleen.com sanding pad for hand sanding. Would be easy to make out of a tile grouting float and some left over glass and resin. This is any easy project for most and you can customize it to your shop vac.
You need to consider the information at www.billpentz.com. He has done a very thorough job researching which dust extraction units actually work, and whether they collect chips or the dust that actually lodges in your lungs and causes sensitization (at least) or more serious problems. He has called BS on some big names. They've taken him through court about it several times... and he's won.
Apparently the health hazard lies not in the stuff you can see, which your body/lungs can to a large extent get rid of, but the the finer dust which once lodged in your lungs, stays there.
Read his stuff. It's lengthy, but highly educational.
honolulu,
don't respirators with particulate filters prevent you from breathing that sanding dust???
Hey gettorat could you post a link to the machine you were talking about?
I think for backyarders a random ordbital that does rotary, shop vac conected to a cyclone, they take out most of the dust. I’d prefer to have something with HEPA filters if its going into my garage.
Honolulu in that article I think his system didn’t have a filter after the cyclone? If your running a shop vac with HEPA filters through a small cyclone wouldn’t this fix this problem?
If I had the space I’d like to be sanding with a fan like Yorky posted on his thread or the system that Barnfield talked about in that same thread. They seem like the go for the money. Production is far different from rookies like me at home.
Question About Dust and Static:
Do you need a fan that is anti-static? Can static dust cause a fire in your fan?****
There’s some good stuff on woodworking forums about people making cyclones, dust filter air purifiers ect ect **
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Heres what I do thats been working pretty well for me so far:
I shape in my basement where theres no ventilation… I do this because I have no other option.
Once shaping is underway I like to just let the dust go hog wild… let it just get everywhere…
the floor, the ceiling, and the walls of course… and I also let it get all over my clothes, in my hair, in my beard, and most importantly in my nostrils and mouth and of course my lungs.
then when I’m fully covered I go upstairs for a piss or a beer and track it all over the house.
usually right after I do this I spend some time looking at my angry girlfriends face as she says some things about ‘dust’ and mess’ that I’m not really absorbing because I’m too busy thinking about fin placement or calculating how to budget my time when attempting my first resin swirl.
then I get back to it.
I know theres more than one way to skin a cat… so I’m not suggesting that everybody do it my way I’m just putting in my two cents and sharing my method.
Hey, one of the haters here. Here is what I use for dust. It captures pretty much all the dust before it hits the vac and makes it really easy to dump it in a bag and send it out with the trash.
One of the haters here turned me on to this device. Veritas Cyclone. I bought a cheap plastic trash can to mount it on and it really works. I wish I remembered which hater it was. I’d like to thank him. It really does the trick. But I have found that when I reduce down to 1 1/2 inch hose to fit my planner, the losses are such that the plastic can begins to deform a little. So far so good, though.
All the best, I hate you.
Howzit stingray, That is the same Rigid orbital I have and they are a great sander. I hope you have the lifetime warranty since Rigid is the only company I have found that has them. Aloha,Kokua
Howzit ghetto, What I did was cut a square hole in the back door of my sanding room and then built a square box with an open bottom and an opening that fit the hole on the door. Then I cut a bunch of burlap straps and hung them from inside the top of the box. Then I put a trash can under the bottom opening of the box and a square fan on a ledge inside the sanding room that blew the dust into the box and the burlap would knock the dust down into the trash can. Hope what I write makes sense because it worked great and all I had to do was toss the trash bag when it got close to full. A friend of Stevie Lis told me about how to build it. Aloha,Kokua
Sounds like a good simple system Kokua…may I ask what a Burlap Strap is?