This is still a work in progress, but here goes:
Got this "2" HP Harbor Freight dust collector for Christmas. Decided I wanted to do something about the dust down in my basement workshop. Not much in the way of ventilation down there except one exterior door. Read up on the dust collection stuff, Bill Pentz's web site, etc. Got overwhelmed! Read all of the arguments about hose vs PVC vs metal pipe and cyclones vs single stage vs shop vacs. I ended up deciding that I didn't have the cash to do a full on Pentz approved 6" ducted cyclonic super collector, but did decide to try out the lower entry cost single stage dust collector.
So, that leaves me with this single stage collector and some tools that have either no collection ports, or 2.5" ports.
For my table saw, a contractor style '50's Craftsman, I placed it on a tool stand with a piece of plywood on the bottom, cut a hole and mounted a 4" dust collector port.
I decided to build a Thien baffle trash can pre-separator to keep the debris in the easily emptied trash can rather than plastic liner.
For now I am still using the stock bag filter. I have an oddly laid out basement shop where the floor steps up on one side, and I chose to put the collector over there out of the way. This however gives me a height restriction that prevents a full on filter setup. I think eventually I will just port the exhaust of the collector outside via one of the nearby basement vents.
For piping I had a heck of a time finding all of the pieces to fit together. I am using SCH 35 drain PVC pipe (the green stuff, bought from Lowes) and associated white PVC fittings. These are pretty nice in that the 90s are long sweeps.
I bought some fittings online that said PVC to Dust collector hose but they turned out to be for SCH 20 and didn't fit. I did find however that a standard 4" dust collector hose coupling will be a very tight fit into the 4" PVC pipe directly with a little rubber mallet persuasion. I am using that method to go from PVC to hose directly out of the Thien baffle. Other places I am using the aluminum blast gates to go directly from pipe to hose. The other nice thing about using the green PVC pipe and the 4" hose coupling is that the PVC to the hose coupling is not going anywhere, don't need glue or screws, it is solid! But I can twist the green pipe out of the white PVC fittings with some effort - enough that I can make "quick connects" in that fashion.
I ran the piping down low below my bench and made use of some of the odd features of my basement to keep it out of the way. The trash can is connected direct to the piping with a small piece of pipe and I can pull the can sideways and remove the top to empty.
I modified a wye fitting to do some rudimentary dust capture on my belt sander. I still need to make some improvements there, but it is attached such that it rotates with the belt to allow use in vertical or horizontal sanding.
I ordered a 250' spool of bare 18 gauge copper wire from Home Depot to ground the pipe system. Still need to make some minor tweaks on some hose lengths, fix a few leaks around the trash can inlet/outlet fittings, etc. I have the dust collector on a remote control device which works well.
Realizing that I won't capture all dust at the source, I also have a ceiling mount fan/filter that I need to get hung in place too.
Here are some photos:
Got this "2" HP Harbor Freight dust collector for Christmas. Decided I wanted to do something about the dust down in my basement workshop. Not much in the way of ventilation down there except one exterior door. Read up on the dust collection stuff, Bill Pentz's web site, etc. Got overwhelmed! Read all of the arguments about hose vs PVC vs metal pipe and cyclones vs single stage vs shop vacs. I ended up deciding that I didn't have the cash to do a full on Pentz approved 6" ducted cyclonic super collector, but did decide to try out the lower entry cost single stage dust collector.
So, that leaves me with this single stage collector and some tools that have either no collection ports, or 2.5" ports.
For my table saw, a contractor style '50's Craftsman, I placed it on a tool stand with a piece of plywood on the bottom, cut a hole and mounted a 4" dust collector port.
I decided to build a Thien baffle trash can pre-separator to keep the debris in the easily emptied trash can rather than plastic liner.
For now I am still using the stock bag filter. I have an oddly laid out basement shop where the floor steps up on one side, and I chose to put the collector over there out of the way. This however gives me a height restriction that prevents a full on filter setup. I think eventually I will just port the exhaust of the collector outside via one of the nearby basement vents.
For piping I had a heck of a time finding all of the pieces to fit together. I am using SCH 35 drain PVC pipe (the green stuff, bought from Lowes) and associated white PVC fittings. These are pretty nice in that the 90s are long sweeps.
I bought some fittings online that said PVC to Dust collector hose but they turned out to be for SCH 20 and didn't fit. I did find however that a standard 4" dust collector hose coupling will be a very tight fit into the 4" PVC pipe directly with a little rubber mallet persuasion. I am using that method to go from PVC to hose directly out of the Thien baffle. Other places I am using the aluminum blast gates to go directly from pipe to hose. The other nice thing about using the green PVC pipe and the 4" hose coupling is that the PVC to the hose coupling is not going anywhere, don't need glue or screws, it is solid! But I can twist the green pipe out of the white PVC fittings with some effort - enough that I can make "quick connects" in that fashion.
I ran the piping down low below my bench and made use of some of the odd features of my basement to keep it out of the way. The trash can is connected direct to the piping with a small piece of pipe and I can pull the can sideways and remove the top to empty.
I modified a wye fitting to do some rudimentary dust capture on my belt sander. I still need to make some improvements there, but it is attached such that it rotates with the belt to allow use in vertical or horizontal sanding.
I ordered a 250' spool of bare 18 gauge copper wire from Home Depot to ground the pipe system. Still need to make some minor tweaks on some hose lengths, fix a few leaks around the trash can inlet/outlet fittings, etc. I have the dust collector on a remote control device which works well.
Realizing that I won't capture all dust at the source, I also have a ceiling mount fan/filter that I need to get hung in place too.
Here are some photos: